Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 28 April 2008 19:23
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 3
Cut. Chopped. Closed. Finito. Over and out. Lights off. KO’d. Goodbye
and good luck, oh CDMA network, may you forever rest in peace, as your
equipment is taken away in pieces.
It’s over. It’s gone. The CDMA network that once was, is no longer. The coverage that once existed is but vacant spectrum, buzzing to the sound of nothingness. No voice, no data – CDMA is dead and buried, awaiting dismantling by Telstra engineers.
In its place comes its replacement, the Next G network, itself actually an advanced form of CDMA technology that simply wasn’t backwards compatible with its older brethren, a technology that promises so much more – to those lucky enough to be range of its coverage.
With blackspots in Next G coverage already known, and yet to be discovered, Telstra, Australia’s dominant telco, has much work ahead of it over the next few weeks, months and years.
For despite Telstra needing to ensure that Next G’s coverage continues expanding, it has two whipper snappers snapping at its heels – the Optus and Vodafone 3.5G rollouts, due for completion by years’ end.
While Optus and Vodafone aren’t promising to match Telstra in speed or coverage, they’ll come close enough for customers in metropolitan centres, along with major, and relatively major, rural and regional areas.
Coverage from Optus and Vodafone likely won’t give coverage in areas where Next G currently doesn’t match what CDMA offered, but price competition from Telstra’s competitors will keep Telstra on its toes – a good thing for all telecommunications using Australians.
Also keeping pressure on Telstra will be its customers. Calls to Telstra’s CDMA/Next G hotline, 1800 888 888, will spike on Tuesday the 29th of April – and beyond – as consumers who didn’t switch wonder what happened to their mobile phone, while Next G customers who aren’t getting adequate coverage will also call to complain and enquire.
Calls to the Federal Department of Communications on 1800 883 448 will also spike, as consumers try to get the Government to help them make Telstra work faster at fixing remaining blackspots.
But making – and keeping – Next G as the best wireless network in Australia in firmly in Telstra’s interests. Please read onto page 2.
