Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 10 December 2007 15:50
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 2
After reportedly sending a series of text messages and letters to CDMA
customers advising them to switch to Next G or face losing their number
on the Jan 28 CDMA cut off date, Telstra is now advising that customer
numbers will be kept for at least 30 days.
Update 11 Dec 07: Response received from Telstra, updates on page 1 and 2.
CDMA users who haven’t yet upgraded to Next G have been advised in SMS messages and letters from Telstra that the CDMA network is shutting down on January 28, and that customers who hadn’t switched would lose their number from date that onwards.
Telstra have now had to change their position, with MD of Telstra Countrywide Geoff Booth telling
ABC Online that numbers won’t be immediately cut off on January 28.
Booth said that: “I'm certain that our intention is that we'll hold these numbers that were with the previous CDMA service for a period of time, and I'm pretty sure it's a month after the closure, so that many customers, for example, on pre-paid services, you know, those that pay in advance, mightn't be that fussed. They might come in in that month and get a new phone and get their number”.
Telstra has said that the Nokia 2112, Nokia 6225 and the Nokia 2280 are the three most popular CDMA phones in the market still in use by customers, and have asked customers to check if their Nokia is one of these three models, or another brand CDMA phone, and to switch them over so they don’t lose access on January 28, although surely Telstra will be sending text messages or even calling users who still haven’t switched in the last week before cut off.
Update: In response to this article, Telstra spokesperson Peter Taylor said that: "To make it clear, CDMA phones won't work after the closure of the CDMA network, currently planned for 28 January 2008".
"We have been advising customers of the closure for close to two years
now via various means. However, just in case there are customers that
have not read the communications, or have simply forgotten to make
arrangements to move to an alternative network before the closure, we
propose to implement a process which should assist customers retrieve
their mobile number for a short time after closure", continued Taylor.
Taylor concluded by saying that: "Telstra appreciates that, for some people, their mobile number is an
important asset, and so we have been keen to encourage customers to
migrate sooner rather than later as once the short quarantine period
expires, the number will be returned to the pool. It's important to point out that a mobile number is not much use if
you can't receive calls, so we'd encourage customers to make the move
to the Next G network as soon as possible."
If customers aren’t sure if they have a CDMA phone or not, users can take the battery cover off their phone and check under or next to the battery to see if a SIM card socket with a SIM card in it can be seen. If users are still unsure, a quick call to Telstra or a look at their last phone bill should make it clear.
There are, of course, a range of reasons why CDMA users haven’t yet switched. Some are happy with their existing handset and service and don’t really want to change, some people haven’t set aside the time to go into town or when in town to evaluate the only recently expanded range of ‘blue tick’ handsets that give better coverage in rural and regional areas.
It’s possible some users might not even know the network is being shut down, but the other reason users would not yet have switched is the reported difference in coverage between the two networks, with
ABC Online separately reporting that WA research body, the Kondinin Group, says the Next G network has only had ‘slight improvement’ since their last ‘damning’ report in August.
Spokesman Tim Ryan from the Konindin Group was reported by ABC online to have said that: “The jury is still out. Telstra is working very hard to try to find all the black spots and we've been assisting them where ever we can in terms of providing them with details of where people are having problems and they have been responding, I have to say. It's something we'll be watching very closely and they may get it to the point where it's satisfactory. We'll just have to wait and see”.
So, why does Telstra want to get customers onto Next G, besides being able to close the CDMA network? And what are the stats on how much bigger and better Next G is supposed to be than CDMA, according to Telstra? Please continue on to page 2.
