Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Saturday, 15 March 2008 09:53
Opinion and Analysis
Page 2 of 3
As anyone who has tried to make phone calls or send SMS messages at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve knows, the phone network can get overwhelmed by the sheer number of people trying to connect to nearby cell towers at the same time.
While I don’t specifically know what the problem is here at the F1 Grand Prix with my attempt at connecting to the Next G network, there are so many hundreds of people in nearby stands, most of which likely have mobile phones they are making calls and sending text and picture messages on, that the local cell towers are probably being overwhelmed.
Perhaps not for making calls, or sending SMS messages, but, I’m guessing, to allow a stable, reliable Internet connection through the Next G HSPA network.
Of course the problem could be other interference, but I’m going with my gut feeling on what the cause of the Next G connectivity problem as I’ve described – if you think otherwise, please let me know.
Telstra’s Next G network has, for the most part, always worked above expectation when I use it, with my chief complaint about the whole system squarely revolving around the ridiculous prices that Telstra charges for it, especially when compared with the pricing plans of Telstra’s competitors.
But today is one of the rare times I’ve experienced a real technical problem, beyond outrageous pricing.
Not being able to connect to the Internet is not helpful when you’re an online journalist, and loving a challenge, I knew there had to be a way around the problem, without resorting to a different wireless Internet connection, for example, through my 3.5G phone.
So, how did I solve the problem? Please read onto page 3.
