Vodafone's 3G network coverage in Perth suffered an 11-hour outage today attributed to routine network maintenance.

Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) confirmed that its 3G coverage in Perth and surrounding suburbs experienced an outage between midnight and 11am.

Before the outage Vodafone Mobile Broadband customers had complained the service was intermittent and they were not receiving fast broadband speeds.

A Vodafone spokesman said their engineers work as fast as possible to repair the fault in the 3G network. Vodafone mobile customers could still use 2G services but were unable to use mobile broadband from their handsets.

Vodafone Australia merged with 3 /Hutchinson to help the two companies remain competitive within a changing Australian broadband market. The company has recently boasted that its 3G network now covers 94% of the Australian population.

Both Vodafone and Three offer a range of Mobile Broadband plans to eligible subscribers. Speeds on the Vodafone 3G network reach up to 3000kbps depending on the location of the service and network demand.

Responding to complaints over the outage, a Vodafone spokesperson said they regretted any inconvenience to their Perth customers and would address any compensation claims on a case-by-case basis.