Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said it was not yet possible to “declare equivalence” between the CDMA coverage and the Next G network that replaces it – a condition of allowing Telstra to shut down the ageing CDMA system.
“I have notified Telstra today that at this point in time I am not in a position to declare equivalence between the Next G network and the CDMA networks,” Senator Conroy said.
“Telstra will provide me with advice within two weeks on how they will address the issues that have been identified, and report to me on the rectification to enable me to reconsider this matter.
“Telstra have advised me that this can be done by 28 April. This seems reasonable.”
Senator Conroy said that a report from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) had found that while the coverage footprint of the Next G network was the equivalent of the CDMA system, some Next G handsets did not provide equivalent coverage.
“I appreciate that Telstra has been very active in working with customers affected by this situation, including exchanging handsets in genuine cases where this is required to give them equivalent coverage,” Senator Conroy said.
“I have made it clear to Telstra that it should continue to do everything possible to ensure that customers are using the correct Next G equipment. This should include replacing handsets at no financial penalty in genuine cases.”
Telstra Country Wide Group Managing Director Geoff Booth accepted the decision to postpone the CDMA closure and welcomed Senator Conroy ruling that the Next G Network provided equivalent network coverage footprint to the outgoing CDMA network.
“We have been on a path to resolve customer issues by 28 January and we were confident we would meet our deadline,” Mr Booth said.
“The Minister has made a different assessment but we are very pleased that he has given us a clear goal for closure, a process to get there, and a clear message to CDMA customers that they need to move quickly.”
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