On Mon, 14 Apr 2008 05:01:51 +0000, "Alan Parkington"
<brownnose@isuckseppos.com> wrote:

Deja vu...

> From
> http://cowra.yourguide.com.au/news/l...hut-down-just-
weeks-away/1222624.html
>
> Senator Stephen Conroy has expressed his satisfaction with the Telstra's
> amendments to its Next G service, meaning the CDMA shut down is just
> weeks away and people are being urged to switch to the Next G network.
> Customers that stay with CDMA after the network shutdown will not be
> able to use their phones.
>
> Telstra phone dealer of Martins in Cowra Greg Nichols said there was a
> rush of people before the first schedule shut down and he is expecting
> this to happen again.
>
> "In January we changed over a lot of phones. Telstra will send a SMS to
> all CDMA phones reminding them of the shutdown."
>
> The reason the shutdown was delayed by three months was because Senator
> Stephen Conroy the Minister of Broadband, Communications and the Digital
> Economy stated the Next G coverage was not up to the standard of CDMA
> and therefore not able to be shutdown.
>
> Three months on, Telstra has been working with the Minister and they
> believe they have it up to speed now.
>
> "A lot of the problem was people were just walking in and buying a
> phone, they were not buying like for like. For example if people were
> using an external aerial then they need to swap their new phone and make
> sure they have an external aerial. The most important thing is people
> need to swap like for like," Mr Nichols said.
>
> Telstra's customer service and technical manager, Mick Downing said it
> is extremely important that people have the right handsets.
>
> "Telstra started marketing the Next G system before it was ready and
> with statements like 'Coverage anywhere you need it' and 'Better than
> CDMA' were proved to be false and people lost faith.
>
> "Now we are up to the CDMA standard and it is actually a stronger signal
> than CDMA."
>
> Mr Downing agreed people need phones for different reasons. "Within the
> metropolitan areas there is not a problem and people don't have to
> compromise or have high gain aerials, but in the bush people need a blue
> tick phone, which means it is best suited for the bush and people need a
> solid connection and a high gain aerial in their cars."
>
> Phones that are the most beneficial in country areas are the blue tick
> phones; Samsung A412, the LG TU500, the ZTE 158 and the ZTE 165.
>
> "People need to really ask lots of questions when buying a new phone and
> explain their intended use of the product," Mr Downing said.
>
> Telstra Countrywide Area Manager Chris Taylor is confident the new
> system is equal to that of CDMA and if people are still having problems
> it could be due to the handset.
>
> "The problem in country areas was the handsets, the network was fine.
> People need to get the right phone for their situation and now we have
> phones that are suitable for people living out of metropolitan areas,"
> Mr Taylor said.
>
> A recent survey by the NSW Farmers' Association found that 71 per cent
> of farmers surveyed found the CDMA network to be more reliable than the
> new Next G network.
>
> NSW Farmers' Association released the preliminary results of a state
> wide survey which included 1,200 people.



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