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Fuzzy Logic Lucky 888’s for Next G as Telstra prepares CDMA switch off?
Fuzzy Logic Lucky 888’s for Next G as Telstra prepares CDMA switch off? | Lucky 888’s for Next G as Telstra prepares CDMA switch off? |
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| Written by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Thursday, 03 January 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 3 Unlike the voice-only and slow-data speed of the CDMA network, the Next G network is far superior, giving users with coverage an equivalent wireless telephony and broadband Internet service to city users, at the same prices city users pay. In comparison with CDMA, Telstra says the Next G network gives customers across 2 million square kilometres access to advanced mobile content, video calls, video messaging, BigPond TV, 33 channels of Mobile Foxtel, Telstra’s own Sensis search and Trading Post marketplace, news, weather, sports and mobile wireless broadband browsing, whether on the phone’s own browser or connecting a Next G phone (or separate Next G wireless modem) to a desktop or portable computer. Even so, grumbles about the potential loss of CDMA coverage have persisted, as seen in responses to various Next G blog postings at Telstra’s corporate blog (Now We Are Talking), although it has to be said that customers who had posted concerns in blog comments sections appeared to all receive a personal response, with requests in some cases to send details of the issue(s) being experienced direct to Telstra’s blog editor. One commenter lamented not having a number to call Telstra on, with the quick reply that 125111 is the number to call with Next G coverage concerns or issues, but perhaps the simple lesson is that if you are having problems and believe you are getting the “run around” from Telstra’s customer service representatives, it seems to be worth publicly contacting Telstra via the blog to get what would appear to be faster and better service. Telstra have also recently launched a new range of Next G handsets, including Next G models such as the highly advanced Nokia N95 and solid mid-range Sony Ericsson K750 handsets, both receiving the ‘recommended for rural handheld coverage blue tick’, alongside Telstra’s own F165 ‘ruggedised’ handset with retro pull-out aerial, also receiving ‘blue tick’ status. This has caused at least one blog commenter to note that waiting until now to upgrade to Next G from the CDMA network has seen a much larger range of new handsets than was originally available at launch, something that is certainly true, with the Sony Ericsson K750 handset only officially launching on December 27, just over a month before the CDMA shutdown. Of course, the big question is all about the coverage. Telstra says it’s ready, that Next G coverage is many times greater than CDMA’s coverage, and that it will continue upgrading Next G, especially now that it no longer has to maintain the separate CDMA network – but that differences in coverage could still remain. The aforementioned Gary Goldsworthy, Telstra exec in charge of the CDMA migration project, said in his ‘Making the Move’ blog in a post called “Next G network now ‘bigger, better and faster than the old CDMA” on the 17th of October, 2007, that a question he often gets is: “So what does this mean for people that get coverage outside of the published coverage maps?”. To read Goldsworthy's answer and for final hints on surviving the CDMA transition, please read onto page 3 for the conclusion... |
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