19 January 2012 – Australians in 4G coverage areas will soon be able to surf the mobile internet on their phones up to five times faster, with Telstra and HTC today confirming Australia’s first 4G smartphone –  the HTC Velocity 4G – will launch next Tuesday 24 January.

Powered by the Telstra Mobile Network – Australia’s first and only 4G LTE-enabled network – The HTC Velocity 4G features a massive 4.5 inch touch screen, a 1.5 GHz dual core processor for fast multi-tasking and an 8 megapixel camera.

From today customers can head online to pre-purchase HTC Velocity 4G and have it delivered to their door from 24 January.

Customers using HTC Velocity in 4G coverage areas will enjoy typical download speeds ranging from 2Mbps to 40Mbps – up to five times faster than speeds available on Australia’s fastest 3G handsets.

Customers can also experience typical upload speeds of 1Mbps to 10Mbps – up to three times faster than speeds available on the fastest 3G handsets in Australia.

Outside 4G coverage areas the Velocity 4G switches seamlessly onto Telstra’s fast 3G mobile network which reaches 99 per cent of the Australian population.

Telstra became the first mobile service provider in Australia to launch 4G LTE mobile services last September and today superfast 4G coverage is available in Australia’s eight capital city CBDs (meaning within 5km from the GPO) plus more than 80 regional and metropolitan centres (meaning 3km from the regional town centre).

Pricing and availability

HTC Velocity 4G launches through Telstra Stores and partners on Tuesday 24 January.

From today customers can pre-purchase HTC Velocity online and have Australia’s first 4G smartphone delivered to their door from 24 January (limited stock available).  Customers can head online to: www.telstra.com/velocity4g.

Consumer customers can purchase the HTC Velocity 4G for $0 upfront on the $79 Freedom® Connect Plan (after using MRO Bonus), with $800 worth of included calls and MMS, unlimited SMS and 2GB of data all to standard Australian numbers (excludes use overseas) each month. Min cost over 24 months is $1,896.

Business customers can purchase the HTC Velocity 4G for $0 upfront on the $90 Business Mobile Advantage Member plan (via MRO Offset), with $90 worth of included standard national calls (charged per second when the timed calls option is selected) and MMS, unlimited standard national SMS and 2GB of data to use in Australia each month and free national voice calls to eligible mobiles on the same account. Min cost over 24 months is $2160.