Written by:uanmiMonday, December 03, 2007
Travelling around Victoria over the last year has provided an opportunity to test Telstra's claims that 98% of the population have mobile coverage. Telstra claim that turning the CDMA network off will not affect the reach of the NextG network. Well, it appears that coverage may not be what is being touted. Driving through Sandy Point last weekend NextG coverage ended at the western edge of the small town and 95% of the town had no coverage at all. People were stopping their cars on the western approach to the town to receive and make last minute calls prior to entering Fish Creek and the dead zone. Moving west 5 kilometers to Waratah Bay and there was good coverage. Just 15 kilometers away in Fish Creek and there was no coverage anywhere in the town. This situation where one town has coverage and the one next door does not continues right across the south and south east of Victoria. When I returned home, I looked at the coverage maps on the Telstra website and the 3 Mobile website (Telstra roaming) and I found significant discrepancies in claimed coverage and the coverage I found on the ground. I was quite concerned at the number of towns and fishing hamlets that I found do not have coverage at all. Some of the towns had CDMA coverage because I saw people using CDMA mobile phones. In many places discussions with locals indicated that Telstra had promised coverage but it had not appeared or if you went to so and so and climbed the highest hill you could get coverage on a good day.The evidence so far indicates that Telstra has a way to go to provide NextG coverage and achieve the 98% figure. This will be especially true next month when Australian's all move to the coast for their summer holiday's and find that their phones don't work.regards, Mark
Travelling around Victoria over the last year has provided an opportunity to test Telstra's claims that 98% of the population have mobile coverage. Telstra claim that turning the CDMA network off will not affect the reach of the NextG network. Well, it appears that coverage may not be what is being touted. Driving through Sandy Point last weekend NextG coverage ended at the western edge of the small town and 95% of the town had no coverage at all. People were stopping their cars on the western approach to the town to receive and make last minute calls prior to entering Fish Creek and the dead zone. Moving west 5 kilometers to Waratah Bay and there was good coverage. Just 15 kilometers away in Fish Creek and there was no coverage anywhere in the town. This situation where one town has coverage and the one next door does not continues right across the south and south east of Victoria. When I returned home, I looked at the coverage maps on the Telstra website and the 3 Mobile website (Telstra roaming) and I found significant discrepancies in claimed coverage and the coverage I found on the ground. I was quite concerned at the number of towns and fishing hamlets that I found do not have coverage at all. Some of the towns had CDMA coverage because I saw people using CDMA mobile phones. In many places discussions with locals indicated that Telstra had promised coverage but it had not appeared or if you went to so and so and climbed the highest hill you could get coverage on a good day.
The evidence so far indicates that Telstra has a way to go to provide NextG coverage and achieve the 98% figure. This will be especially true next month when Australian's all move to the coast for their summer holiday's and find that their phones don't work.
regards, Mark
Copyright ©2007 Mark Gregory
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