CDMA Network Closing Down TODAY

[Hair]

Just found out TEL$TRA have been PROGRESSIVELY shutting down the CDMA network.

Tried to ring out from my CDMA phone. Phone is still under contract! All I get is call failed, but Signal strength is full.
 
Try to ring number from another phone, number rings 3 times then automated message saying number is busy? but I know it is not.
Try sending SMS and it shows 'Failed'. Silly thing is recipient received message.

TEL$TRA faults and enquiries told me the network is closing Jan 2008.
After they spoke to their supervisor they told me the network is being progressively being shut down.
I was then transferred to 'Faults Dept' and told same.

I have been waiting for a NEXTG Nokia phone to be released, but its not out until mid July. Model number 6120.
TEL$TRA faults dept. could supply me with a Nokia 3G phone, but signal is poor at its best here and so is digital. (Work colleague told me his 3g doesn't work indoors), Minlaton, Yorke Peninsula.

What happens to people if they require emergency assistance?? ie Elderly, tourists, businesses, farmers and others that rely on CDMA for communications??

Are TEL$TRA opening themselves up for a lawsuit??

Must be a win situation for phone resellers, problem will be supply and demand

[Zippy]

GROUP INFO: CDMA COVERAGE: TELSTRA HAVE TOLD ME CDMA HAS BEEN TURNED OFF. CDMA PHONES WILL SHOW SIGNAL BUT CANNOT SEND OR RECEIVE CALLS. TEMPORARY CONTACT NUMBER BEING FAXED TO STATIONS. PETER G CFS Southern Yorke Group Info

20:51:23   14-06-07   SYGO: CDMA UPDATE: CDMA COVERAGE PROGRESSIVELY BEING TURNED OFF. SO FAR MINLATON AREA AFFECTED. TEL$TRA ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON TOWERS IN SYP. DIGITAL AND NEXTG ARE WORKING OK. PETER G. CFS Southern Yorke Group Info

[Pipster]

Pretty poor of Telstra....the CFS line (and I have no reason to doubt this) is that they were told by Telstra that the network would be closing, but they would tell CFS when that was going to happen.....

Seems like Telstra perhaps are doing their own thing...?

And Dezza, you might find the the pager message was sent out by someone who knows Hair ...   

Pip

[Darius]

think you'll find it's simply a fault, it happens sometimes.

(PS. you'll be disappointed if you're waiting for the nokia nextg phone, my strong advice is wait until as late as possible before changing from CDMA, not before Oct/Nov at the earliest.  And if you're talking about CFS CDMA phones then do nothing until you hear from HQ/Region as you will be wasting your money otherwise.)

[Hair]

think you'll find it's simply a fault, it happens sometimes.

Darius,
I spoke to Tel$tra faults and their reply was the CDMA network is PROGRESSIVELY being closed down. This was after  I asked to speak to a supervisor.
There are contractors currently working at mobile phone towers on the peninsula atm
Tel$tra will need to improve the NextG network as my son Tel$tra 850 NextG phone showed no coverage in alot of areas where my CDMA had good coverage.

Reminds me of the GRN network coverage - 90% coverage 90% of the time.
Rubbish in other words

[Benji]

Yes the CDMA network is being shut down progressively but it will not be fully turned off until 28th February 2008.

The towers that have stated to be shut off are those that are covered by others in the area.. for example say there are CDMA towers in Stirling, Mylor, Aldgate and Bridgewater the tower in Aldgate has its coverage covered the other surrounding towers so its turned off.

This is not new, they have been turning off excess towers for awhile now and 90% of the time it doesn't cause any issues other then maybe a 'bar' less or you might get a few more failed calls. For those that don't know, its mobiles work a lil like the GRN - if all the cells on the tower are in use you get a busy/call failed result. Also as was mentioned there are techies working on the towers in the area, depending on what they are doing they may have had to turn it off while doing something there but that shouldn't be for very long..

NextG coverage is constantly improving - hence there are no printed coverage maps. As CDMA is shut off its removing the interference that is causing a number of issues with the new network as both are very close in terms of frequency. Also it is handset dependent, with NextG handsets on the market now if signal is important look at the LG TU500/550, IMATE JASJAM, and possibly the new Samsung A801 although we haven't had alot of feedback on the A801 yet (AVOID the Telstra(ZTE)F150/F151/F850/F851!!!!). This comes from customer feedback I have received working in a Telstra Shop.

As Darius said, do not go and buy new handsets to replace the CDMA handsets until HQ/Region have advised. Key Services SA - the Telstra dept that look after CFS are in the final stages of working out the deal for CFS and its about to be signed off if CFS HQ are happy. I do not have a time frame for this to happen but it is coming. You can replace GSM/3G handsets with a NextG handset without an issue from any Telstra Shop as all that happens is we add some codes to the account and possibly give you a new sim card.

Can I ask why everyone is waiting for the Nokia? It wont be as simple and easy to use as alot of people think it will be. If you get a chance check out how a Nokie N70/N80 or any of the Symbian based handsets.. they are rather different then the normal run-of-the-mill Nokia. And it will require new accessories for the majority of customers as things like the charging pin have changed size. These are the two main reasons I hear almost daily from people waiting for Nokia.

And as for the 'Must be a win situation for phone resellers' - not really it is just another type of handset, Telstra is taking a loss from the cancellation of the remainder of CDMA contracts.. mind you thats there budget not the stores.

Sorry for being such a long post but there is alot of misinformation out there.

[Hair]

Thanks for the info B2

Where I live we have a 'slave' tower. The main tower is 5 kms south of here.
Around 0135 this morning i was woken by the phone receiving SMS missed calls.
I rang Tel$tra today to find out what is going on. I have now been told there was a fault.
The fault was more likely human error, thinking the main tower would give coverage which is why the slave was placed there.
It affected alot of businesses, farmers and contractors in and around the town on all different networks.
I guess its one way to force people over to nextg.

re 'Can I ask why everyone is waiting for the Nokia?'
I currently have a 6225. Best phone I have had. It has put up with being dropped, showered in grinding dust, dirt, smeared with oil etc. and still works.
All the other phones are 'flip phones'. A mate of mine has a flip phone and because of dirt and dust, the phone won't open freely.

[Darius]

your comments on the nokia 6225 are interesting!  we bought about 10 of them and I reckon about 6 have either been in for repairs under warranty or simply replaced in the first year to 18 months.  User comments are along the lines of the worst phones they have ever had.  Regarding NextG phones, rumour is that there is a telstra/ZTE model (the 158) coming very soon which will be a ruggedised tradesman style phone (similar to the nokia 5140), I am hoping this will be a good one and if so perhaps the one we will change to.

[Benji]

Sorry to bring up old topic..
The new Nokia 6120 is out. RRP $589. From what we have seen ourselves is that it does pick up signal much better then the other handsets without the need of an exteral antenna. The boss was happily making calls from inside the door to his celler at Wistow.
Sometime in the next week or so will take it out Ashton, Basket Range, Cherry Gully areas to check out the usual blackspots around there.
If there is anywhere else, within reason, in the Adelaide Hills let me know and will add it to my road trip.

The Telstra/ZTE 158 should be out mid to late August.

B2

[Robert-Robert34]

Im getting my dad's Next G phone that T elstra convinced him into buying cause he doesnt have any use for it plus my Optus 3G phone doesnt have much signal out at Noorla Yo Long so thats why im getting it

[bittenyakka]

Where is cherry gully?

[rescue5271]

In the area i cover for work i have noticed over the last month that where I used to get cdma coverage I no longer get a good signal,I spoke to one of the local testra techs who I know very well and he said that they are slowly turning the cdma coverage down...

[bajdas]

How do you determine if your mobile telephone is affected by the CDMA shutdown ?
Does a website exist where you can look up your mobile model number to see if it is affected ?

My family use older mobile telephones on pre-paid accounts from various providers. For example, mine is a Nokia 1100 on Virgin pre-paid. This costs less for 2nd hand handsets & you can still make a voice telephone calls.   

I would like to start saving if we need to change handsets.

But if we do not need to change handsets then the money will go to a better caravan holiday to the Flinders Ranges later this year. Far better to spend money on a holiday than buying new technology I do not really need...

[Benji]

How do you determine if your mobile telephone is affected by the CDMA shutdown ?
Does a website exist where you can look up your mobile model number to see if it is affected ?

General rule of thumb, if it takes a SIM card you dont need to worry as its not on CDMA.

So the Nokia 1100 you have will be fine.