I have an LG TU500 Next G phone too, & as far as I'm concerned it is a heap of s**t. I live about 6km from the nearest tower, & the useless thing only works inside the house when it feels like it. I am constantly missing calls, & have spent more money ringing the Telstra 101 message bank in the few months I have had it than in all the years I had my CDMA phone.
There have even been times when I have had it on the seat beside me while driving out to the airport, someone has been trying to call me & the stupid thing hasn't rang. My CDMA one had an external antenna, the Next G one doesn't. I would dearly love to tell Telstra where to shove it!
DF.