MELBOURNE, Australia-Telstra’s new CDMA mobile phone network has come under fire from rural Australians following the closure of about 80 percent of the carrier’s analog AMPS network on 31 December.
Most of the criticisms of the new CDMA service surround difficulties with reception. The network, in particular, experienced problems with coverage in rural New South Wales and Queensland. CDMA is available in the state capital cities of Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane and almost a third of all rural locations.
CDMA’s shaky start is embarrassing for Telstra because concern had been previously raised by rural groups and lobbyists about the quality of CDMA coverage compared with AMPS.
Telstra initially chose CDMA because of its suitability as a replacement for analog. The company announced in October 1998 that CDMA would replace its AMPS service after a government decision forced the carrier to do away with its analog system.
The Australian Communications Authority (ACA) was quick to step in and will now closely monitor Telstra’s rollout of its A$600 million (US$365 million) CDMA network, demanding that the carrier show CDMA coverage is reasonably equivalent to AMPS.
“The Authority has received many complaints covering a wide range of service difficulties with the new CDMA network and wants coverage and usage problems resolved as early as possible,” said ACA’s Chairman Tony Shaw. “The ACA will examine Telstra’s plans for the next phase of the CDMA rollout to assess whether Telstra is taking all the possible steps to avoid the problems which have arisen this time.”
Consumer, farm and industry groups have called on Telstra to postpone shutting down the remaining 270 or so AMPS sites, half of which are scheduled to close at the end of June and the balance on or before 31 December 2000.
While ruling out any moves to delay closing the rest of the network, Telstra has acted quickly to address concerns, accelerating the installation of CDMA base stations.
Telstra has also worked on improving coverage to the affected areas by boosting base station power. In addition, the carrier ruled out reopening parts of the AMPS network, as much of the equipment has been dismantled and the spectrum redeployed.
Unrealistic expectations
Greg Young, Telstra’s senior product manager for CDMA, blamed the outcry over CDMA on unrealistic expectations, opportunism, timing and unfair comparisons.
“There were expectations that CDMA coverage would go a lot further than analog,” Young explained. “In some cases it will, but it is not universal.
“Some people also used the launch of CDMA as an opportunity to push for better coverage than they previously had with AMPS. Others unfairly judged the CDMA network in areas where the network hadn’t been rolled out yet.”
Young said that one of the key marketing challenges was to communicate in which rural areas AMPS was closed and where it wasn’t. He said the holiday time of year, with the added uncertainty of possible year 2000 computer glitches, also didn’t help.
Then there were users trying to compare their analog car phone coverage with that of CDMA handsets. Young explained that many AMPS users had car kits that boosted the analog signal. Without a similar kit, it is impossible to achieve an equivalent analog service on a dual-mode AMPS-CDMA handset, he said. While CDMA car kits are available, they were initially in short supply.
Dual-mode phones also aren’t optimized for analog and use more battery power, so AMPS coverage with a CDMA phone won’t be as good as an AMPS phone. For this reason, those already using CDMA will be able to reconnect their old analog handsets under the same discounted monthly plan Telstra is offering to AMPS subscribers when they buy a CDMA service. This means they can use their CDMA handsets where the AMPS network has been closed but also their old analog phones where AMPS is still functioning.
Looming competition
Telstra will be under pressure to improve the performance of its CDMA service with two other CDMA competitors-Hutchison Telecoms operating the Orange-branded service and AAPT-to launch services later this year and the forthcoming introduction of regional satellite services.
Telstra, however, remains convinced that CDMA is superior with its ability to offer a range of digital services including data transfer and text messaging.
In addition, Young said there were more than CDMA 1,300 base stations operating throughout the country. At its peak, AMPS had only 1,360 sites. He expected the rollout of CDMA, some 2,000 base stations in all, to be complete by mid-year, well ahead of the 31 December 2000, deadline for total closure of the AMPS system.
