With this network, Telstra is also doing untimed calls to local landlines as well as untimed calls to other users on the Telstra network (they are going to really push HSDPA).
Telstra have also been planning on closing off their CDMA network in preference of this Next G network.
But hey, Telstra is not going to stay the only player in this market for too long. Vodafone, Optus as well as Hutchison Telecom's 3 network are the others with HSDPA networks in the works (or even in testing).
One of Telstra's big selling points has always been their network coverage. In some places in Australia, the only mobile provider available is Telstra.
Also, note that the 98% coverage is coverage of the population. Not of the actual land mass of Australia. It only really covers about 25% of Australia.
However, I'll say one thing. Data usage on this network is rather expensive.
Actually, I'll add to that by saying GPRS costs on many mobile networks in Australia is expensive!
$49.95 @ 256kbps for 200MB. $79.95 @ 256kbps for 1GB.
Not cheap at all.
As an Australian, this is a wait and see at the moment. That is, I want to wait and see what the other providers plan on rolling out over the next few months.
“At a glance -- particularly as a non-Storm user -- you might say "wait a second, that's just a Storm." And in reality, you wouldn't be far off with that assessment.”
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With this network, Telstra is also doing untimed calls to local landlines as well as untimed calls to other users on the Telstra network (they are going to really push HSDPA).
Telstra have also been planning on closing off their CDMA network in preference of this Next G network.
But hey, Telstra is not going to stay the only player in this market for too long. Vodafone, Optus as well as Hutchison Telecom's 3 network are the others with HSDPA networks in the works (or even in testing).
One of Telstra's big selling points has always been their network coverage. In some places in Australia, the only mobile provider available is Telstra.
Also, note that the 98% coverage is coverage of the population. Not of the actual land mass of Australia. It only really covers about 25% of Australia.
However, I'll say one thing. Data usage on this network is rather expensive.
Actually, I'll add to that by saying GPRS costs on many mobile networks in Australia is expensive!
Here's the prices for wireless broadband on this Next G network (this is using their HSDPA PCMCIA card):
http://my.bigpond.com/internetplans/broadband/wireless/mobile_plans/default.jsp
$49.95 @ 256kbps for 200MB.
$79.95 @ 256kbps for 1GB.
Not cheap at all.
As an Australian, this is a wait and see at the moment. That is, I want to wait and see what the other providers plan on rolling out over the next few months.