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VIRTUALISATION Telstra iPhone data plans - expect nothing and you won't be disappointed
VIRTUALISATION Telstra iPhone data plans - expect nothing and you won't be disappointed | Telstra iPhone data plans - expect nothing and you won't be disappointed |
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| by Adam Turner | |
| Thursday, 10 July 2008 | |
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Regardless of how much data you think iPhone owners need, it looks like they won't know what Telstra is offering until they actually get to the counter to buy their iPhone. This reeks of the contempt for customers that we've come to expect from Tel$tra. Still, any idiot who buys an iPhone without knowing how much data is included gets everything they deserve. Apple zealots may want the glory of being first in line, but my advice to everyone else is to hold off buying a iPhone tomorrow until all the telcos play their hands and we can compare apples with apples. The word is that 3 will have the iPhone in a few weeks, so city-slickers might want to hold off for a little while. The 900 MHz fiasco has cost Australian iPhone users dearly when it comes to data charges. Telstra has an advantage over its rivals in that the Next G network is the only Australian mobile phone network that will offer iPhone users fast download speeds throughout the country. It's an advantage the allows the telco to continue to gouge customers when it comes to data costs. Optus and Vodafone's high-speed coverage will soon come close to that offered by Telstra's Next G, but the national Next G network operates in the 850MHz frequency band while Optus and Vodafone use 2100MHz in the cities and 900MHz in regional areas. The new iPhone 3G only supports 850, 1900 and 2100MHz which means, outside the cities, Optus and Vodafone users won't be able to use 3G and will fall back on painfully slow, dial-up-like GPRS data speeds. Even so, there's speculation that iPhones on Next G may not offer full data speeds in regional areas. Australians who live outside the big cities should definitely hold off on buying an iPhone 3G until we know more. What about those Aussies who already have a first-gen iPhone in their pocket? Should they rush in tomorrow? CONTINUED |
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