It was a year ago that TPG announced a $1.9 billion investment in building a new 4G network in Australia in a bid to move away from Vodafone, the junior telco’s current telecom partner.

And now it’s nearly time for the launch of Australia’s newest LTE network and, to woo new customers, TPG is offering six months of free access.

The service will be switched on in Q3 or Q4 this year, the telco has announced, with the first six months slated to be a trail period.

“We are inviting users to register to experience our coverage and network performance as well as to take advantage of unlimited mobile data for free,” TPG CEO David Teoh said in a statement.

There’s always a ‘but’

The term “unlimited”, however, has a caveat, like all other unlimited data plans currently on offer by Australia’s bigger telcos.

TPG’s new customers will have access to 1GB of data at uncapped speeds per day; if the daily quota has been exceeded, download speeds will drop to 1Mbps for the rest of the day.

After the six-month trial period, the monthly cost of the plan will be $9.99.

First come, first served

The trial will only be available in “CBD areas and numerous surrounding suburbs in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra and Brisbane,” according to TPG’s statement.

And while the trial is open to anyone who signs up first, the telco will prioritise existing TPG, iiNet and Internode broadband customers.

The telco has set up a web page for customers to sign up for the trial and will send out invitations to those who register. However, it is as yet unclear how many customers will be able to take advantage of the trial. 

SIM cards and support will be offered via TPG’s website.

Price wars

TPG’s offer of $10 a month after the first six months for unlimited data comes not long after the telco’s chief operating officer Craig Levy called the company’s entry into the 4G space “aggressive”.

TPG’s low pricing could trigger off a price war, making Australian telecom services a lot more affordable for customers. The million dollar question here, however, is TPG’s network coverage. While all the Australian capitals will be served by the new LTE network, it doesn’t cover all major cities in the nation.

For a list of locations currently covered by TPG, see the table below: