I hate Telstra. There are many reasons. If there was any alternative, I'd take it. But once you're outside the capital cities they are the only game in town.
Initially, Next G was not nearly as good as the old CDMA, but now its better. We have a number of LG phones which take external aerials. Magnetic based aerials on a car give outstanding range. My first smartphone was a Palm, and I kept an LG phone for use in remote places and in the aircraft. The iphone is nearly as good as the LG phones with aerials and I'm no longer bothering to take a second phone.