CDMA Phones being replaced by Next G
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: East of Greenwich
Posts: 91
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
CDMA Phones being replaced by Next G
We pilots who fly to Woop-Woop know that:
CDMA phones usually work from the air
GSM phones usually dont work from the air.
In January 2008, CDMA will get the chop on the grounds that Next G will be equal to or better than CDMA in the bush.
Next G has been around for a few months now.
I'd like to hear from any pilots who have made the switch from CDMA to Next G as to how it works from the air.
No theory - actual experience please.
HP
CDMA phones usually work from the air
GSM phones usually dont work from the air.
In January 2008, CDMA will get the chop on the grounds that Next G will be equal to or better than CDMA in the bush.
Next G has been around for a few months now.
I'd like to hear from any pilots who have made the switch from CDMA to Next G as to how it works from the air.
No theory - actual experience please.
HP
Not as good as the old CDMA network for use in the air. Overall coverage is mostly for the better (as in extra places you can get Next G, ie. a few of the mine sites around NW QLD), however I don't think it's got the range that CDMA has.
I have been able to make phone calls in the aircraft on my Next G phone, however because it's still basically a digital signal, you have to be close to the tower. Not like CDMA, where I had a phone call nearly all the way from Burketown to Mt Isa one day.
Text messages are harder to send, because the signal fades so easily, so don't expect to get them through every time!
But overall, I guess we're just going to have to make do with it. It's not a bad network. And if you're willing to spend the dollars, you can get the new wireless broadband and have something to do on your all day waits!
morno
I have been able to make phone calls in the aircraft on my Next G phone, however because it's still basically a digital signal, you have to be close to the tower. Not like CDMA, where I had a phone call nearly all the way from Burketown to Mt Isa one day.
Text messages are harder to send, because the signal fades so easily, so don't expect to get them through every time!
But overall, I guess we're just going to have to make do with it. It's not a bad network. And if you're willing to spend the dollars, you can get the new wireless broadband and have something to do on your all day waits!
morno
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Victoria
Age: 56
Posts: 55
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I recently did a trip from Tyabb to Perth (YTYA/YMIA/YCDU/YFRT/YKPG/YPJT) and back in a Lance between A005 (along the Bight) and A090/100
I have an i-mate JASJAM with Pocket PC/internet browser on NEXT-G. Coverage and reception was more extensive and better than CDMA ever was. Really only lost signal in the isolated areas such as between FRT and PKG.
Was especially good to be able to log onto BOM for TAFS and RADAR as there were significant CB's around for the trip home. Not quite weather radar, but useful. A few of my fellow travellers were converts after the trip.
Overall, well recommended (oh....also plays MP3's so great to plug into during the longer legs!)
CHeers
I have an i-mate JASJAM with Pocket PC/internet browser on NEXT-G. Coverage and reception was more extensive and better than CDMA ever was. Really only lost signal in the isolated areas such as between FRT and PKG.
Was especially good to be able to log onto BOM for TAFS and RADAR as there were significant CB's around for the trip home. Not quite weather radar, but useful. A few of my fellow travellers were converts after the trip.
Overall, well recommended (oh....also plays MP3's so great to plug into during the longer legs!)
CHeers
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 280
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
donc try http://www.wagner.net.au/Home.htm
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Victoria
Age: 56
Posts: 55
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
OpsN,
Here it is -
i-mate = Brand Name
JASJAM = Model (no idea WTF JASJAM means though!!)
It's a smartphone. i.e. combination mobile phone and small PC running Microsoft Pocket Windows Operating system
NEXTG = next generation digital mobile network, according to Telstra, offering
the combined benefits of Digital and CDMA.
I'm no communications engineer, but I reckon that's pretty clear.
Cheers
BTW, look here - http://www.clubimate.com/
Here it is -
i-mate = Brand Name
JASJAM = Model (no idea WTF JASJAM means though!!)
It's a smartphone. i.e. combination mobile phone and small PC running Microsoft Pocket Windows Operating system
NEXTG = next generation digital mobile network, according to Telstra, offering
the combined benefits of Digital and CDMA.
I'm no communications engineer, but I reckon that's pretty clear.
Cheers
BTW, look here - http://www.clubimate.com/
thread hijack alert!
PilotHTR,
Do you like your JamJAR? Is it a cool thing or does it have issues? Does it successfully run as a PDA, or is it a bit on the slow side. What software can you run on it - any exciting things like route planning software etc?
Ta in advance!
A
Do you like your JamJAR? Is it a cool thing or does it have issues? Does it successfully run as a PDA, or is it a bit on the slow side. What software can you run on it - any exciting things like route planning software etc?
Ta in advance!
A
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Victoria
Age: 56
Posts: 55
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Andy RR,
Yep, I like it. Been very reliable so far.
Fine as a PDA. There is heaps of software for planning, W&B, etc available for it but I don't use any of it - I prefer command flight planner on PC.
Just to clarify, it's the newest model - JasJAM. All the models have silly names like jamjar and jamin etc but if you can get past that, they make a good unit.
Only caveat is that you can't get foxtel on the Windows based units, only on the dedicated phones.
Cheers
PHTR
Yep, I like it. Been very reliable so far.
Fine as a PDA. There is heaps of software for planning, W&B, etc available for it but I don't use any of it - I prefer command flight planner on PC.
Just to clarify, it's the newest model - JasJAM. All the models have silly names like jamjar and jamin etc but if you can get past that, they make a good unit.
Only caveat is that you can't get foxtel on the Windows based units, only on the dedicated phones.
Cheers
PHTR
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: inner suburbia
Posts: 370
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
costs
Coverage is getting better in the non-metro areas.
I've got a Hutchinsons '3' 3G plan and they want $5 per 10 MBytes on their network, or $1.65 per MByte when roaming on the Telstra network.
It doesn't require a lot of web page views to clock up a megabyte of traffic, and with the small low-resolution screens and tiny limited keypads it is not a quality experience as far as I am concerned.
If an internet-connected PC was not available then I'll use the 3G phone for a NAIPS briefing and/or weather pics.
Basically I think 3G is overpriced and overhyped., but I guess the telcos have to somehow recoup the hundreds of millions that they paid for their radio spectrum a few years ago.
and as for looking at jerky, low-res TV on a tiny screen. yetchhhhh.
and then there's the cute way that whomever you have signed up with will try very hard to make you use their (expensive) content.
Nah., I'm not a convert.
I've got a Hutchinsons '3' 3G plan and they want $5 per 10 MBytes on their network, or $1.65 per MByte when roaming on the Telstra network.
It doesn't require a lot of web page views to clock up a megabyte of traffic, and with the small low-resolution screens and tiny limited keypads it is not a quality experience as far as I am concerned.
If an internet-connected PC was not available then I'll use the 3G phone for a NAIPS briefing and/or weather pics.
Basically I think 3G is overpriced and overhyped., but I guess the telcos have to somehow recoup the hundreds of millions that they paid for their radio spectrum a few years ago.
and as for looking at jerky, low-res TV on a tiny screen. yetchhhhh.
and then there's the cute way that whomever you have signed up with will try very hard to make you use their (expensive) content.
Nah., I'm not a convert.
Last edited by Biggles_in_Oz; 24th Jan 2007 at 09:27.
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: AMONGST BRIGALOW SUCKERS
Posts: 330
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
2 Posts
Just my 2 cents worth,
I had a kyocera CDMA with MP3 player on it and works great. On a trip from here to YPJT (A bloody long trip) I had coverage probably 90% of the time in cruise, and the MP3 player into the DC X11 Headsets made the job easier and helpful with actual weather.
Then it fell out of my top pocket into a dish of petrol while cleaning wheel bearings, and that turned out not to be very good for it...
Being with Telstra, they tell me "no more CDMA, you must buy 3G" and talk me into Imate Jasjam. Sounded terrific with with broadband on the move, and (as mentioned above) is good for the BOM radar in the air. In reality in my neck of the woods, the thing drops out.. and often.. with no where near the service of the CDMA on the ground, but fairly similar in flight. I found it bulky and was starting to get used to it.. when it sh*t itself. A fault in the slide out keypad. Apparently this happens often with this unit and it has to be sent to SINGAPORE? to be repaired... no replacement while you wait!!
Just then the CDMA phone (the petrol soaked one) which I gave to my 6 year old son for a toy, suddenly sprang back to life, and after many tears and unforfillable promises was extracated and reconnected with Telstra.
So where I am, my 3G experience has not been good, but that may be due to:
1. my handset choice
2. my location
3. my provider
Ask around before you buy. I am sure many newer types of 3G handsets will be coming available. As far as I know CDMA is going to be around till late 2008.
I had a kyocera CDMA with MP3 player on it and works great. On a trip from here to YPJT (A bloody long trip) I had coverage probably 90% of the time in cruise, and the MP3 player into the DC X11 Headsets made the job easier and helpful with actual weather.
Then it fell out of my top pocket into a dish of petrol while cleaning wheel bearings, and that turned out not to be very good for it...
Being with Telstra, they tell me "no more CDMA, you must buy 3G" and talk me into Imate Jasjam. Sounded terrific with with broadband on the move, and (as mentioned above) is good for the BOM radar in the air. In reality in my neck of the woods, the thing drops out.. and often.. with no where near the service of the CDMA on the ground, but fairly similar in flight. I found it bulky and was starting to get used to it.. when it sh*t itself. A fault in the slide out keypad. Apparently this happens often with this unit and it has to be sent to SINGAPORE? to be repaired... no replacement while you wait!!
Just then the CDMA phone (the petrol soaked one) which I gave to my 6 year old son for a toy, suddenly sprang back to life, and after many tears and unforfillable promises was extracated and reconnected with Telstra.
So where I am, my 3G experience has not been good, but that may be due to:
1. my handset choice
2. my location
3. my provider
Ask around before you buy. I am sure many newer types of 3G handsets will be coming available. As far as I know CDMA is going to be around till late 2008.
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 280
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
B-K
Try dropping your new device in petrol / water etc and see if it revives itself.
Work is that CDMA won't be shut down until all subscribers have left it.
Could be some good deals at the end to slide those still with CDMA phones over to the newer networks.
Try dropping your new device in petrol / water etc and see if it revives itself.
Work is that CDMA won't be shut down until all subscribers have left it.
Could be some good deals at the end to slide those still with CDMA phones over to the newer networks.
Check Attitude
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Queensland, Australia
Posts: 476
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hotpete
Firstly, CDMA, as we have at present, is going to be disconnected in 2008.
It has been a brilliant system, with excellent inflight reception,
and no bursts of electrical noise and interference that GSM needs to refresh its cellular connection.
The coverage has been excellent in the bush and the top end because every community with a population of more than 500
was eligible for its own cell under the Govt TSI program.
CDMA is growing and expanding in NZ, USA, Sth Africa, however,
Telstra has committed to the next level of CDMA, namely 850 WCDMA, named by them as "NextG".
850 WCDMA has similar propogation characteristics to CDMA, with a slightly improved on the ground range,
CDMA has a nominal 62 km range, 850 WCDMA (NextG) has 84 km.
For Telstra, the economics are good, some 80% of the CDMA hardware is retained and reused.
On the downside, as with the introduction of CDMA, Telstra, for reasons of its own,
declined to partner with Nokia, and distanced themselves from users of the market leader.
Yes, they've done it again, no Nokia yet, but its coming.
I delayed my move to CDMA until Nokia joined the game with the excellent 6385 CDMA phone,
which I retained until I dropped it and saw it run over by the fuel truck.
I then replaced it with the brilliant and fully featured 6255, complete with in flight Wx radar for all BoM sites.
I am again holding out until Nokia joins the party.
Despite the il informed comments by Telstra shop employees, Nokia has Next G compliant phones,
and the Cingular network in the states has Nokia 850 WCDMA.
Whisper on the street here is that Nokia should join late February with their excellent N series.
Right now, the only stand out phone on 850 WCDMA (NextG) is the Motorola Maxxr V6, which is giving reasonable performance.
Most of the NextG handsets are capable of auto band selecting,
i.e. they can access 850 Wcdma, 1900 Wcdma / GSM and 2100 Wcdma / GSM, the more widely known 3G network.
A friend of mine regularly visits all remote communities across the topend, East and West.
He will be off on his quarterly trip this time with a Samsung NextG handset,
and will be able to report back on the CDMA vs 850 Wcdma coverage on a before and after basis.
Personally, I will wait until Nokia enters the market here, which they will.
in the meantime, google "Cingular" and "850 CDMA" for information that Telstra shops cant give you.
Firstly, CDMA, as we have at present, is going to be disconnected in 2008.
It has been a brilliant system, with excellent inflight reception,
and no bursts of electrical noise and interference that GSM needs to refresh its cellular connection.
The coverage has been excellent in the bush and the top end because every community with a population of more than 500
was eligible for its own cell under the Govt TSI program.
CDMA is growing and expanding in NZ, USA, Sth Africa, however,
Telstra has committed to the next level of CDMA, namely 850 WCDMA, named by them as "NextG".
850 WCDMA has similar propogation characteristics to CDMA, with a slightly improved on the ground range,
CDMA has a nominal 62 km range, 850 WCDMA (NextG) has 84 km.
For Telstra, the economics are good, some 80% of the CDMA hardware is retained and reused.
On the downside, as with the introduction of CDMA, Telstra, for reasons of its own,
declined to partner with Nokia, and distanced themselves from users of the market leader.
Yes, they've done it again, no Nokia yet, but its coming.
I delayed my move to CDMA until Nokia joined the game with the excellent 6385 CDMA phone,
which I retained until I dropped it and saw it run over by the fuel truck.
I then replaced it with the brilliant and fully featured 6255, complete with in flight Wx radar for all BoM sites.
I am again holding out until Nokia joins the party.
Despite the il informed comments by Telstra shop employees, Nokia has Next G compliant phones,
and the Cingular network in the states has Nokia 850 WCDMA.
Whisper on the street here is that Nokia should join late February with their excellent N series.
Right now, the only stand out phone on 850 WCDMA (NextG) is the Motorola Maxxr V6, which is giving reasonable performance.
Most of the NextG handsets are capable of auto band selecting,
i.e. they can access 850 Wcdma, 1900 Wcdma / GSM and 2100 Wcdma / GSM, the more widely known 3G network.
A friend of mine regularly visits all remote communities across the topend, East and West.
He will be off on his quarterly trip this time with a Samsung NextG handset,
and will be able to report back on the CDMA vs 850 Wcdma coverage on a before and after basis.
Personally, I will wait until Nokia enters the market here, which they will.
in the meantime, google "Cingular" and "850 CDMA" for information that Telstra shops cant give you.
Last edited by Mainframe; 24th Jan 2007 at 21:13. Reason: Typo's
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Aus
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Pseudonymn,
Two main differences between Next G (3G 850) and 3G as far as a consumer is concerned.
1. Next G has far better coverage than the exisiting 3G network. (refer to telstra website for maps and comparisons)
2. Data speed. current data transfer speed on the Next G network can be up to 1.5 Mbps (Mega bits per second) with the intention of the network being capable of 14 Mbps by the end of the year. 3G has a speed of 30 to 40 kbps(Kilo bits per second) Cdma network speed peaks at 144 kbps or around 400 to 700 kbps with EVDO (Evolution Data Only) reception mainly in metro areas.
Mainframe,
Telstra put all their phones through testing before they will allow them to enter the market. (How some of them make it through is beyond me). However Nokia have submitted two Next G phones both of which have been rejected by Telstra (reason unknown). Lets hope they come up with the goods soon.
Two main differences between Next G (3G 850) and 3G as far as a consumer is concerned.
1. Next G has far better coverage than the exisiting 3G network. (refer to telstra website for maps and comparisons)
2. Data speed. current data transfer speed on the Next G network can be up to 1.5 Mbps (Mega bits per second) with the intention of the network being capable of 14 Mbps by the end of the year. 3G has a speed of 30 to 40 kbps(Kilo bits per second) Cdma network speed peaks at 144 kbps or around 400 to 700 kbps with EVDO (Evolution Data Only) reception mainly in metro areas.
Mainframe,
Telstra put all their phones through testing before they will allow them to enter the market. (How some of them make it through is beyond me). However Nokia have submitted two Next G phones both of which have been rejected by Telstra (reason unknown). Lets hope they come up with the goods soon.
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Still in Paradise
Age: 60
Posts: 861
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
After several months of Telstra ringing me and literally begging me to dice the old faithful CDMA for a new Next G, I finally relented when they said the magic word - 'FREE'.
They gave me a LG TU500 3G with all the usual stuff (bluetooth, camera, video, MP3 / MP4) which also comes with a connection kit (USB or Bluetooth) for the PC / laptop, all gratis on my existing $30/mth plan.
So far it has worked quite well; signal has ben good wherever the CDMA was good, and in some cases better. In places where I can't connect my laptop to th wireless broadband system, I can connect via bluetooth and dialup through 3G. It can also get all the extra services previously mentioned (Wx, mail, browser etc) but I can't be bothered rooting around with it.
There is also an expansion port to allow another 1GB card for serious MP3 / MP4 affectionados - the thing plugs straight in to most contemporary headsets.
All in all - pretty good.
They gave me a LG TU500 3G with all the usual stuff (bluetooth, camera, video, MP3 / MP4) which also comes with a connection kit (USB or Bluetooth) for the PC / laptop, all gratis on my existing $30/mth plan.
So far it has worked quite well; signal has ben good wherever the CDMA was good, and in some cases better. In places where I can't connect my laptop to th wireless broadband system, I can connect via bluetooth and dialup through 3G. It can also get all the extra services previously mentioned (Wx, mail, browser etc) but I can't be bothered rooting around with it.
There is also an expansion port to allow another 1GB card for serious MP3 / MP4 affectionados - the thing plugs straight in to most contemporary headsets.
All in all - pretty good.