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Technology news and Jobs 
Fuzzy Logic Telstra engineers gear up for CDMA close down
Fuzzy Logic Telstra engineers gear up for CDMA close down | Telstra engineers gear up for CDMA close down |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Wednesday, 23 April 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 2 CDMA users expecting to somehow magically still get a connection will find themselves sorely disappointed come 12.01am on the 29th of April. Wright explained that: "As new call connections on the CDMA network will be rejected after midnight on 28 April, it is vitally important that customers who are yet to move across to a new mobile service have an alternative in place, such as a fixed line or Next G service, just in case they need to make an emergency call”. Telstra won’t be wasting any time in dismantling the CDMA network, either. From 29 April 2008 the process of deactivating approximately 3,500 CDMA sites and removing redundant equipment will commence. The aging CDMA network equipment, which is now up to a decade old and past its use by date, will be removed and any equipment still of value will be reused, sold, recycled or appropriately discarded. Wright talked up CDMA’s younger brother, Next G, and explained its technological prowess, stating that: "Today the Next G network carries about 7.5 times the data carried on the CDMA network at its peak, so the CDMA recovery process will make available power, transmission, spectrum and equipment space to expand the Next G network in response to demand.” Which is, of course, good news for those who wish their Next G coverage was better, even with the latest handsets and antennas. Given that Telstra says the CDMA network costs AUD $60 million per year to maintain, surely some of that money can now go into making the Next G network cover and even wider area, as Telstra promises to boost theoretical maximum network data speeds to 21Mbps by the end of 2008, and 42Mbps by the end of 2009. Telstra verify this line of thought by saying that their December 2007 announcement has already seen more Next G base stations being added to expand the breadth and depth of coverage in areas that provide customer and commercial benefits. And to emphasis just how much better the Next G network already is than CDMA ever was, despite some fringe area coverage concerns, Telstra says that the Next G network now offers more than 190 network coverage locations where there was no CDMA coverage before. So, goodbye CDMA. You were a great network, and you served Australia well. It’s definitely sad to see you go, and a chapter of Australia’s telecommunications history is all but closed. Now, Next G – and upcoming competing 3.5G networks from Vodafone and Optus, take the mantle of voice and data champions for the metropolitan, rural and regional peoples of Australia, and the tyranny of distance – and slow data connections – is dealt yet another 21st century blow. If only the tyranny of high pricing could be dealt with so easily, too. But patience, the virtuous trait that it is, will see to that tyranny, too... perhaps as early as 2009, or maybe even Christmas 2008. RIP, CDMA. Ashes to ashes, bytes to bits, dust to dust, and may your metal components never rust.
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