3G, Telstra, and Nokia 6233/6234

Being a bit confused by the differences between 3G and Hellstra's
NextG, I'm having difficulty determining whether a Nokia 6233/6234
(which is listed as GSM/3G) can connect to NextG, or only 3G, and
whose 3G at that.

Anyone have the full story (in less than 100 words)?

fly on the wall wrote:

> Being a bit confused by the differences between 3G and Hellstra's
> NextG, I'm having difficulty determining whether a Nokia 6233/6234
> (which is listed as GSM/3G) can connect to NextG, or only 3G, and
> whose 3G at that.

> Anyone have the full story (in less than 100 words)?

The real problem is the frequencys used by Telstra NextG.

The short story is that if it does not say explicitly that it does work with NextG, it wont.

fly on the wall wrote:

> Being a bit confused by the differences between 3G and Hellstra's
> NextG, I'm having difficulty determining whether a Nokia 6233/6234
> (which is listed as GSM/3G) can connect to NextG, or only 3G, and
> whose 3G at that.
>
> Anyone have the full story (in less than 100 words)?

No.

"NextG" is Telstra's brand name for its 100% owned 3G service.

NextG operates on the 850 MHz 3G/UMTS band. If the phone
supports that band, and it's either unlocked or locked to
Telstra, then it will work.

Telstra is also part owner of the 3GIS/3Telstra 3G network which
operates on the 2100 MHz UMTS band. This network has no coverage
outside major capital cities (plus the Gold Coast). Most 3G
phones support that band, and a NextG SIM will be able to use it,
assuming locking allows it to. But it's not the NextG network.

I'm not sure about the Nokia 6233 or 6234 models, but often the
model number of phone doesn't tell you what bands it supports
because manufacturers release different sub-models for different
markets, or for different network operators. So a phone sold by
Optus might support a different 3G/UMTS band from a phone with
the same model number sold by Telstra.

Best to look at the documentation which comes with the phone.

John

On 2 Jan 2010 06:14:12 GMT, John Henderson <jhenRemoveThis@talk21.com>
wrote:

>fly on the wall wrote:
>
>> Being a bit confused by the differences between 3G and Hellstra's
>> NextG, I'm having difficulty determining whether a Nokia 6233/6234
>> (which is listed as GSM/3G) can connect to NextG, or only 3G, and
>> whose 3G at that.
>>
>> Anyone have the full story (in less than 100 words)?
>
>No.

Well, close enough.

>"NextG" is Telstra's brand name for its 100% owned 3G service.
>
>NextG operates on the 850 MHz 3G/UMTS band. If the phone
>supports that band, and it's either unlocked or locked to
>Telstra, then it will work.
>
>Telstra is also part owner of the 3GIS/3Telstra 3G network which
>operates on the 2100 MHz UMTS band. This network has no coverage
>outside major capital cities (plus the Gold Coast). Most 3G
>phones support that band, and a NextG SIM will be able to use it,
>assuming locking allows it to. But it's not the NextG network.
>
>I'm not sure about the Nokia 6233 or 6234 models, but often the
>model number of phone doesn't tell you what bands it supports
>because manufacturers release different sub-models for different
>markets, or for different network operators. So a phone sold by
>Optus might support a different 3G/UMTS band from a phone with
>the same model number sold by Telstra.
>
>Best to look at the documentation which comes with the phone.

The User Manual doesn't list the specs. To the extent that it is the
same here as offered elsewhere, the specs list 3x GSM bands plus
UMTS2100.

http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_6234-1388.php

The 6234 is - in Oz at least - the Voda version of the 6233. The
handset in question is an unlocked ex-VF 6234. The VF site doesn't
reveal anything specific, probably because it isn't a current model.

So it sounds like I'm stuck with non-NextG 3G networks, with all their
coverage limitations.

Thanks for the heads-up.

fly on the wall wrote...

> So it sounds like I'm stuck with non-NextG 3G networks, with all their
> coverage limitations.

That and the GSM cells that exist all around Oz, but they aren't as widespread
as the NextG ones, obviously.