Australian Govt.: Telstra Cannot Shutdown CDMA Network Yet

Bad luck, Sol: government overrules CDMA switch-off


The planned January 28 closure of the regional CDMA mobile network has been deferred until April 28, offering signal-starved rural phone users a temporary reprieve and delivering Telstra its first governmental bich slap for 2008.

Despite expensive research claiming that Next G offers better coverage than the older CDMA network and a frenzied pre-Christmas sales push for rural users, a report by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found that there was not absolute network equivalence and that Telstra hadn't taken sufficient steps to help customers make the transition.

"I have notified Telstra today that at this point in time I am not in a position to declare equivalence between the Next G network and the CDMA networks," Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Senator Stephen Conroy said in a statement.

Telstra has a fortnight to deliver a comprehensive report on how the April 28 deadline, itself a Telstra suggestion, can be met. Actions it needs to undertake include a certification program for its resellers and offering advice to existing Next G customers who are unhappy with the service.

"I have made it clear to Telstra that it should continue to do everything possible to ensure that customers are using the correct Next G equipment," Conroy said. "This should include replacing handsets at no financial penalty in genuine cases." A phone line to report Next G issues is also scheduled to be set up.

Regional users have complained that areas with CDMA signal lack sufficient Next G coverage to make voice calls. Others say they have been sold the wrong handsets or equipment by Telstra staff, or complained about the higher costs of the service. Last month, the ACCC won a court case taken out against Telstra for deceptive Next G advertising.

This writer's own experience bears out the importance of equipment choice. On a recent trip to a farm on the NSW North Coast, a Next G USB modem worked seamlessly, but a PC Card designed for Next G only offered intermittent connections and absolutely refused to work indoors. Telstra advises the use of an external aerial in remote areas.

The telco giant appears to have begrudgingly accepted the decision. "We have been on a path to resolve customer issues by 28 January and we were confident we would meet our deadline," Telstra Country Wide managing director Geoff Booth said in a statement.

"The Minister has made a different assessment but we are very pleased that he has given us a clear goal for closure, a process to get there, and a clear message to CDMA customers that they need to move quickly."

Telstra group manager director for public policy and communications Phil Burgess added, in an uncharacteristically diplomatic fashion: "We are also pleased that the Minister has provided clear direction to Telstra and to consumers about how to proceed to make sure this transition is completed: Telstra has to fix remaining problems and consumers have to make the transition." (But we read between the lines -- in other words: buy some better handsets, or else, proles.)

Telstra's mania for secrecy, evident in the ACCC case where it asked for some information submitted in evidence to be blocked from public release, continues. Parts of the ACMA report have similarly been blacked out as "commercial in confidence", including details of which handsets don't work well on Next G. How Telstra expects to keep that information secret while ensuring a smooth transition for customers has not yet been made clear.

Bad luck, Sol: government overrules CDMA switch-off | APC Magazine