Australia Bids Farewell to CDMA

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.telstra.com.au/abouttelstra/media/announcements_article.cfm?ObjectID=42298' target='_blank'>http://www.telstra.com.au/abouttels...?ObjectID=42298</a><br /><br /></div><em>&quot;Telstra Country Wide Director, Gary Goldsworthy, today confirmed that the old CDMA mobile network would shut down across the country at midnight tonight, closing a significant chapter in the history of telecommunications in Australia. &quot;At midnight tonight Telstra will commence the carefully planned closure of the redundant CDMA mobile network. Today really is the last chance for remaining CDMA customers to move across to a new mobile network, such as the Telstra Next G&trade; network, and remain connected&quot; Mr Goldsworthy said. &quot;CDMA technology has served Australia well over the years but has now been superseded by more advanced third generation mobile technology such as the Telstra Next G&trade; network, which carries about 7.5 times the data carried on the CDMA network at its peak.&quot;</em><br /><br /><img border="1" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/500/spt/auto/1209384931.usr2.jpg" alt="" /><br /><br />CDMA coverage in Australia will be axed at midnight, starting from the east coast and progressing toward the west coast in accordance with local time zones. Telstra has been at it for two years, urging CDMA customers via letter, phone, and SMS to make the switch over to <a href="http://www.telstra.com.au/nextgnetwork/experience/index.htm" target="_blank">Next G</a>. But this has been much to the discontent of a handful of rural customers, primarily due to concerns that the UMTS/HSDPA network suffers from poorer coverage in remote areas of the country. Like it or not, however - the clock is ticking. Any Australian readers here happy/unhappy about this?

[Dyvim]

Now if only the U.S. would follow suit! :rolleyes:

[possmann]

Next G?

So we have GSM pretty much the whole world over and then CDMA in a few spots around the world so what is next for everyone?

It would be great is we could all just take our phone, travel anywhere and know that p[honje would connect - kind of like taking a laptop anywhere and being able to access WiFi...

Would someone please educate me or point me to a decent place where I cna get up to speed on the division of wirelesee bands?

GSM is going to go where in the future?
CDMA - is this the next step for us Verizon customers?

[Darius Wey]

Next G?

So we have GSM pretty much the whole world over and then CDMA in a few spots around the world so what is next for everyone?

Next G is simply a marketing term for Telstra's 850MHz UMTS/HSDPA network, in contrast to the 2100MHz UMTS/HSDPA network that some other carriers in Australia use. There's nothing really "next" about it, although you could argue otherwise considering Next G will be upgraded from the current 14.4Mbps to 21Mbps sometime this year, followed by a further increase to 42Mbps next year. Coverage may also be pushed beyond the existing 98% (of the population).

Would someone please educate me or point me to a decent place where I cna get up to speed on the division of wirelesee bands?

There is probably the best place to start:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_frequencies

All the mobile communication standards are in a table on the right.