6 Aug 2008  I believe it to be anti-competitive that Telstra uses Network exchange information  
"I am the Managing Director of BEST Telecom. I have spent several years as a reseller of fixed wire long distance phone services. It is no easier today to be able to provide complete service to customers when I started in the industry. Many wholesale restrictions and limitations are aimed at causing confusion to the illeducated consumer. I believe it to be anti-competitive that Telstra uses Network exchange information to feed data to its "winback team" in order to do telemarketing to our customers. The fact is Telstra knows when a change happens in a customer's line when they for example switch from one 3rd party to another non Telstra 3rd party. We are required to put into the Telstra systems (as the maintainer of the IPND database used for emergency calls for example) basic customer details about the owners of a line and for Telstra to use that regularly as a matter of process is anticompetitive. If you switch your services to BEST Telecom from any other carrier you can expect a call or visit from Telstra within 7 days. I hope that T4 are going to be able to focus additional media on the current wholesale situation causing a review of Telstra's practices. " Peter

20 May 2008 A first class Country with a 4th class broadband.
"A first class Country with a 4th class broadband. Thanks Telstra! Thanks Regulators to let one company dominate the market." Peter 

20 May 2008  I've applied 3 times now and it doesn't look like basic broadband is going to be available 
"I am located on a RIM where no ports are available and I'm only 20 km from central brisbane in a highly populated area.

I've applied 3 times now and it doesn't look like basic broadband is going to be available for any new residents in my area for quite some time.  I still find it rediculous that one can't simply join a queue so the second a port is free'd or the RIM is upgraded you are notified and given the immediate option to utilise the port.  How hard would this be to setup?

My profession requires me to access my work via a VPN frequently and as you can understand no wireless or dial-up solution is suitable for this purpose.

On top of all this a new development is going on behind my house which will include an extra 1100 residents, who will all be fighting to get broadband.  Why can't telstra simply analyse an area and establish how many ports are needed for the area and simply allow extras just in case.

It really doesn't seem that difficult.  Lets ensure everyone had basic broadband before we worry about super fast broadband..." Chris

May 18, 2008  We have a Telstra representative doing a door knock in our area...
"We have a Telstra representative doing a door knock in our area, who was actually brought in from Brisbane and we live in WA.  They came to our house promising $59.95 package, 12GB download, fast internet including free local calls, 20c STD calls and guess what they couldnt connect us when it got down to the crunch.  They had no additional ports at the exchange.  Telstra said I could have 3GB wireless for the same price and same conditions but that wasnt good enough as we always exceed 3GB.  I mentioned the Telecommunications ombidsman and its amazing how Telstra change their tune.  I received an account within 2 weeks of saying I would go with them even though they couldnt fulfil their promise.  They reversed the credit and still today, 6 months later we still receive the credit note from Telstra $172.00" Carol

May 14, 2008 Get real Telstra
"Telstra couldn't even put in enough infrastructure to a new estate 30Km North of Adelaide to cater for broadband services and now they want us to believe that they are the only Telco who can rollout a new network ........ Get real Telstra." Roeland

May 13, 2008 Its high time true competition was allowed...
"In the USA I paid $50 a month for broadband speeds Australia just dreams of.  Its high time true competition was allowed into this country.  I'm sick of the excuses that we're a young country.  Were young we should be putting everything new and up-to-date with our internet.  Time to stop Telstra and Bigpond from ripping us all off.  Time to get our broadband speeds up where they should be.  256k is NOT broadband but just dial up with guarana.  GET REAL Australia your being ripped off left right and center." Evie

May 13, 2008 Telstra should be split into wholesale and retail
"Telstra should be split into wholesale and retail. That is the only way there will be a level playing field for competition. They MUST NOT reclaim their old monopoly." Anthony

May 13, 2008  Australia, we are really being ripped off 
"I have just recently moved back to Australia after 15 years, and Aussie prices for both broadband and mobile are crazy.

What't with this download limit per month, etc, where I came from I had a 10mb unlimited connection for $35 a month, UNLIMITED, none of this silly 1GB, etc, that is just crazy.

Text messaging, 25c a message, well I was paying 0c unlimited text, plus montly plan of just $20 which also gave me free calls to anyone on the same network 24/7.

Australia, we are really being ripped off with the crazy prices that we are expected to pay, and unfortunately people just seem to mind.

My sister was paying $200 a month for internet and mobile phone, with internet access limit of 1GB a month!! I have since made her realize just how crazy her charges were." Scott

May 13, 2008  The reason they can charge these prices is they have a monoply
"I live about 7 km from Kyabram in northern Victoria.

I can't get ADSL Broadband because Telstra say I am too far from the exchange. (No other company provide services to my area.) At the moment I use Telstra ISDN which is going to shut down at the end of 2008. My only options after that are go back to Dialup or go to Next G.   At the moment I pay about $80 per month for my unlimitted internet connection at 124 bps but because of Bigponds very limitted plans it will cost me about $140 a month on Next G with my average usage of about 1.5 Gig.

The reason they can charge these prices is they have a monoply in a lot of country areas." Roger

May 13, 2008 "Australia has the highest prices for internet in industrial countries. Does that help for growing a country?"  Werner

April 17, 2008This positively shows that nextg is not up to the task
"I live in a regional area. I have two Imate jasjam phones suitable for nextg & gsm - one has a prepaid card on gsm, the other next g - they both have had board & software upgrades. I have had continuing problems with call dropouts since moving from cdma. Now gsm I believe was brought out after cdma for use around cities & was not suitable for regional areas. I consistently get better reception on a gsm phone than nextg from the same phone tower. My phones have been marked by Telstra as suitable for city & major regional areas - but recent trips around Brisbane show that reception is no better - gsm still beats it hands down. This positively shows that nextg is not up to the task." Marc

April 11, 2008  I can not get ADSL because Telstra will not upgrade the exchange 
"Well....here I am downloading this website via my 50.6kbps dial up modem...........yes it is 2008!

This is what Telstra are putting me through, the inability to carry out my day to day business because they will not provide an upgrade to the exchange that I so unfortunately am connected to. 

If your interested it is the Point Cook exchange, located a massive 20kms from the centre of Melbourne...20kms too far for Telstra to give any consideration to.

Honestly, I have been through the entire Telstra "pitch" about how the exchange has no ports and how there are no plans to upgrade it....I have even spoken to the Telstra Retail Manager for Melbourne who told me they dont even know what is happening, you know the standard stuff like..."it isnt us its bigpond" or " its Telstra wholesale that control that"...HELLO!! arent you the same company that we all pay regardless of carrier?

Seriously why is it that monopolies or should I say Despots such as Telstra are allowed to enjoy all the riches their conquests offer, when it is the "real people" that have to suffer due to these "it is not viable, decisions".

I live in a new golfing estate called Sanctuary Lakes just 30mins from the center of Melbourne and I CANNOT get ADSL because Telstra will not upgrade the exchange I am connected to.....despite the fact that Sanctuary Lakes has grown in population 5 fold in the last 3 years...and did I mention that Melbourne is the fastest growing city in Australia...in particular the West of Melbourne where I live.

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO!!!" Michael

April 10, 2008  TELSTRA - Telling Excessive Lies Service Tendered Really Appalling
"I have a Telstra phone (company phone) on calls, the phone always has "drop outs" yet when I look at the signal, its fine - 90-100%. You then call again to continue the call - yep another method of how to get profit - charge multiple calls, multiple flag-falls.

TELSTRA - Telling Excessive Lies Service Tendered Really Appalling" FRS

March 14, 2008  Taking advantage of an 80 yr old isolated widow
"The Tamworth NSW , Telstra shop sold a Next G mobile phone  that was not suitable to replace a CDMA phone for a rural area and refuses to replace it.

 A senseless act. Taking advantage of an 80 yr old isolated widow." D. Crossing

March 13, 2008 What a complete, shameful, disgrace.
"After seeing the advertising about Next G's great coverage we bought a Next G phone to replace on of our CDMAs.

We made sure it had an external antenna on it, to ensure best reception.   We had a little Nokia 3306 which is a very basic CDMA phone and the reception was acceptable with it.  We used it here for years with our business.

The new Next G phone had no reception at all.   Not inside the house, not outside, infact not with about 1km of the house, so we purchased a plug in extension antenna for it, but there was still no reception even with it attached.

Thanksfully had another CDMA phone available to be able to use to receive emergency SMS's otherwise it would have been big trouble."

We rang Telstra and they told us the phone must be faulty because Next G is better than CDMA and to send the phone back.  But the phone worked fine in town, and other areas,  it wasn't faulty.

Finally after a written complaint to the Communications Minister in desperation and fear that CDMA would close and leave us with no mobile coverage at all,  several weeks later a Telstra, tech came out.  

The tech found that a basic CMDA phone works fine at our location, yet a standard Next G phone without an external plug in antenna dosn't work at all.    Infact to get reception anywhere nere CDMA, we needed a special Next G phone plus an expensive high gain Next G antenna mounted outside the house.

He promised to swap our Next G phone to a new Country Phone, but never did, so we bought a Country phone and a $250 antenna and we how have Next G coverage in one room with a cable out the window to the  next G antenna mounted on the roof.

We asked Telstra if they would be willing to pay for the antenna, to go with our new Country Phone and guess what they told us ............. the phone must be faulty if it isn't receiving properly and to send it back !

What a complete, shameful, disgrace. BTW: We live 10km from a town of 10,000 people." Steve

February 27, 2008  Telstra puts us 10 years behind the rest of the world 
"Telstra has held back Internet capabilities in Australia with an archaic excuse. Telstra should be removed from the retail side and only required to provide quality infrastructure. I document Electrics for Construction work and constantly hear "we only have to provide Modem 24kbps speed". Pair gain installed in commercial areas such as Norwest Business Park in Sydney. Telstra have no excuse for the lack of planning and effort in delivering a quality product. The Internet is a huge part of everyones life. VOIP will become the standard communication method. The ability for people to use VPN and work from home is the future. However Telstra puts us 10 years behind the rest of the world with their narrow minded attitudes." Ross

February 22, 2008  We need a fixed line... 
"In mid November 2007 we contacted Telstra to connect our fixed phone line to our new business so we could start trading for the Christmas-summer  holiday period. On 29/11/07 Telstra visited our shops and informed us that we would be connected within ten working days. As  a result of this we leased out our existing premises and started to relocate, after 3 months we still have not been connected.After many hours on the phone we were again told that connection was to take place on the 19/2/08 but this has also not taken place , now we are been told that it should take place in mid April 08. Telstra have provided us with a Satellite intrim phone which has been installed at the wrong address 100 km from our business. We need a fixed line due to that half our sales are over the internet and the balance by eftpos, and also for monitoring of security alarms. As a result of all this is that it is placing a great deal of finacial stress on our business and are still unable to open up to alow us to trade" Ian

January 28, 2008 Telstra will lie
"Telstra will LIE just to get your home line services back with them.

Within the last six months, twice Telstra verbally guaranteed me ADSL for my computer.

The first time, I rang a day or two before the cooling off period to check the progress of the application only to be told the broadband had been cancelled because my phone line could not carry broadband,

I instantly cancelled the transfer of my home line from my current provider to Telstra.

A similar thing happened the second time and I was told a technician would come out to make sure I would get broadband. I stipulated on the phone recording, when I verified the application, that should I not get broadband then they were not to take back the home line.

You guessed it, I couldn't get broadband but they took my home line anyway. 

What good is recording phone conversations to confirm applications if stipulations of the recording are ignored.

To add insult to injury, a week ago another Telstra Sale Rep knocked on my door.   He was told my views on Telstra and then the door was closed, no doubt leaving him looking like a stunned mullet.

Lets just say Telstra will never have my patronage!" Melisse

January 12, 2008  I am quite disappointed with the whole broadband situation in Australia
"I am quite disappointed with the whole broadband situation in Australia. Telstra's services and customer support is not existent. I mean these guys are a joke. I work as an IT tech and dealing with their support on daily basis is enough for everyone to take a razor to their wrists.

I feel that the government needs to strip Telstra from all this power, if they don't we wont see a healthy growth of new technologies in OZ, and as it stands we are already miles apart from the rest of the world.

Now I don't mind paying for a quality service thats worth the money, I myself have to pay in excess of $180/mo for my net access (ADSL2,Line,VoIP), and even then I don't the the speeds I should due to poor copper lines. I can just imagine whats happening over in the regional and rural areas.

I'm patiently awaiting the day when my household can finally enjoy proper broadband" R

January 10, 2008 "Telstra sales rep 'You didn't get your business lines from Telstra - so no ADSL for your business! The business is in the middle of the St Kilda Rd business strip adjacent to HP Head office!

So Telstra is really abiding by competion policy. NO competitor providers were alowed to provide ADSL, as stated by Telstra ' the Telstra systems are programmed to not allow ADSL for companies that don't use Telstra line rental." Mark 

January 10, 2008  What can I do to help stop the closure of this network? 
"I'm a real estate valuer that spends a lot of my time touring various parts of the state and without an equivalent coverage network to the existing CDMA I would be totally out of range for most of the day. Many of the properties I visit either don't have a land line or they are not available and totally rely upon the CDMA system including the fisherman at the Abroholos Islands.

In an emergency what am I going to do without an equivalent or better service coverage? I have provided on a number of occasions assistance in contacting help for stranded motorists in remote locations.

What can I do to help stop the closure of this network?" Ross

January 8, 2008  Telstra do not allow you to chose "Competition = Better Service and Prices.

But, I was sadly informed today, Telstra do not allow you to chose their budget phone plan if your ASDL provider is anyone other than BigPond. Instead you must move up to a more expensive bracket. Given the need for a Telstra copper line in order to use *any* ADSL provider, this policy simply reeks of anti-competitive behaviour.

Outrageous. It was not even phrased as "BigPond offer you a discount on your line rental if you bundle", it was a blatant case of "you cannot get ADSL from another provider on this (proposed) line unless you sign up to one of the more expensive line rental packages".

Personally, I'll be off to find a "naked" ADSL2+ provider" Christopher

January 5, 2008 Does Telstra realy care?
"30 days ago I bought a NextG tu500 from a Telstra shop. They assured me that it will work. Going 116km back home it only worked 5km after I left Griffith and 5km before I got home. I took the phone back. They said its  the software so they gave me another phone which is still not working. I phoned Telstra and 2hrs later I was told to put a 'Click on antenna'. So I have to go 104km there and 104km back again. The Telstra shop is not going to refund the $250 back on my phone because my 30days are up. My comment is does Telstra realy care?" Josephine

December 29, 2007  I fear for the future and what service I may expect!
"I was contacted by telemarketers from Telstra on 5th Dec asking me to switch my home, mobile and internet services to Telstra. They offered me extra credit and free calls, so i switched. I have had nothing but trouble since.
The phone was switched on 18th Dec, which meant I lost my free dial up internet from my previous carrier. When I called to find out when I would receive my bigpond kit i was told early Jan. After a number of calls I was able to get internet connected on Dec 28th (xmas without email/ internet).

My mobile phone is still an issue. I received the new phone on Dec 7th with a letter telling me that it would be automatically switched over by Dec 17th. It did not happen. My credit on prepaid service ran out early sat 22nd Dec. Could not contact Telstra until Monday (their call centre was not open!). I called every day from 24th to 28th Dec each time being told it would happen within 4hrs.

One week later still waiting. Today I was kept on hold for 1hr awaiting some oner to tell me when I will be switched over. I fear for the future and what service I may expect! Tammy

December 24, 2007 Message to Telstra
"Telstra - Your mobile phone service has improved but you've kept Australia in the dark ages with internet. We should be world leader (given our per capita use and your profits) we but we're not. You have strangled your competition to prevent them forcing your adherence to world standards. Worst still you keep ringing me to sign up with Telstra again (despite my requests for you not to) - each time I explain I never swap providers to downgrade my service! Sven 

December 12, 2007  "Next G doesn't work as well".
"Telstra techs have visited our farm twice in the last week. They both carried CDMA mobiles as well as Next G as in their words "Next G doesn't work as well".

Shame Dr Phil Telstra media man and the rest of senior management don't listen to their staff.

Again at a recent field day Telstra gave away phone after phone to make up for the problem. They upgraded me from the basic handset to the LG550 for no charge. Result? No diffrerence! It appears it is my or the phone manufactureres fault even though CDMA worked fine 3 years ago! Jeff

7 November 2007 Being forced to buy from 1 carrier which is offering less of a service seems like profiteering to me
"I'm about 20km from the Adelaide metro border located in a small township and have no choice but Telstra for broadband. While happy with the service I receive and the cost is ok, it's not value for money. I'm on a next G 256k connection which costs a little more than competitors products, but the bandwidth I'm allowed is 1G(up and down) I understand there is infrastructure costs, but why for $50 I can get 512K, 20-40gig (down) with most ISPs, while with Telstra I get 256k, 1gig(up&down total). All our usage is work related and I get pretty close to the limit. I feel I can't use the connection to its full potential , that is unless I do all my non work related interneting on bigponds website (if it ever opens). We need it for work, but being forced to buy from 1 carrier which is offering less of a service seems like profiteering to me." Steve

5 November 2007  'Marketing' by Telstra to get me on to NextG is bordering on harassment
"Though in the city I have always preferred to have a CDMA phone. When in the country a good while back; a GSM phone failed in an emergency call. Mine got the call through. I bought this latest base model phone at the end of 2005; two weeks later Telstra announced the demise of the CDMA network. These phones were still on sale when Telstra was fully aware CDMA was to be cancelled. So be it. They will take this phone from me only at gunpoint! They've tried everything but!

'Marketing' by Telstra to get me on to NextG is bordering on harassment.

I have suggested to Minister Coonan's office that if Telstra are able to say to her that only Fred and his dog now have a CDMA, then they can justifiably switch off the service; that is what the increasing pressure on CDMA phone user's is all about. ANY new phone is going to cost me more. The decision to make mine obsolete was not my decision. I have no intention of paying the price for the manipulative nature of Telstra.

Helen Coonan HAS to stop them closing CDMA until NextG is at least comparable. It is not even close. " Elliette Denham

2 November 2007  They have told me to use an external antenna yet I am in a servicable area
"I recently completed the blackspot/brightspot form with Telstra complaining that as per their map on their website I am in a NextG coverage area, Menai NSW. The response has pidgeon holed my location as "rural or remote" but Menai is Suburban Sydney! They have told me to use an external antenna yet I am on their map as being in a servicable area. Does that mean they are including all people who need an external antenna in their 98% population reach?" Todd Armstrong

31 October 2007  Telstra should have more respect for its customers 
"Like millions of Australian mobile phone users, today I missed a call, as it only rang twice. As most people do, I called the number back, only to be answered by a recorded message: "Thanks for calling Telstra. We recently tried to call to talk to you about some products & services which may be of benefit to you. Please call 1800 726 594 for more information". The call then ended. When I called the 1800 number (not free from a mobile), the operator had no idea why I was calling. I explained that Telstra had called me, and when I called back I heard the message. They still weren't sure what I was talking about.

Then I thought about it... there are millions of Telstra mobile users around the country, and I'm sure Telstra didn't just call me. When I called the number back, it cost me around 17.5 cents - instantly adding charges to my phonebill. Now, if a million other people did as I have done, and called the number back (only to hear a recording), then Telstra stand to make a hell of a lot of money from the charges on those people's phonebills ($175,000 instantly if just 1 million people call back). Since the first missed call this morning, I've missed 3 more calls, and, of course, I called them back. Each time the phone rings only once or twice; never long enough for me to answer. They're all different numbers, yet they all go through to the same recorded message.

My phone bill will now have 4 charges on it for calls I needn't have made (that's $0.70 - multiply that by a million people!!). This could potentially be earning Telstra millions of dollars and is nothing more than a scam to get people to make a call on their mobiles which Telstra then bill them for! I made a complaint to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, and they suggested I contact the media to encourage other Telstra customers who have experienced the same thing to take action. Telstra should have more respect for its customers who already earn them millions in profits each year. If you've had this happen to you, contact the Telecommunictaions Industry Ombudsman and lodge a complaint. It's time we stopped large corporations ripping us off!" Corey

31 October 2007 Does BigPond have the ability to speed up their document downloads and not docs from other sources?
"Question re broadband speeds- I subscribe to Testra's 1.5MB download/256k upload service. But my average download speed is running at 60-70kb per sec. When I call BigPond they say go to their website and download one of their pdf docs. The download speed then is 150-200kb per sec. This is the only website from which I can download at this speed. Does BigPond have the ability to speed up their document downloads and not docs from other sources, or is it me that has the problem?"  Simon Winfield

17 October 2007  If Telstra technicians have no confidence in the Next G network, how can private and business customers of Telstra have any confidence?
"On the night of Monday, 8th October, a truck took down our Telstra phone lines (which included the phone line my iiNet ADSL 2+ is on). Ringing Telstra, I was told that it would be fixed by 8 pm on the Tuesday. I expressed how this was not good enough, and they told me that it was the maximum deadline for the fault to be fixed. Of course, there was no mention of what would happen if the problem was not fixed by 8 pm Tuesday. In any case, thankfully, the Telstra Techs (who are contracted by Telstra at a higher rate than when Telstra had it's own in-house Tech department) turned up early Tuesday morning. Both techs were trying to get in touch with their colleagues in their team on their brand-spanking new Next G mobile phones. They could not speak to anyone.

The call would either not go through, or the person on the other end would not be able to hear them. They switched their SIM cards to their old Siemenns phones that had no Next-G capability, and lo-and-behold, they were suddenly able to contact their colleagues. I talked to the technicians, and they mentioned how, quite often, the Next G network goes down, or has numerous faults, and they were actually very unhappy with the Next G network. If Telstra technicians have no confidence in the Next G network, then how can private and business customers of Telstra have any confidence in the same network?" Anestis Kozakis

12 October 2007 I can only imagine what country customers will go through when CDMA is turned off
"After being a Melbourne based Telstra Mobile customer for 11 years straight I started having trouble recieving calls that was network related to my number. My life depended on me keeping my number but Telstra could not find the problem after numerous calls over 14 months. Finally my contract ran out and I swaped to Optus. On the first day I had the exact same problem on the Optus network. One call to Optus and they saw that a setting on my account (settings transfered from Telstra) wasn't correct and less then 1 minute later the problem was solved. I wrote to Telstra and asked why they hadn't found the problem and 3 months later still waiting for a reply. I can only imagine what country customers will go through when CDMA is turned off."  John Blanchard

11 October 2007  I think that market forces should dictate what happens
"I think that market forces should dictate what happens. Telstra should not have any privileges but at the same time it should not have any "social responsibilities" i.e. people in the bush should be subsidised by taxpayers for communications but not have any claim on Telstra or any other telecommunications firm for uneconomic services.

There is an argument that infrastructure provided when Telstra was a public utility should be available to other firms because of the rights of customers and taxpayers. The other question is whether or not Telstra should provide ADSL 2+ in metro areas. If it's uneconomic to do so then maybe the government can use tax dollars to upgrade exchanges and provide people with ADSL2+. It's not the responsibility of Telstra shareholders to provide ADSL2+ and bear the cost of it. If it's uneconomic to do so then I think that as an interim measure and given that most exchanges were built when Telstra was public utility then Telstra should be forced to provide ADSL 2+."  Greg Byrne

02 October 2007  Get cracking Telstra!
"My home is 41km from central Hobart in the Southern Beaches population centre of 4,500 people. I am expected to be on call for health advice, via mobile phone contact, to my client base and am a public sector employee. It is impossible to provide this service because there is no mobile phone signal at all at my home location. The good news is: the new mobile phone network is no worse than the CDMA, that is, that the signal for both is totally non-existent at the location of my home. Get cracking Telstra!" Matthew Aston

30 September 2007 Telstra told me that not in my lifetime would I have broadband
"Telstra, please I beg you, WHY can't I have either mobile service or broadband? We had a CDMA phone here, with 1 bar, now we have a NextG Telstra phone, and I have to drive 6kms to get 1 bar. Then when I ring anyone it drops out - Telstra also told me that not in my lifetime would I have broadband. My God, I only live 4 hours from Sydney. This is a buisness we run here, and the normal Telstra bill is over $500 dollars, why can't that money go towards fixing the line, so I can get broadband? I just dont understand what the hell is wrong, isn't this 2007?" Judy Walsh

28 September 2007 It's time for Australians to stand up to Telstra
"As this site states, "Competition works best." I am now totally free from Telstra and loving every minute of it. Gone are the days of high costs and poor service. Lot's of people can do the same and walk away from Telstra completely. I have now signed up with Virgin Home Broadband. This is a service that replaces your home landline with a wireless system. I have a modem that that gives me 512Kbps broadband and all my phone calls for only $60 per month. It's time for Australians to stand up to Telstra!" Wayne Peacock

20 September 2007 We feel sorry for country users who will be stuck with Next G when CDMA is closed down
"On Telstra's urging, we changed our CDMA over to Next G (Samsung SGH-Z510) on a two-year contract about 12 months ago. Last May we attempted to use our Next G at Penrose Park which is about 2 km from the Hume Highway and 18km from Berrima, but got no reception (no bars out of six). Reception in Berrima township varied between one and three bars. We experience similar poor Next G reception in parts of Ku-ring-gai Municipality in the Sydney Metropolitan area. To expect Next G reception to improve is wishful thinking, given Telstra's indifference. Therefore, we feel sorry for country users who will be stuck with Next G when CDMA is closed down."  Ray Barbero

17 September 2007 I have still not got anywhere with my ADSL issue over four months on
"I have still not got anywhere with my ADSL issue over four months on. I have just recently submitted my 17 or 18th application with my ISP to try and obtain ADSL broadband. What I have discovered on the way is:

i) Telstra give varying numbers of demand needed for they will upgrade my ADSL-enabled RIM/CMUX - ie 25, 40, 50 depending on who I talk to and then a disclaimer is made that this does not mean they will do it in the end only that they will CONSIDER it!

ii) Telstra can withheld ports for up to 182 days (6 Months) when someone disconnects -this makes a port unavailable to anyone else but the people at the address that is disconnected for that time period!

iii) Telstra will suggest NextG as an alternative even though it is more expensive at $50-$60 a month for 300mb with excess charges of 15c per a mb or $150 a gig thereafter. Let's not go into the slowness of the system (neighbour across the road has experienced problems with it), networking issues (need the right modem to network as it hard for a novice user to setup).

iv) Telstra Whole will not give me an ETA on when my local ADSL-enabled CMUX/RIM will be upgraded with more ports. With the election coming up it seems this issue will not be fixed anytime soon!

v) There are no waiting lists/queues for ports on RIMs/CMUXs with no ports available.

You HAVE to re-apply each time you get a rejection -there is no other option! My dial up speeds are inconsistent - varies from 31k to the odd 47k (lucky to get than once in a blue moon) and occasional drop outs for no reason. As an IT Support employee at a major university I'm finding this very unworkable situation to be in. At this stage I'm still outraged that this is going to be an ongoing problem in my estate because Telstra will not fix their infrastructure that should have been future proofed in the first place."  Andrew Klahn

17 September 2007 One time I spent 55 minutes on hold and then was told that I was through to the wrong department, when I asked your employee if he could forward the recording of our conversation to his superior he said NO!!!?

COPY OF A LETTER TO TELSTRA
To whom it may concern,

I have been a customer of Telstra for almost 12 months in North Queensland. In this time I have lived at 3 different addresses and have had to spend many hours on the telephone rectifying your mistakes every time that I have moved house. Broadband was always a problem, every time it took longer than I was told it would to connect. On the latest move I had to spend a couple of hours on the phone going through setups and then re-installing software that worked fine when I switch off the P.C.

At the previous house just to get to the next step of an engineer being called out. It took the engineer many hours to rectify the problem after I had been told that I had Broadband connected!! I have visited Telstra shops on several occasions for many hours to try and rectify your mistakes. Days after most of the visits I have realized that not a thing had changed and that I had completely wasted my time. I have enclosed the latest copy of a credit that I have been receiving since my last move in April, this was for a dial-up connection that I was given for free and then charged for while my Broadband connection was being repaired. I have telephoned previously to have this credit added to my one account but it has obviously not been done. When I moved to my latest address my wife and I realized that our mobile phones were quite useless, we had to walk down the garden to have any sort of reception.

NextG phones were being advertised with free Blue Tooth headsets and my wife called to order 2 new mobile phones with the headsets (THE FIRST MOBILE PHONES ACTUALLY SUPPLIED BY Telstra. WHEN WE ORIGINALLY SIGNED UP WITH Telstra WE USED OUR OLD MOBILE PHONES AND ONLY TOOK 2 SIM CARDS).

On our original contract my wife and I could chat to each other for free for up to 3 minutes but I noticed after checking my online bill that we were paying to talk to each other. I phoned Telstra when the contract was about 5 days old and was told that I had to change to a cheaper contract to renew the facility of my wife and I being able to chat for free on our mobiles again. This, I was told was well within the cooling off period of the contract and that I would not be charged anything for changing to the new tariff. On my next bill I was charged $1,867.10 and my wife was charged an additional $65.11 for CONTRACT CANCELLATION FEES.

I spent several hours over the next couple of weeks trying to telephone Telstra and rectify the mistakes. One time I spent 55 minutes on hold and then was told that I was through to the wrong department, when I asked your employee if he could forward the recording of our conversation to his superior he said NO!!!? You have the wrong department?!!! WE NEVER RECEIVED THE FREE BLUETOOTH HEADSETS!!! After a few more days of calling Telstra I finally spoke to a Telstra employee who could put things right. I was told that the $1,869.10 would take a while to credit because he had to request a supervisor to credit this large amount but the $65.11 would be credited immediately. I have also wasted a lot of time replying to emails requested the sender telephone me and resolve this matter. On one of these rare occasions my mobile rang while I was driving, by the time I pulled over my phone had gone onto messaging. I tried to phone back the caller for 30 minutes but the number was constantly engaged. I also received one call on the land line asking me to phone and wait in a queue for ages!! After I had spoken to the helpful employee and wishfully put right your mistakes I noticed that for the next few months $65.11 was still being added to my wife's mobile account for a contract termination. This has been credited after each phone call that I made to Telstra but the $1,867.10 is still outstanding."  Geoff Malone

15 September 2007 Latest Telstra Next G handsets dont deliver
"Latest Telstra Next G handsets dont deliver. I was conned out of CDMA on the basis that the LG Tu550 would provide coverage. It does not get any service at all and I am now left without a phone as Telstra stuffs me around in not honouring their 24 hour cooling off period. I am now without mobile coverage. Before I had usable CDMA.

The tme on phone and lost service has cost me thousands of dollars. I dont live in a remote area. Just south of Coffs Harbour in a area that is very well populated. Telstra could not be less helpful. They deliberately frustrate the process. All I want is my CDMA service reactivated and that is somehow too hard for them to do in a timely manner. They cant even tell me when it will happen, only that it will." Sean Davis

15 September 2007  Telstra NextG is a joke. The coverage is pathetic also their exorbitant prices really need investigating
"Telstra still hold the monopoly here in Tasmania. We don't have a choice of mobile phone carriers unless we live in our 2 major cities, Hobart and Launceston. Telstra NextG is a joke. The coverage is pathetic also their exorbitant prices really need investigating. I actually went online and checked my mobile bills with Telstra for the past 6 months and found huge discrepancies with my account. I don't use Internet with my phone and yet there are pages of usage and fees on each bill. How many other unsuspecting people are being ripped off this way.

Here in my area all the people received phone calls from Telstra about 15 months ago telling us that they had upgraded our exchange and broadband is now available. Of course the hard sell phone calls started wanting people to join Bigpond. I tried a couple of internet providers and were told that our exchange was showing as not enabled for ADSL, so in desperation I phoned Telstra who basically told me that if I signed with them I would be connected within 14 days. After signing I received various emails and phone calls from different Telstra areas telling me that broadband is not available here. Their people really don't have a clue. I finally rang our Telstra shop in Launceston and was told yes we can and my best bet was to try another provider.

Finally I phoned TSN Internet who had several problems from Telstra before getting me connected, but they persevered for me it was worth it. TSN have been and still are one of the best ISP's I have ever tried." Carol

14 September 2007 Been through the Telstra hell and back
"After 4.5 months and 16-17 applications for ADSL I'm still no further in my quest to obtain a connection at my house - No Ports on RIM. Been through the Telstra hell and back. My only option is, according to them, is consider taking up NextG or keep reapplying. I have had my ISP contact Telstra Wholeasles to find out when a our local CMUX (RIM) is to be upgraded and the reply is they can not give me and ETA. I've even spoken to Telstra Metro who have said that I'd need to get 40 people to register their deamnd for ADSL in the area but this in the end will only mean they will consider doing the upgrade -that means think about it! Each time I have dealt with Telstra they have tried to sell me onto NextG which I have informed them that the costs of this are expensive -300mb for $50-60 a month then excess fees of 0.15c per a mb or $150 per a gig! - and therefore do not see it as a vilable option. A neigbour who got talked into it thinks its terrible -slow and expensive!

There are no other options as my house is in an area that isn't serviced by cable or other providers. Cable runs pass the estate not into it!

Some things I have discovered in my saga are: i) there are NO queues for ports on CMUX/RIMs -ie you have to re-apply each time you are rejected to go in the running for a free port when it comes available. There is no waiting list. ii) ADSL ports can be held for up to 182 days (6 months) after disconnection [this means if a user ends their ADSL connection at their current address the port is held for them for another 182 days even IF they don't intend to reconnect! iii) Telstra blame the developer for taking the cheaper option! IV) Telstra when asked why isn't the infrastructure future proofed they cannot give a good enough reply only that ADSL isn't a mandated service and that they only need to supply you with a phone line! And the sad thing is this is not only happening in my area. If telstra can't fix the mtro problems (yes I'm in a metro assigned area) then heaven help the regional areas."Andrew

13 September 2007 How's this for a joke 
"Hows this for a joke - Telstra came out recently and tested for reception compasion between NextG and CDMA. Instead of turning up with a testing unit to test on the same antenna they turned up with two phones with software on them. One was the latest CDMA with no external antenna and the other was a TU500 I'm sure with a foot long external antenna!!!!! Like for like he said - what a joke - after doing some research I found that the -93 dbi that he was recieveing was not a good reading at all - they drop out at 100 and 75 is supposed to be a good signal and I'm less than 3 k from a Telstra tower. Now they have given me a loaner handset and I plug my sim card in - when I checked the phone later I recieved five SMS's from February!!! When asked about this they claim they have no guarrentee on SMS's - well whats the point and how many have you been charged for and never got through." Marcus Facer

13 September 2007  After bashing my head against a brick wall with Telstra they still could not supply the service that I wanted
"After bashing my head against a brick wall with Telstra about their landline, mobile and ADSL services and being told in a long propaganda speel how good they are, they still could not supply the service that I wanted. Needless to say they got the flick pass and I recommend that others do the same and go to a carrier that and will supply a good reliable service."  Bill Winn

13 September 2007 I dont trust Telstra for many reasons
"I dont trust Telstra for many reasons - there was enough problems around when we went from analoge to CDMA way back and the same problems are surfacing now. I have problems with them every month and I have to constantly double check to make sure the right thing is done when requested. Eg three phone calls to get message bank switched off correctly. I had a cdma with external antenna and they approached me to go over to NextG. I told them I wasnt interested unless I recieved the same gear - wired in car kit and external antenna and no loss of reception.

There where no car kits available with external antenna at the time and the NextG was hopeless on my jasjam so they had to re enable my CDMA.

Its been 12 months and still no car kit and still terrible reception. Jasjam is in for a board replacement at the moment. They have come to the party and given me credit for removing and fitting of the car kit - but the mistakes just constantly flow and if you listen to their staff and not got to a supervisor you just get fobbed off or passed on to another dept. My biggest issue has been their latest cataloge which showed a bluetooth headset for $89. No one stocked it but - I threatened legal action as it is called "bait advertising" they have to keep reasonable stock to meet demand & there was no disclaimer in the advertisment. In the end a $300 voucher was given to me - but the arrogance of the company annoys me. No one seems to follow up on anything & check properly to make sure things are done correctly and then you have to spend hrs on the phone getting past the stupid automated voice unit and waiting in line to be served and then you have to pay them for the call to contact them!"  Marc Facer

13 September 2007  Any responsible minister couldn't possibly signoff on this transition away from CDMA
"Had a visit from a friend last week who wanted to check something quickly... I had to laugh when they whipped out the NextG phone. "That won't work here," I said. Sure enough, it didn't: No signal. I live next to the beach and can see the largest regional transmission tower in the area from my house. It gives us digital coverage if you stand in right room, and we have CDMA coverage but 3G is dead here. How is this a technological evolution? Any responsible minister couldn't possibly signoff on this transition away from CDMA." Stuart Greig

13 September 2007 I have been with Telstra for a number of years and I'm now being forced to change because of their inability to provide a decent service
"I have been with Telstra for a number of years and I'm now being forced to change because of their inability to provide a decent service. I regularly receive messages hours, and sometimes days, after they were sent and my brother, who is located only one kilometer away, regularly has similar problems with a different phone. 3G does not provide the service advertised and I wonder when the ACCC will get the balls to actually fine someone (Telstra) instead of continually issuing warnings. How many times does Telstra have to be told to remove untrue advertisements, stop hindering competition, etc before the ACCC actually punishes them =3D3F I'm getting sick and tired of the Australian beaurocracy which continually gives 'second chances' and has no backabone behind it to issue fines and penalties. I applaud all of the T4 efforts. One area that could be added to the site would be a "How To" section which details how to steer away from Telstra and explains such things as how to choose an alternate provider for landlines, how to choose a different long distance provider by dialling a prefix, etc. Well done T4!" Phil

13 September 2007  I have a petition with over 350 names on it, all of them demanding ADSL1/ADSL2+ services in the Thornton NSW area
"I have a petition with over 350 names on it, all of them demanding ADSL1/ADSL2+ services in the Thornton NSW area. There are over three thousand homes in the vicinity, all serviced by one exchange that's over 7km away in Tarro. That means we all get 'too far from exchange' errors when trying to get ADSL provisioned. Not only that, Telstra only have a small number of ports installed in this exchange that services an area of over 30 square kilometres full of homes, thus giving 'No ports available' errors. Long story short, Telstra have only around 500 ports installed for well over 5000 homes. Then they've got the hide to tell me they have no plans within the next TWO YEARS to upgrade or add new ports to the Tarro exchange, which is having to support a population in this area recently listed as one of the fastest growing in Australia. If anyone of the T4 participants who can fix this situation actually takes notice of this post, please be aware that WE NEED ADSL1 and/or ADSL2+ services here in Thornton NOW! No more waiting!

We've put up with third-world conditions for too long. We're sick of continually putting our names on the Demand Register and being ignored.

We've been left out in the cold long enough! HELP!!!!!!!!!" Scott Hewitt

12 September 2007  Telstra's behavior, anti competitive practices and outright gouging of its customers is what happens when you let a salesman run a technology company
"Telstra's behavior, anti competitive practices and outright gouging of its customers is what happens when you let a salesman run a technology company. Telstra should be run by an engineer or a technologist at a fixed salary rate and not a slick salesman who has the ability to sweet talk his way into powerful positions and use them as platforms to enrich himself and his cronies then spend the rest of his tenure fending off criticism that he is running the company into the ground. Of course, the fact that he is running the company into the ground seems to get lost in the furore of bullshit and propaganda spun by Telstra's PR department. Those that complain are labeled as lunatics and bad pennies and just to make sure Telstra resorts to advertising laden with patriotism that tugs at the "Aussie Heartstring". You know, this process sounds awfully familiar somehow... Can you name another group or party that employs the same tactics? You gotta give Trujilo his due though. As a con-man he deserves a spot in the hall of fame if one does exist for such scoundrels as he." Michael Domaradzki

12 September 2007 He tried a 3G phone and got no coverage
"For those having issues with with 3G Phones. My brother in law lost his CDMA phone and when he replaced it Telsta refused to reissue a CDMA sim under his previous contract and wanted him to buy a CDMA phone outright from them, and pay the top call rates. They insisted 3G was the way he had to go. So he tried a 3G phone and got no coverage.

So he contacted the Telecommunications Ombudsman who instructed Telstra to reconnect his CDMA phone under his old plan, as the 3G network was not providing the same level of service as his CDMA. So for those who still want there CDMA try this, if you have issues."  Paul Humphries

12 September 2007  Telstra have the gear in the exchanges its just for fear of competition they are not enabling it
"Telstra caught out, again. A friend of mine lives in a small regional township north of Perth. He recently assisted a neighbor in connecting a broadband connection (ADSL2+) with Telstra. Note: Being regional Telstra has not enabled broadband in the area as there is no competition. So he applied the next day with Telstra to be connected to only be advised the exchange currently did not support broadband. When he advised the neighbor had been set up, they finally agreed yes they had but that was a mistake. The Telecommunications Ombudsman was contacted and Telstra have been instructed provide a report to them. So this just goes to prove Telstra have the gear in the exchanges its just for fear of competition they are not enabling it." Paul

12 September 2007  I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole again. We have even terminated out landline service
"I had been a loyal customer of Telstra for 10 years. I had noticed that my mobile bills were ever increasing even though I had done all the Telstra suggestions including putting all our phones on one bill. I decided that I would even upgrade my mobile plan to a more expensive one to get better rates and a better phone. I went to 5 seperate Telstra shops with my requirements. Not a single person in these shops showed any enthusiasm let alone be helpfull. I told them that I would change carriers if they could not meet my needs and the response I got in one shop was "go ahead". So I did. I switched to Vodaphone who were not only polite and very helpfull but actually knew what they were talking about when it came to phones. This is when the fun started. Telstra took 4 days to transfer my number making it more and more difficult by the day. Then came the hard sell. "Why are you leaving us, what can we do to keep you" etc etc. They even wanted me to go back to Vodaphone, cancel my contract, return the phone and then make my way to a Telstra shop and go through the same rubbish again. All in all Telstra have shown themselves to be expensive, non caring, very unhelpfull and belligerent when I decided to change to a better service. For me I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole again. We have even terminated out landline service with them."  Lazaros Kastanis

10 September 2007  Sorry Telstra we dont trust you anymore
"EYRE PENINSULAR SOUTH AUSTRALIA. I found that the quality of the CDMA seemed to be toned down in our area. Drop outs started to occur voice messaes received a day later. I now have Next G the reception is no where as good as CDMA. Places I use to go fishing now dont have coverage. Farmers are telling me some padocks they dont have coverage anymore. Some of them have been able to get telstra to reactivate their old CDMA phones. When I upgraded to Next G I gave my daughter my old CDMA phone to which she had brought a CDMA starter kit.

Telstra would not allow her to activate my old phone and said the starter kit didnt register on their computers anymore. Go and buy a Next G phone she was told. Is this blackmail? Sorry Telstra we dont trust you anymore."  Tim Lindner

06 September 2007  I was told by one consultant that they are actually diminishing parts of the CDMA signal to make way for the NextG
"I used to work for Telstra National Customer Realtionship Team (NCRT) which was basically the complaints department.

I was mainly handling coverage issues for the NextG network and boy was some of that shocking. I was told by one consultant in faults that they are actually diminishing parts of the CDMA signal to make way for the NextG. Now if im not correct, wouldnt that be against the law? Ahh thats telstra for yah I guess... I seriously handled atl east 20-30 complaints PER DAY regarding that. So im with you guys 100%!" Name withheld

6 September 2007 The Next G network is nowhere near as good as they are leading people to believe
"The company I work for has just kitted us out with tablet PS's and Next G "Turbo Cards" so we can work online out in the field. After using the card for about a week, it was immediately apparent that the Next G network is nowhere near as good as they are leading people to believe. I regularly lose signal while sitting at my dining room table in the suburbs (less than 6 km from the Perth CBD)."  Carlo Tassone

4 September 2007 His supervisor in Australia was unable to give me one good reason (I asked for five) why I should continue to give Telstra my business.
"Is it any wonder enlightened individuals are ditching Telstra's extortionate landline charges for mobile call cap setups? 85 % of my Telstra landline bill is taken up by "line rental"! Oh, and by the way TWICE in three months I've had my $49 call cap disconnected by what Telstra euphemistically call "a technical error" (otherwise known in the trade as bungling incompetence). As setting up the bank details for the automatic funds transfer involves no small amount of dicking about, it tends to piss me off more than a little when A) I can't use what I've paid for, B) I get to speak to an Indian call centre operator who couldn't give a rat's, and C) when 20 minutes (on hold) later his supervisor in Australia was unable to give me one good reason (I asked for five) why I should continue to give Telstra my business, and he could'nt even give me one! These clowns couldn't organise a fart in a curry eating contest." Dave Edmunds

4 September 2007  I've been a loyal Telstra customer since the early 1970's but I'm beginning to waver!!!!!
"I live in an area that has never received mobile coverage. Years ago, in my plight to get coverage I purchased a CDMA but to no avail. Last year I was told that 3G was coming to our area so I purchased another phone only to discover later that Telstra had changed its mind and the coverage didn't extend as far as our area. Then this year Next G was advertised, so again I took advantage of another Telstra deal to try and get mobile reception. I ended up with two phones, one 3G and one Next G, both under contract, and still no mobile coverage. I recently discovered, only by chance, that Telstra had done an upgrade in my area so I put my phones to the test. My Next G phone gave me full coverage but not the 3G. Hooray!!!!!

But, when I contacted Telstra to see if I could combine my contracts under the Next G number, I was told that I would have to pay a sum of nearly $300 to break the contract. What happened to my free phone with the deal??? Why would Telstra want to be a little compassionate about my situation, as they are making $30 a month by me having my 3G phone? I can't use it so it's pure profit for them. I've been a loyal Telstra customer since the early 1970's but I'm beginning to waver!!!!!" Ann Vains

4 September 2007  Australia really needs to know about these situations and that Telstra really isn't "looking after us.
"Thank God that people such as yourselves are getting a word out about the problems Telstra is creating for both consumers and competitiors alike. I work in a phone company as well as use Telstra products, unfortunately I got my job in the company after I signed a contract with Telstra. Australia really needs to know about these situations and that Telstra really isn't "looking after us" as the majority of Australia seems to believe. I applaude your efforts, well done and continue the good work in the future!" Jessica

1 September 2007  Telstra is proven to be telling lies again in its submission in response to the G9 plan
"Telstra is proven to be telling lies again in its submission in response to the G9 plan. I wrote two posts recapping just the first few pages of the large paper waste, only to discover that there is little truth in any of those pages!
http://www.tocpcs.com/new-news-telstra-dislikes-g9-proposal/
http://www.tocpcs.com/new-news-telstra-dislikes-g9-proposal-pt-2/" Jason Torrento

25 August 2007  Since being forced into changing phones from CDMA to NextG the service is bloody well useless
"Since being forced into changing phones from CDMA to NextG the service is bloody well useless, my old CDMA works better than the new next G ever has. When are we in the country going to get a half deacent service Telstra? And as for their broardband,HUH,what a bloody joke, and the rest of them are no better.It seems to me that we in the rural areas have been paying through the nose for ever to support those in the cities. Whern are we in the bush going to get a fair go Telstra? Probably never........."  K. Loudon

24 August 2007  I have discovered that CDMA reception in previously good areas is now non--existent.
"I am getting texts from Telstra saying i must change to NextG now. Went to Telstra shop and told them of loss of reception by acquaintances and was told the phones in the early days were not set up correctly! I was then told that a certain brand of NextG phones they sold had very poor reception and should be avoided - but they are still selling them on a $30 plan. I also had been getting regular calls saying my local exchange ahd been updated for high speed broadband. When I said that was rubbish they hung up and have not called recently. The web page says I can only get low speed broadband. And for those of you who are wondering - if you are old enough to remember the close down of the 018 analogue, you will remember that due to no repairs being down, the system became unusable long before the official closing date. I have discovered that CDMA reception in previously good areas is now non--existent. Same old atory again."  John Blindell

23 August 2007  I was recently 'forced' to upgrade my phone line connection monthly rental fee
"Morgan Ellison wrote: "Well done T4. A great initiative. I was recently 'forced' to upgrade my phone line connection monthly rental fee from the budget to standard because Telstra decided they would no longer support broadband on the budget scheme. Not because of any technical reason, but just well because they could. Telstra are a disgrace and are stifling the broadband market from moving forward."

Is this official? They tried this on my daughter when she got broadband, but when she called from another number, they reneged and let he go for the cheaper line rental."  Richard Ure

Morgan Ellison answered: "I thought it was strange too. This is the policy I was referring to; HomeLine Budget customers agree not to acquire services from other carriage service providers by dialing their access override code and must not acquire a broadband service from another service provider which is provided using line sharing technology. Rort.”  Morgan Ellingham 

23 August 2007  Nothing would make me more happy for a few ISPs to join forces with power companies and bring Broadband over Power Lines to Australia
"Nothing would make me more happy for a few ISPs to join forces with power companies and bring Broadband over Power Lines to Australia..... A big ask but not an impossible one. If that happened and I was in control of the government I would give them the monopoly, they would deserve it." Joseph Glanville

22 August 2007  Ten months ago I changed my mobile from CDMA to the NextG network and have being unhappy with its performance
"Ten months ago I changed my mobile from CDMA to the NextG network and have being unhappy with its performance. Often when the Next G has lost reception our remaining mobile that is still on the CDMA network held in the other hand still has enough signal to maintain a voice call. The Next G signal has a poor ability to penetrate the lower lying areas often when closer to the local Next G antenna the signal is lost or only enough to send/receive text messages until I move further away from the antenna and up a slight rise. Indoors I can only text using our CDMA phone as the Next G phone has lost signal. The ability of the Next G signal to penetrate obstacles(cavity walls) is also poor.

Voice mail messages are always slower on the Next G network with the worst case bieing receving a message 5 hours after it was left when the phone was stationary with signal at the time." Andrew Thomas

21 August 2007  I am disgusted by Telstra and anything and everything that they do
"I am disgusted by Telstra and anything and everything that they do. My grandparents recently got NextG phones with Telstra branding, and they are terrible! Basic fatures, such as the ability to lock they keypad, are not present. Telstra's excuse? "People lock their keypads and are unable to unlock them again." In today's Adelaide Advertiser, Optus had an ad in saying that Telstra tried to sue them for their "It's All Clear in Black and White" ad campaign, and lost. Well Done, Optus. It's good to see that someone is giving Telstra a run for their money." Douglas Carrison

20 August 2007  It's amazing how Telstra will go to all lengths possible to hide facts.
"It's amazing how Telstra will go to all lengths possible to hide facts. I of course refer to the recent removal of the article about LongLine ADSL from their website, and the silence surrounding it.

I think its highly misleading of them to state that NextG is the only option for many as well, and claiming further that the coverage is right across Australia, when in reality, it's not there yet at all. They really need to start fessing up to shareholders also, afterall, they've spent shareholder funds on ADSL2+ and Long Line ADSL, and those technologies they've invested in are just sitting idle, wasting away with technology aging. The better thing to do would be at least releasing retail offers to the maximum potential. No point buying a Ferrari if you are only going to drive it to work and back at 50kM/hr."  Jason Torrento

19 August 2007 Customers concerns are just simply not considered
"Why did Telstra bring in an american associated with bad service to country areas to run Telstra for any other reason than profits? It seems that profits are all it cares about, the customers concerns are just simply not considered."  Dennis Schmidt

16 August 2007 Well done T4. A great initiative.  
"Well done T4. A great initiative.  I was recently 'forced' to upgrade my phone line connection monthly rental fee from the budget to standard because Telstra decided they would no longer support broadband on the budget scheme. Not because of any technical reason, but just well. because they could. Telstra are a disgrace and are stifling the broadband market from moving forward."  Morgan Ellingham

15 Ausust 2007  I want to know when Telstra's executives will grow some business sense
"I want to know when Telstra's executives will grow some business sense: Wholesaling something vs not selling it at all... Which one do you think makes more money? And what are they thinking when they call them competitors? Are they not "wholesale customers"" Treating customers (especially your biggest ones) as the enemy is BAD. You lose them eventually."  Tim Bates

15 August 2007  We left Telstra for Optus many years ago and have never looked back. 
"We left Telstra for Optus many years ago and have never looked back. Years of reliable, affordable internet, telephony and television. I really hope that the G9 will get the tender to build the FTTN network ASAP as Telstra's proposal is obscene. My query is this: I am fully supportive of FTTN, however I want FTTH. I uderstand that FTTN can & will eventually be expanded to FTTH, but when you are laying out the new FTTN network, can you give us (the customer) the option to have a fibre run directly into our homes even if we have to incur the costs? I certainly would not mind considering it would future-proof me for the forseeable future. I think this would be a very good idea, but as I am no expert it may not work in the real world, sort of like Telstra NextG."  Steve Etherington

15 August 2007  I encourage all people to vote with their feet, and tell Telstra to go jump
"Telstra are a bunch of thieving dogs, they have the monoply on mobile services in regional areas, they restrict  competitors by out landish line rentals and to call Midland from Padbury, approx 20 km is an STD call. I encourage all people to vote with their feet, and tell Telstra to go jump."  Corey

14 August 2007 The key is having the political nerve to allow a true free market economy
"The Telstra fiasco has many similarities with the old British Telecom. Privitisation highlighted the shortcomings, they 'lost' substantial business from opening the market up to competition, some good, some not so good. The results 20 years on are a smaller leaner Telco that has lost its monopoly, found itself a niche business market where it has to perform or die. The key is having the political nerve to allow a true free market economy, and a regulator that has vision, sees the bigger picturer and doesn't stand for fraudulent whinging when the competition provide a better more cost effective service."David Morris

14 August 2007  NextG's prices are a joke 
"I planned as much as i could to have a smooth transition from one house to my brand new one, the area is ADSL2+ ready i thought every thing was fine connected the land line at a $300 expense that only started recently till now been free only to find out that ADSL2 isnt in fact available because im on a rim and ADSL is unavailable as not ports, area has no cable run, NextG's prices are a joke and satellite will not suit my needs even my dial up doesnt stay connected and bigger companies who want to expand the infrastructure cant get access to the hardware because telstra doesn't want to lose control of their almost-monopolly on ADSL. 4.5 months of applying which several different companies and still no net, go Telsta.......to hell." Ryan Langhan

14 August 2007  Telstra should rename itself to Hellstra 
"Telstra should rename itself to Hellstra because it is forever complaining like hell about the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) preventing it from charging monopolistic and predatory prices to all consumers. I will avoid using all Telstra services as they are the most expensive and provide poor value for money." Albert Mah

13 August 2007  Telstra are only looking after their shareholders
"Telstra are only looking after their shareholders. Bigpond is complete and utter rip-off. 12 gigs capped - Not much quota outside of Bigponds pathetic little intranet. It's like having a ferrari with only 2 meters of road to drive it on. 25 and 60 gig plans - WAY overpriced and then to pay $150 a gig if you go over. HARDLY value for money. What's Bigpond's answer to this=3D3F Duh, lets give them more speed, so they can download our unmentered crap faster. With Bigpond, there is no freedom on the net. Small quota's and being charged for uploads as well... I guess there is not much you can do. Our only weapon against them, is to inform everyone - Don't sign up with Telstra or Bigpond for ANYTHING! They dont deserve the business. I've already saved a few "Mums and Dads" by showing them that there is far better deals out there as well as saving them from shady Bigpond salesmen on a few occasions."Justin

13 August 2007  How many years has Tel$tra been holding back higher speeds on it's cable network hmmm....maybe 10yrs?
"The Marketing/ PR for BigPuddle only highlight the kind of person Tel$tra is after. Those that are ignorant of its ISP competitors & far better offerings! So how many years has Tel$tra been holding back higher speeds on it's cable network hmmm....maybe 10yrs ?

Why is it that only under pressure in 2007, when they could have done this so many years before. Simple answer - competition! Welcome to the real world Tel$tra & Sol !!" Jason Bright

13 August 2007  Is Telstra reducing CDMA coverage or turning down the reception?
"Our in-house reception has dropped, and I drop calls at work now. Is this to suck us into Next G? Next G still does not work at the Nerriga Pub but my good old CDMA still does." Daniel Brkic

13 August 2007 I spent 1hr 43 minutes on the phone to telstra last Thursday trying to sort out a bill  
"I spent 1hr 43 minutes on the phone to telstra last Thursday trying to sort out a bill. At least I know that it is unlikely to happen again as the Ballarat customer service centre is retrenching its staff. With nobody to answer complaints and enquiries, Telstra's complaint statistics will improve radically. I am being a bit unfair as I understand that some of the retrenched employees are being replaced by a local contractor with casuals on AWA." Mark Jones

13 August 2007  I hate it how Telstra/Bigpond have a stranglehold on the afl.com.au website
"I hate it how Telstra/Bigpond have a stranglehold on the afl.com.au website. It means they can control who can view what content on the site, ie. if you are not with Bigpond, you do NOT get to see any video." Scott Pearce

13 August 2007 I am no friend of Telstra, and it staggers me the appalling crap they put out to the media
"I loathe the company "Telstra". I will never purchase any further products from them. I advise my friends to seek other telecommunications requirements away from Telstra offerings. The company persona traits Telstra has presented to my eyes in the 8 years I have resided in Australia is: Bullying, Aggressive, Overcharging, Bad Employee Treatment, Inefficient, Incompetent, Insensitive. I am no friend of Telstra, and it staggers me the appalling crap they put out to the media."  Shayne Doyle

13 August 2007  I've been complaining about the poor BroadBand service we have to put up with in Australia, for over 10 years
"I've been complaining about the poor BroadBand service we have to put up with in Australia, for over 10 years. Nothing has changed and both Telstra and the Howard government are to blame, for the scandalous behaviour and performance. Successive Ministers in charge of the Communications portfolio have failed miserably to either understand the problem or grasp the technology. Now we must wait even longer until this government is tossed out, before we will have any chance of seeing an improvement. Senator Coonan doesn't have a clue or else her hands are so tied by John Howard, she is unable to address the problem in any reasonable time frame. It's a sad indictment of this government and the Ministers who have been given the responsibility to fix the problem." Keith Styles

10 August 2007 We cannot receive Broadband living only 20kms from a capital city.
"We cannot receive Broadband living only 20kms from a capital city.  Telstra refuses to fix the split (tag) line on our street. This prevents any competitors as well."  Jack Hamm

10 August 2007 I am sick of telstra complaining
"I am sick of telstra complaining about how they shouldn't have to build this brand new network just to let the competitiors piggy back onto there cables, well I would just like to say that I am willing to pay for my own cable from my house to my local exchange or sub exchange, and then nobody owns that cable but ME, and if thats the case well I should be able to let anyone connect to that cable, so I think that we should put it to the people to have the ability to buy there phone line back from telstra so the people are the ones that own the cable and not telstra, then it is your decision who you connect the other end of the cable to, then all that needs to be done is each company puts there equipment into a shared exchange and your cable gets plugged into who ever you choose."

4 August 2007 If I never deal with them [Telstra] again it will be too soon.
"Telstra have consistently gone out of its way to be the "one and only" carrier in australia even way back in the days of when dialup was virtually the only option. They used their size to squash any competition there were some companies that used Telstras network and offered services but telstra eventually raised their prices enough that they could no longer offer a competitive service all in the name of offering us their valued customers better deals. When broadband 1st became available I used their services but it was a long time coming to where I was located and really only available because I had foxtel installed, telstra didnt want or need to install its own fibre to a dwelling. God forbid that they should spend any of their profits on little things like future earnings or even service. When I moved house I changed ISP and if I never deal with them again it will be too soon."

 4 August 2007 Telstra is Hamstringing the Broadband service.
"Telstra is hamstringing the broadband service. The service is retricted only by the major manufacturers of gear such as Cisco. No "real" engineering is done inhouse nowadays. Telstra's attitude and actions should be condemmed for what it is: monopoly and greed. Written by an ex Communications/Electronics Engineer." Graham Buchan

3 August 2007 CDMA network is alot better than the new Next G.
"Telstra is the only one that offers wireless broadband. I live in WA and travel alot yet the old CDMA network is alot better than the new Next G that Telstra offers for wireless and mobile yet they tell me it is my equipment or the soft ware I have is old. I only got it 1 month ago through the wrong info from a Telstra shop."  J Bendtsen

3 August 2007  They [Telstra] are afraid that if they do not lock in a better deal for themselves before the sell off they will be vulnerable in a free market due to their massive overheads and excessive executive bonuses.
"I believe the problems associated with Telstra stalling to invest in the new broadband technology purly stem from the fact that with the Federal Governments decision to sell off the remainder of Telstra there is a major push for the share price to rise. Although you could imagine a decision to invest would lead to an increase in the share price, Telstra are using this as a leverage to gain more control of the Telecomunications industry and a greater and more profitable equity in the market place before the final sell off. They (Telstra) are afraid that if they do not lock in a better deal for themselves before the sell off they will be vulnerable in a free market due to their massive overheads and excessive executive bonuses."  Michael Armstrong

19 July 2007 I believe that telstras current boss has no consumer ethics
"I believe that Telstra's current boss has no consumer ethics which is hurting them, I want a fibre roll out to happen but not at any expense." Timothy Notley

18 July 2007 I have for years now tried to avoid using anything associated with Telstra
"I have for years now tried to avoid using anything associated with Telstra, as I am sick of the lack of service, the length of time it actually takes to speak to an operator and so on. How can other ISP providers stay in business when they offer there services at nearly the price of Telstra and are paying the same or more to Telstra then we would. It just says how much profit Telstra are making. The best solution is to separate the backbone infrastructure out to be government or privately owned. (The G9 plan calls for a company to be set up to manage the FTTN network.) That way all providers can compete on an equal basis, not the Telstra way, of we have the infrastructure but we will only enable it when someone competes against us like they did with ADSL 2+.That way the consumer ends up paying twice for the infrastructure as it is installed by Telstra but not enabled, then a company like IINet install there DSLAM?s and enable them so they can service there customers with the best, so promptly Telstra enable there equipment to counteract IINet?s investment.In new subdivisions Telstra is still installing copper cable and doing Pair Gain, what?s the go with this; years ago foxtel and someone paired up and installed fibre to households ready for the internet super highway as they called it then. So whilst Telstra is installing copper other companies are installing there own fibre networks, to the household in new subdivisions, however this can only be used, if you use that provider.

Would it not be better if all new subdivisions where wired as FTTN or as Fibre to the household, once by the provider of the infrastructure, not in two or three ways by each of the parties. That way there is only one infrastructure cost. Maybe the government or the Australian Communications Authority should legislate a higher minimum standard of infrastructure for new developments.So T4 and G9 go for it and show Telstra how to do the Job properly, and if they stop fighting competition and the ACCC in court and start providing a decent service they may make some money." Paul Humphries

10 July 2007 Sick of Telstra not upgrading to provide ADSL coverage
"Sick of Telstra not upgrading to provide ADSL coverage. Just moved house (800 metres from old DSL active proerty) but cut off due to no ports being available. We are off a RIM that provides 400 phones but just 1 CMUX of 40 ports. Demand is reasonable by all accounts but not enough for Telstra. A further 800 metres along and friends moved into new area of estate only to find pair gain preventing their connection. So much for broadband access." Susan Mayer

7 July 2007 Consumers should avoid dealing with this company where ever possible
"All I can say is that after seeing recent coverage on 4 corners regarding the treatment and pressure that Telstra Staff are placed under to achieve sales and call centre targets; consumers should avoid dealing with this company where ever possible. (I have my line rental with TELSTRA because I have no other choice, all my other telecommunications products are with other companies ie: Optus and Internode. The 4 Corners documentary made it very clear that profits came before welfare or care of staff at any cost. My own view is that with the American style management team that is in place at Telstra (and having worked for a large USA company in Australia a few years back, with a USA style of management - a company I might add no longer operates in Australia ) it should only be a few years before Telstra finds itself out of business. If they can't make sure that there staff are number one, they'll be stuffed. Telstra have ripped consumers of for years, provided poor and overpriced products, all I can say is BRING ON THE COMPETITION!!!!! NOW!!!!!" Jillian

5 July 2007 I am sick and tired of Telstra's whinging
"I am sick and tired of Telstra's whinging, and fully agree with T4. I've had my landline phone with Telstra for many years, and because my usage is very small, I couldn't be bothered changing, but I've finally voiced my disgust with Telstra by changing to another carrier. I changed my mobile to another carrier years ago, because I was fed up with Telstra's poor customer service and reactive and expensive pricing, and have been delighted with the service and costs of the other carrier." Peter Grose 

3 July 2007 I applaud everything you are doing
"I find it extremely frustrating just like everyone else I suppose. I was a Telstra customer for a few years, 2 year contract with prices twice as high as normal internet providers and download limits half, if not a third of everyone else's. What a ripoff, and for what reason Telstra control over everything needs to be stopped. I applaud everything you are doing." Ryan

3 July 2007 I think Telstra has done more to hold back technology in Au than any organisation that I can think of
"Yes, I remember when Telstra was called the Postmaster Generals Dept, PMG, and they threatened to prosecute teenagers using a push button torch to send morse code to each other across the street. I think they did actually prosecute parents of kids who ran a bit of wire around the side fence and set up a phone using a couple of ex-army earphones. They also refused to allow any company to set up a 2 base station radio system with all the cars on they same channel in case "the base stations talked to each other" thus depriving the PMG of a local call phone. At one stage I was involved with a project to connect a "computer" to the telegraph (telex) system and one of their engineers said that "it will be over my dead body that anyone will puts more than 600 baud over the switched network". Fortunately that problem has passed. The same attitude continued with modems. Overseas you could do 1200 Bps but not in Au, until fax's arrived then they were forced to.

ISDN could have worked well in the period where they refused to recognise the existance of ADSL, but no, it's too hard and we can't get a big enough return this year. Probably the "big pond" was full too. I think Telstra has done more to hold back technology in Au than any organisation that I can think of other than our brainless government who now claim that it's up the these private companys to find a solution, because th