Mobile Phone Coverage Maps - what a joke!

[The Internet Bloke]

This may save you a day or so if you are thinking of changing your mobile phone provider.

I recently had a couple of Telstra contracts expire, and was tempted by the Optus iPhone offers which had lots of Talk time and SMS.

I have full coverage with NextG, and was assured by the Optus dealer (and the coverage maps) that I would get excellent coverage where I live - approx. 5km from the centre of Hobart.

So I signed up, brought home my shiny new toy like a kid at Christmas, and was very disappointed to find that there was no service.

I then contacted the dealer, and Optus call centre trying to tell them this, but they wouldn't believe me. They seemed to think I had just changed my mind.

Anyway - after spending about 4 hours doing the tests they wanted, downloading 250mb of software and restoring the phone, and multiple more calls to Optus, they finally admitted that:
- There was a known problem in my area.
- It would be fixed.
- In the future sometime.

So I was allowed to cancel the contract.

I'm inclined to send them a bill for the time taken to jumping through their hoops to prove a problem that they already knew about.

I then tried Vodafone - but this time bought a $2 sim card first to check their signal. Zilch - just like Optus. (Vodafone's coverage map also showed good coverage at my home)

So if you're thinking of changing mobile providers - make sure you check that you can get a signal in the places you need to use the phone. Don't rely on the dealer, or the coverage maps.

Cheers, Eric G.

[BB]

Eric -

I hear your frustration and pain. But you're not alone!

I've had this problem many times also. Because I travel a fair bit with my business, it's imperative that I have service coverage everywhere. And I've learned - just as you have - that what 'they' say and what actually happens are two different things.

And - even though their call centres might be in Hobart - that doesn't guarantee that there is service coverage in Tasmania!

I was able to walk away from a Vodaphone contract last year and am about to move on from Optus. The ombudsman assisted with Vodaphone. My optus contract is only on a month to month basis.

I hate the way we're treated by Telstra but because they dominate the service coverage we're forced to return to them.

I can't wait for the day when the service coverage is on an equal footing for all telco's. Then - we can choose a phone provider based on customer service! And won't that be interesting!

Cheers,

B.B.

[goodwisj]

Originally Posted by B.B.

Eric -

I hear your frustration and pain. But you're not alone!

I've had this problem many times also. Because I travel a fair bit with my business, it's imperative that I have service coverage everywhere. And I've learned - just as you have - that what 'they' say and what actually happens are two different things.

...

I hate the way we're treated by Telstra but because they dominate the service coverage we're forced to return to them.

I can't wait for the day when the service coverage is on an equal footing for all telco's. Then - we can choose a phone provider based on customer service! And won't that be interesting!

Cheers,

B.B.

Hi B.B.

I hear your frustration too....

The trouble is that it's a two way radio and the coverage maps are not an exact science, they are estimates and they're calculated based on a whole host of variables. Basically, for some networks, if there is more than 40 good sample of driven coverage testing in a square kilometer then that is considered to be coverage. But the samples are taken every 25 metres or so... so gaps in the middle aren't found...

Hills, trees, powerlines, buildings all conspire to reduce the radio waves. Reception from a big tower (the call to you) is strong but your transmission back to the tower is weak (in comparison) so there is an uplink:downlink comparison to be made.

Then we put them in our cars in bags, pockets or cases on our belts... Guess what! Cars act as a shield between them - the Faraday Cage effect of a vehicle can reduce the transmission (the uplink) by up to 60% of its power....
The good old days of having a car kit with an external antenna seem to be mostly gone (only a few manufacturers now regularly support this). With the car kit and the right antenna you can nearly quadruple the effective power output rather than more than halving it...

So, yes, it would be good to not have the apparent commercial stranglehold that Telstra have (however I understand that they are forced to keep their prices high by ACCC) - however even Telstra can't be held responsible for the physics of radio - they've overcome a lot of it with their investment in infrastructure... the other players are catching up - but slowly...

It's easier in the UK where you have 3 times the Australian population living in a landmass about the size of Victoria.... population density and the geography are bit kinder.... It's easier for Telco's to be successful there.

One of the best things that the consumer (that'd be us) can do is to find a handset that supports external antennae - (Nokia are poss one of the best) and do the research into the true capacity that the provider has...

Cheers

Steve