Filed under: iPhone
iPhone looking to head Down Under
File this under 'expected news' perhaps, but MarketWatch reports that Australian mobile-provider Telstra is testing the iPhone and looking to bring it to the country sometime next year. Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo has been quoted as saying "Apple would have to produce an iPhone compatible with Telstra's Next G network, which operates at 850 megaHertz frequency." Even though no decision has been made, I'm sure that Australian readers will be pleased to hear that in addition to retail stores, Apple is planning to ramp up their presence in Oz further.
Via MacWorld UK
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Beau said 10:52AM on 10-31-2007
haha, great news. looks like we'll be able to use it out here in the 'outback' (or Middle of nowhere as I call it) :-)
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yinyang said 10:53AM on 10-31-2007
I won't be pleased if Telstra get the iPhone - arrogant company, exorbitant prices.
I'd rather wait for a 3G version and get it unlocked!
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from_oz said 10:57AM on 10-31-2007
pretty sure that telstra is shutting down its CDMA network in Jan '08, as its no longer possible to buy a CDMA phone in Oz...
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Simon said 11:07AM on 10-31-2007
Hmmm...yes...Telstra CEO has already hinted that Telstra would not do a revenue sharing deal with Apple. I actually think that Optus would be a more likely partner. As they would do a revenue sharing deal.
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Simon said 11:08AM on 10-31-2007
Link didn't work so adding it here http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,22676711-462,00.html
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Eric Litman said 11:40AM on 10-31-2007
Telstra's current network is GSM, and their 3G implementation - UMTS - uses W-CDMA for spectrum allocation and management. Calling it 'CDMA' is something of a misnomer, as it implies incompatibility with GSM networks.
Assuming Apple's going the GSM 3G route anyway, this really isn't a deviation from their current plans.
You might want to update the article to prevent confusion.
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Jase said 10:41AM on 11-02-2007
Yer, I'm currently a Telstra NextG user (LG TU500 = US CU500) -for my farm -connecting to the outside world. NextG is a Telstra brand name here in Oz for HSDPA / HSUPA (7.2 Mbs now; some places up to 14Mbs soon), not CDMA. Already keeping up or ahead of AT&T's recent HSDPA/HSUPA US upgrade. See http://nextg.com.au/ . Gosh sounding almost like an Ad - Telstra, I hope you'll send me a cheque in the mail for this. Gladly written on an iPod touch - Apple, a cheque pls. Oh and it was the Sydney Daily Telegraph newspaper that originally ran this story.
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Ang said 12:44PM on 10-31-2007
Didn't Telstra say that Apple should stick to selling computers and leave the mobile phone business to the big boys who know what they are doing.
If Apple goes with Telstra they've lost me, Telstra is run like a bureaucracy, they never make mistakes and they're never wrong, EVER!
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Ang said 12:46PM on 10-31-2007
Didn't Telstra say that Apple should stick to selling computers and leave the mobile phone business to the big boys who know what they are doing.
If Apple goes with Telstra they've lost me, Telstra is run like a bureaucracy, they never make mistakes and they're never wrong, EVER!
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Andrew Harrison said 2:05PM on 10-31-2007
i won't be using an iPhone on Telstra. Not now way, not no how. And I'm already a Telstra mobile customer.
Sick of the being ripped off on phone calls and sms costs in order to subsidise the costs of a bunch of useless features i'll never use.
Sorry, Telstra, you lost my confidence a long time ago.
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Mat said 4:28PM on 10-31-2007
Currently using my iPhone on Telstra and the EDGE is slow but I guess usable. Looking forward to getting Visual Voicemail though. :)
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luke said 6:05PM on 10-31-2007
Telstra really doesn't have a good reputation in Australia. I'm craving an iPhone like you wouldn't believe, but if it had to be with Telstra, you can absolutely forget about it.
Why not someone like vodafone or virgin or optus? Hasn't vodafone been working with Apple on this before in Europe?
Telstra really is no good.
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LM said 6:13PM on 10-31-2007
Tel$tra may have a good service, but it's better for their bottom line than anything else. I hope Apple realises that Telstra won't come to the party in the way that Apple usually demands and FoneZone then wonders why they bought NextByte.
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Unsuitable to mention. said 6:11PM on 10-31-2007
If Apple choose Telstra they will struggle to sell them locked here, as Telstra is only for people too lazy to find better deals across the street at say Vodafone. I hacked v. 1.0.2 on iPhone, cancelled 12 months left on contract with "3" (Hutchison Telecom) to swith to Vodafone just so I could use this. Worth EVERY cent I spent. But there is no way I would go to Telstra.
If Vodafone don't get this they are stupid, and Optus has really become un-noticeable in the market now.
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Cee said 7:01PM on 10-31-2007
no no no!! Give it to Vodafone.
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admaurice said 7:15PM on 10-31-2007
Obviously, if they go with Telstra, it'll be about getting the largest subscriber base not the best price. They've gotta hit that 10,000,000 by the end of next year and to do that they need the numbers not just the money.
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Jake said 8:56PM on 10-31-2007
If Apple wants to release the current GSM/EDGE version here they'll HAVE to use Telstra. They are the only provider with EDGE (Everyone else, Telstra included has moved onto 3G already). They also have the widest coverage (everyone roams on Telstra when they can't get their own carriers signal) and largest user base.
I'm currently with Telstra, their EDGE data is ridiculously expensive (as is all data in Australia) but otherwise it's just another phone company and I've had no worse or better experience with anyone else.
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Peter said 8:57PM on 10-31-2007
Telstra SUX bigtime.
But look at the size of telstra. Apple goes for Telco's with a big customer base.
I would think Apple would be better off with a Telco that is going foward not backwards. But who ? OPTUS ? IINET ? AAPT ? Virgin ? Vodafone ?
I'm going to buy 2 i-Phones when we get them in Australia, but it's going to hurt like hell to go back to the evil parasite Telstra.
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Eugene said 9:34PM on 10-31-2007
Great Phone. Terrible Carrier.
Too bad its not with Vodafone :(
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VanillaSpice said 2:03AM on 11-01-2007
Great news for us Aussies! I must disagree with the Telstra-bashing, I'm sure Vodaphone and Optus are okay for those living in cities, but the rest of us who live in regional centres, or travel through them, know only too well how limited Vodaphone's and even Optus' networks are.
Many Australians have swallowed whole the Optus propaganda about how Telstra is evil and Optus are the white shining knights of competition, but an examination of the past and current telecommunications industry, and an evaluation of pricing plans, demonstrates clearly that anyone can get a 'good deal' from any of the major carriers, it isn't hard. If you're complaining that you're paying too much, I'm sorry, but it is your own fault, do some research and stop believing everything Optus tells you.
Yeah, Telstra are a money-grubbing company, but no more than Optus and Vodaphone. I've heard horror stories about price and service for all of them, it is most certainly not limited only to Telstra.
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