Telstra's Next G Network reception — Your Say

Telstra's NEXTG coverage covers 89% of the population. N.B: This is population by densitiy, not by location. i.e: Most coverage is in city or outter suburbian areas with some coverage via satellite & alternate methods (such as communications towers, etc). Coverage will also depend on the make/model of phone & how good the individual phone's antenna is (if the phone can't detect a singal or get a stonrg signal, this will obviously impact on qaulity of calls & one's ability to send/receive calls, SMS/MMS, etc). Telstar was recently castized by the ACCC for being misleading in it's add by saying NEXTG was 'everywhere you need it' (as this was technically inccurate as far as expected standards from customers as opposed ot actual service received). This has since been fixed by Telstra, pending further invesitgation by both Telstra itself & the ACCC.

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Does the Next G network really have 98% coverage? they only started the Next G network like 18 months ago.

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I,ve had both CDMA & Next G phones and neither work where I live which is Dorrigo north coast NSW,been told by Telstra that will get better coverage when the CDMA is turned off?? NG phone is a LG TU500 with blue tick -CDMA was also LGTD6100- better phone all round.NG phone came without data suite as it was a pre-paid but who would go on a contract when they dont work where you live? unhappy with the whole NG experience

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My partner and me both live within the metropolitan Adelaide area so coverage is no problem. But he and his family do go up north to Quorn area- so having NextG reception there is wonderful, meaning we can still keep in touch where once upon a time that area is a dead zone under the Telstra 2G system. (The peculiar thing was Optus have coverage up there b4 NextG arrived.) Anyway I am glad Telstra fix the problem- both way communications are crsytal clear and we have so far had no problems with receptions related problems. However one notable fact is that while my partner is up there the reception bar on the phone is not full strength. Enjoy the fact that Telstra runs on the most powerful HSPDA/EDGE 3.8mbps and viewing articles on wap took split second. I did not believe this until I went back on 3 and i realised things do crawl at a slower rate. LOL

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Absolutely terrible. Worse than CDMA - I used it and went with another provider who was cheaper.

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I have found nextg to be fantastic where i live (newcastle). The coverage indoors seems to be far better than other provider's.. My phone still works in lifts..

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Disappointing overall, areas in rural Vic where I travel have poor reception at times. The other problem is data speeds in the rural areas are often terrible. This means that you are still stuck on download speeds that you would get on CDMA - the H showing on your phone doesnt excite me if this doesnt result in HSDPA like throughput! Overall performance is no better than 3 in the metro areas the HSDPA network they run performs the same. Overall my experience is coverage so so, network throughput outsite metro areas - terrible. This is the think that really needs stepped up. The various regulators have been right to challenge Telstra and their adverts on broadband everywhere you need it - broadband to me is a throughput ie the actual service i get. Not a theoretical number, and so far theory and reality differ substantially.

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I am using and have been successfully using an i-mate JasJam 3G handphone for the last 7 or 8 months with no difficulty whatsoever. Living in the Hunter Valley, travelling extensively around NSW, QLD, and VIC have had very minimul dropouts. Sometimes in certain districts of rural VIC the data transfer speed seemed to slow down considerably. I also sms, voice call, and video call Singapore regularly each week without any difficulties. My main downside comment would be the excessive cost for data usage. I hope this decreases very soon as is overcharged at this current time.

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I have a problem with Telstra's marketing of the NextG network. As and existing plan member Telstra wrote me a letter explaining the switch from CDMA to NextG. I need to say that I am one one those voice only users, I don't even text and my monthly bill is only about $20.00. In addition I don't use my phone outside of metropolitan Adelaide. My point is that Telstra claimed to have reviewed my phone usage and recommended an LG TU550 NextG phone at about $25.00 per month on a phone plan of about $30 a month. With Telstras 'generous discounts' this is about $720.00 over four years. I decided to do some research and found I could get a GSM pre paid phone for $99.00 plus calls which works out to about a third of the cost of the recommended Telstra plan. Be wary of Telstra's marketing, there is no point in buying a NextG phone if you don't need one just because you are currently on CDMA there is no need to get NextG despite what Telstra say and it is what they don't tell you that is a worry.

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For customers who are not heavy phone users they need to consider using prepaid. In my "situation" i find Telstra NextG Prepaid service satisfactory- their Freedom Plan calling 5 selected T numbers for free is a treat. But the whole point is NextG provides a wider calling area- if NextG does not reach there- other competitors like Vodafone and 3 have not even bother taken a whiff at those area at all (rural- like from Leigh Creek to Marree, (still dead zone tho]). While I am a metropolitan user (I am addicted to my CNN via Foxtel) I am concern about rural users not getting proper signal and Telstra should rightfully look into user comments and get it right.

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I have had CDMA for 6 years and being a nut fisherman I have had no troubles receiving or sending phone calls up to 50 kms off shore. I live in Adelaide and fish both gulfs on a regular bases. Since changing to Next G in November 2007 I sometimes get nothing when fishing in the gulfs, very frustrating when my CDMA phone never let me down. I chose a 6120 which I waited for as I prefer Nokia, when I got the phone no one explained anything about this blue tick which is supposed to have better reception and of course I am locked into a contract for another 22 months. Very dissapointed in the Next G system. One of my mates gets phone calls 22kms into the gulf on an Optus phone maybe I should have bought Optus not Telstra.

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before going to W.A. last October I purchased a 'next G' phone from Harvey Norman (a Telstra agent). The phone is a 'Telstra' branded phone. While away, I had extremely poor reception in places where my sister-in-law (who was still on CDMA) had excellent reception. Also my phone had other problems (like not being able to access incoming calls). I returned the phone to Harvey Norman, who forwarded it to Telstra. They have just replaced the phone with a new one of the same brand. I am certainly not happy, as Harvey Norman have refused to follow up Telstra on my behalf, instead insist I have to do that myself.

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I DONT HAVE AS GOOD COVER AS CDMA ICOULD GO A LOT FURTHER OUT IN THE BUSH WITH CDMA BEFORE I CUT OUT I JUST GET OUT THE ROAD WITH NEXTG AND IT CUTS OUT

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Won't Work or will it work, i'm referring to the Nokia N95 "8gb" i ordered the N95 8gb & Telstra sent me a N95-3 i sent it back & phoned Telstra & told them they where out of Nokia N95''s 8gb & will contact me when the recieve stock. Any one have a Nokia N95 8GB with telstra & doe's it work on the next "G" network?

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i changed from kyocera phone cdma to lg tu550. old phone would make voice call with very little signal strength, new phone drops out with 2-3 bars service. also costing me a shitload, only $15-20 with previous provider now cost $28 for phone plus $20 access cost/month and not getting any real beter service or value for money. i live between keith and bordertown sa in rural area but am trying to get out of contract and go back to previous provider if possible

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Having been pestered by Telstra relentlessly to change to " Next G "from my CDMA service I did so ...only to find that the service is less than adequate compared to the CDMA network. It is ok in the city ..or within 30 km of a tower...but after that ...nothing...or even worse ..drop outs which costs to reconnect...mind you ...it also drops out at any time within city limits...eg whilst a " customer service representative was extolling the virtues of the Next G service [which I had by then ] the line dropped out ...he rang me back and asked what had happened ...I told him that the service had dropped out and where I was I could SEE 3 mobile towers ...he was very apologetic and said he would report the problem [ yeah right ]. Being a farmer I need a good phone [ lg tu 500 at moment ] and because I travel around a fair bit [ sales markets ] a good service is needed. CDMA was never a problem...especially Kangaroo Island S.A where I conduct a lot of business...CDMA was no problem almost all over the Island ...NOW...it is absolute garbage...no service as soon as you leave town [ Kingscote ]. Then you find that the phone has run out of battery power because the useless phone keeps trying to connect [ which it can't ]which flattens your battery...making the phone into a useless brick. Telstra should be dragged over the coals for this deception that they have foisted upon us gullible consumers.

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I have to now stand with phone by window or go outside.Reception no better than digital

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Reluctantly I now have to admit that Telstra has finally improved the next g reception at King Ash Bay NT.Samsung A411 Prepaid with patch cable & Antena do actually work, It's about time.

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hello. recently purchased 2x N95 8gb but have spent hours talking to telstra with no success. Can not connect to the 3g net work in Dalwallinu areas. My friends have cheaper phones and have service.

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Very disapointed with next G, switched over from CDMA which gave great coverage to next G's poor or no signal even inside at home nextG drops from full signal to nothing cutting calls. Ended up reconecting the CDMA and will keep it!Just keep CDMA going dont try fix something that isn't broken!!We live at Two Wells SA and work out country areas.

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Why dosnt someone start a class action against telstra.? They have our money and we are still paying more each day to them.

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The face that I'm in a rural area where no-one but telstra operate annoys me. I buy a phone from them, it's dodgy: It's been repaired already, but keeps stuffing up (nokia N80). Now, if I want to cancel my contract and get another phone (the nokia was free on the last one, no hidden repayments at all), I have to pay over $500 just so I can go and sign up to another bloody telstra contract. Each monthly bill I've received in the last five years has been over $100 - and it's my personal phone, not a business one! Not Happy Jan

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N95 worked well in rural areas surrounding Canberra on OPTUS 3G. Changed to Next G and have limited to no service. Disappointed.

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I live in Mudgee, central west NSW and use a mobile mainly for business. In Oct 2006, I was talked into buying a 3G phone (Samsung Z510) by Telstra sales. Soon afterwards, they changed to "Next G". Since then, I have been told by Telstra, on separate occasions, (1) that Telstra "never had 3G" and (2) I "definitely have reception all the way from Mudgee to Dubbo" (their computer says so). Both statements are absolute "untruths". No one in this town gets reception beyond the first line of hills. That's to be expected ... unless Telstra puts a tower on every hill, it will always be the way. My only question is: DOES GSM HAVE SLIGHTLY BETTER RECEPTION BECAUSE GSM USES LESS BANDWIDTH THAN NEXT G? It would seem natural to me. If so, then rural users should stick with GSM handsets on the Telstra network. We don't want to watch the footy on our phones. I swear never to deal directly with Telstra again, because I've learnt that they cannot be believed or trusted. And they are expensive. And arrogant. And, in effect, they offer no customer service. I have now switched to the rural-based, community owned Southern Phone Co. (http://www.southernphone.com.au/) who use the Telstra and Vodafone networks and charge 36 cents per minute on a per second basis (18c flagfall). There is no contract and you pay for only what you use (min. $10 per month). Phone them and you soon get to talk to real people! I have ordered a Nokia 2760 ($120) and a Nokia 6101 ($170). Will see how these perform in terms of reception and report back.

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i have been trying unsuccessfully for (4) months now to have my samsung a411 unlocked from telstra it has been to samsung (3) times and to bowen hills once = i paid the unlock fee and have the code no. = no one seems to be able to unlock it

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Instead of complaining about Telstra as a company take a moment to reflect . So many of these comments are very harsh if there is a problem with coverage report the issue to the team that has been put into place to support australians with this migration . If you dont say where your having the problem how are people suppose to know. The Next G Network is the fastest and most reliable and advanced mobile network of it's type in the country and is envious of many providers around the world. Be proud that an Australian Telco not a an asian or a european telco has come up with the know how to put a network like this in place for all Australians.

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it is really good. it is easy and simple to use.

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