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Topic: Telcos

Telstra: Network will go dark in January

Summary: Telstra has denied there will be any delay to the planned switch-off of its CDMA network -- despite concern from the government its replacement Next G may not be good enough yet.Mike Wright, head of networks at Telstra, said today that the telco does not believe there is any need to alter the timescale for the 2.

Jo Best

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Telstra has denied there will be any delay to the planned switch-off of its CDMA network -- despite concern from the government its replacement Next G may not be good enough yet.

Mike Wright, head of networks at Telstra, said today that the telco does not believe there is any need to alter the timescale for the 2.5G shutdown, scheduled for next January.

The telco's CDMA service will be switched off as the company transitions customers to its Next G W-CDMA network, capable of downlink speeds of up to 14.4Mbps.

The proposed changeover hasn't gone entirely smoothly, however. Communications Minister Helen Coonan ordered audits of the network's performance in every state after noting public discontent. "I received a lot of complaints and a lot of concerns have been expressed to me that the new Next G is not providing, at the moment, a very good service," Coonan told a radio show earlier this month.

Coonan has also been talking to the telco over the timing of the switch-off, questioning whether the government's audits will be completed before the CDMA network goes dark. The minister has now formally written to the company on the issue, she told The Australian, querying whether Next G's coverage will be adequate by the January date.

Telstra's Wright told ZDNet Australia however that the company has met its obligations.

"We're quite confident about the state of the network today. Everything we committed to in terms of timing and capability, we have delivered on time or ahead of time," he said. "We are on track."

Topics: Telcos, Government, Government AU, Mobility, Networking, Telstra

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Jo Best has been covering IT for the best part of a decade for publications including silicon.com, Guardian Government Computing and ZDNet in both London and Sydney.

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13 comments
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  • Next G capable BlackBerry's

    What about all those corporate/government departments using CDMA Blackberry's? To date, I don't believe RIM have a 850MHz HSDPA device available in Australia. Will one arrive before the cutoff - who knows?
    anonymous
    Reply Vote

  • Telstra country customers lose out again

    How typical of Telstra. Despite all their hype CDMA customers will be affected by the change. The biggest concern is that Telstra is advising CDMA customers that 3 G has same coverage, however, users cannot confirm this until they have signed up to 3 G and tried the phones. When they find that the 3 G phone does not have the coverage, and complain to Telstra, they get answers like, "you didn't tell us there were mountains in your are", and refuse to do anything about it. This user now has a useless phone on a 24month plan, and can't even get coverage from home.
    Advice, find a friend with 3 G and confirm coverage before you sell your soul to the devil.
    anonymous
    Reply Vote

  • OMG

    NextG killed Telstra.
    anonymous
    Reply Vote

  • Next G AirCard Migration from CDMA

    I have just gone through the process of converting one CDMA AirCard service to Next G (17 more to go). It was an unnecessarily painful experience. I am not overly concerned about the coverage as my users are telling me that the signal strength they are currently been getting with their CDMA cards has been deteriorating now for the past 6 months and tests with Next G cards in the Newcastle to Sydney region are positive. It will be interesting to see if I can say the same about regional NSW, I have a user doing comparison testing in regional NSW next week.

    My major complaints with Telstra is that I have been forced from time based contracts to usage based contracts,

    I no longer have the flexibility of being able to lock my users down to our domain account, well that%u2019s not entirely true it can be done if I get Telstra to lock down the number, in the past I could do the lockdown on the aircard.

    The Next G aircard they gave me does not have SMS capability, as we have now been forced to usage based contracts I can%u2019t take advantage of the SMS notification when the user reaches 80% of the usage limit. I now have to implement a procedure where the usage on all our AirCard services are checked over the internet on a weekly basis to ensure we do not get caught on the wrong plan for a user that has heavy download/upload requirements.

    The bottom line is I believe we are being forced to move to a service that may be faster but does not have all the features of the old service.
    anonymous
    Reply Vote

  • CDMA shutdown

    So the phone service that meets all my current needs is to be shutdown and I'll be expected to move to the new system that offers services I don't want and I'll be charged more for the priviliege. Doesn't benefit me at all but hey, customer sat is not the point, Telstra margins are. Thanks to the Govt and Telstra for looking after our interests!
    anonymous
    Reply Vote

  • Telstra Next G - Con

    I am yet another victim to the migration from a CDMA to a Next G phone, what a CON as her in the country this Next G Service is very unreliable. What rights do we as consumers have ??? ..... I have just signed up to a higher $ plan on the Next G system after being told that I would receive better service with my Next G phone ...... I have complained to the Telstra Shop selling me the phone and am waiting for a satisfactory solution. I would like to just go back to my reliable CDMA service until they can get it right ...... we here in the Country have learned to live with blackspots or no service areas especially here on Kangaroo Island SA, and have just moved on with it and made the changes in our business and lives to cope with the inadequacies with our mobile phone coverage ...... I must admit at least with Telstra we have something ....... all the other carriers don't want to know us because we are not where the dollars are !!!! Most of us don't want much, simple really, WE JUST WANT A MOBILE PHONE THAT WORKS, NOT ALL THIS OTHER FANCY STUFF, JUST THE BASICS .... WE ARE BEING CONNED AND HAVE NO RECALL ....... CAN ANYONE OUT THERE MAKE SOME SUGGESTION ... WHAT CAN I DO OR WHO CAN I GO TO GET A FAIR DEAL !!!!
    anonymous
    Reply Vote

  • Give Jo Best a medal!

    A reporter actually referred to CDMA as a digital network: "...need to alter the timescale for the 2.5G shutdown, scheduled for next January."

    At last, a reporter who understands that CDMA is a digital network and not an analog network, which it replaced in 1999.

    While technically the CDMA 1xEVDO part of the network is a 3G network, it is predominately CDMA 1x2000, which is 2.5G.
    anonymous
    Reply Vote

  • Closure of the CDMA Network

    I live in mountainous bush and get good service with the CDMA network. I want a phone that works as a phone, not as an entertainment centre that sucks more dollars from my pocket for "services" I have no need or desire to use. I want a Telstra representative to bring a sample of Next G phones to my property so I can see if they can compete with what I have. The only trouble is, if they can't perform adequately, what do I do? I guess the next best thing is to get a friend with a Next G phone up here to check it out. I do note that Telstra is indicating a couple of the phones they are flogging as more suitable for rural areas, they being single LG and Samsung models. I reckon at this stage, leave your forced purchase of a Next G phone to the last minute and maybe there will be network improvements, more sensitive phones and a different attitude by Telstra. The latter is the more unlikely possibility.
    anonymous
    Reply Vote

  • NextG Network

    Wouldn't it be nice if you could have a service that is reliable - particularly in country services..... a simple, cost effective service where you could make and receive phone calls without having to worry about an unwanted internet and data transfer service that you don't need. Perhaps it could be called CDMA? How silly to dream of such a thing!!!
    anonymous
    Reply Vote

  • Horse and buggy

    Wouldn't it be nice to have a mode of transport that got you from a to b and didn't have all the issues that modern cars have, that didn't chew through fuel, need servicing, need repairs and have to register all the time. Perhaps it could be called a horse and buggy!!!

    Welcome the the 21st century.
    anonymous
    Reply Vote

  • CDMA NO SHUTDOWN.

    telstra cant shut down the cdma network its unlawful
    and then when is next G closing telstra,just makes money selling phone doesnt matter if they work,thing telstra to be pissed off and a new communication network take over because they are useless.when was the last time yu got a new phone in yur house -10yrs ago.wake up australia.
    anonymous
    Reply Vote

  • Putting things in [erspective

    Nice comment.
    anonymous
    Reply Vote

  • mobile phones in the country

    well, my CDMA didn't even work 100km from Adelaide(all the time). When it ran out I transferred to the 3G netwoerk as I also required country coverage. So far it's been OK but a phone call from Victoria this a.m. was a bit 'iffy' from someone who is always in rural areas. Does telecommunications have it all wrapped up for our rural populace?
    anonymous
    Reply Vote
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