Telstra: Network will go dark in January

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."