in brief In the latest endeavour to encourage its remaining CDMA users to move to Next G, Telstra will be contacting users experiencing a number of dropouts on its 3G network to try and solve their problems.
Users with a greater than average amount of dropouts will be given a "virtual health check" aimed at fixing the connectivity issues.
"There can be any number of reasons for a customer experiencing these issues, including using an inappropriate handset for their location, the wrong SIM card, having their handset set to the wrong network or not using the right accessories, such as a car kit or external antenna," Telstra Country Wide group MD Geoff Booth said in a statement.
Want to know more?
For all the latest news, analysis and opinion on wireless, click here
Telstra said a "very small number of customers" are experiencing dropout problems.
Telstra had initially planned to close its CDMA network on 28 January, but the closure has been postponed til at least 28 April, after Broadband Minister Stephen Conroy said he was not in a position to declare equivalence between the Next G network and the CDMA networks.
Telstra and its staff know that it blatently lies about the NextG coverage. Statement after statement suggests a customer cause for dropouts and even the NextG web site does not give the opportunity to adequately report black spots where Telstra has used Paint Shop 'FILL' to paint in their coverage maps.
Delaying the CDMA closure is no solution as Telstra has already coerced many business users to switch to NextG only to find a negative impact on their businesses. Telstra's dropping of the CDMA network is a fait acompli. That is fine. I don't want to see it back - I simply want Telstra to be shamed into providing through NextG the coverage which was available through CDMA.
Our area, quite incorrectly, shows wall-to-wall coverage by NextG. The Country Wide MD seems to have no shame in making the assertions he does.