CDMA giving better service than analog, says ACA
9:06 Tuesday 8 August 2000
AAP
MOBILE phone coverage in rural areas was as good, if not better, than the analog system thanks to CDMA, the Australian Communications Authority said yesterday.
The authority said a new survey of Telstra's mobile phone network found more people in regional and rural areas had access to mobile phones because of the CDMA (code divisional multiple access) system.
Authority chairman Tony Shaw said 97 per cent of the nation's population could access mobile phones via CDMA.
This was up 3.2 per cent on the old analog network at its peak.
"Our work indicates that CDMA and GSM digital service coverage is reasonably equivalent, and in some cases better, than the analog service at June 1998 which is the reference point for comparison,'' he said in a statement.
"Our assessment also found that while the coverage patterns of analogue and GSM or CDMA are not exactly the same, a greater part of Australia and its population now has access to terrestrial mobile phone services.''
There was criticism from rural areas when Telstra began introducing CDMA that it was not as good as the old analog system.
But Shaw said it appeared many complaints were due to equipment and handset problems rather than CDMA network coverage.
"Our advice to CDMA customers is to invest the necessary time and energy in making decision on handset and ancillary equipment, such as in-car kits and external antennae, to ensure that the right equipment is being used for individual circumstances,'' he said.
About 95 per cent of the analog system has now been phased out, with the rest to go by October 3 this year.
Telstra has until the end of the year to have the entire CDMA system in place.
Shaw said the authority would be in a better position to determine the roll-out of CDMA, and its impact on rural and regional areas, once Telstra had finished the project.
People can still make complaints to analog closure hotline on 1800 351135.
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