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Telus switching to GSM

Magnificent_BastardMagnificent_Bastard
edited March 2008 in General
In a move that's way overdue, Telus has finally decided to bite the bullet on the whole CDMA-being-shitty thing, and finally switch their mobile phone standard over to GSM. I don't think they've made an announcement as of yet, but a friend of mine at the customer service center told me that they're going to be receiving training for the changes coming up.

The aim is to have their GSM service implemented by 2010, in time for the Vancouver Olympics, since there are going to be a lot of overseas visitors coming over with their GSM phones, wanting cellular service. They're going to be renting towers from Rogers first, and also begin building their own towers soon after.

Anyhow, just a little bit of tech gossip for those of you who keep up with this kind of stuff.

Comments

  • Morro
    edited February 2008
    What's the difference?
  • Magnificent_BastardMagnificent_Bastard
    edited February 2008
    GSM, which Rogers and Fido currently use, is the most popular standard for cellular networks in the world. It allows the cellular network identify a cellular phone via a SIM card, which has a unique serial number. The SIM card is removable, so travellers can switch cellular providers when roaming without needing to change their phones.

    CDMA networks, on the other hand, identify a phone via a serial number written into the phone itself, so it's not removable. As a result, a provider, such as Telus or Bell, have a database of the serial numbers of the phones that are allowed on the network, and do not allow any other phones. Same goes for any other CDMA provider in the world. So if you try to take your phone outside of North America, it won't pick up a signal. And if your phone breaks, you can't easily switch your number over to another phone. You'd have to get another Telus phone, and call them to switch your number over to a new serial number (which they charge $25 for. Complete bullshit).

    I never charge customers the $25 fee, it's fuckin robbery....unless they're an asshole.
  • vonnie
    edited February 2008
    I don't understand how they DIDN'T catch on. I don't know ANYONE with Telus OR Bell simply because they don't use sim cards... and Telus/Bell phones are ugly anyways. They should've switched to GSM years ago.
  • Steven
    edited February 2008
    Wow. About time.
  • 1ftw1ftw
    edited March 2008
    Magnificent_Bastard;22831 said:
    They're going to be renting towers from Rogers first, and also begin building their own towers soon after.
    Why would Rogers allow Telus rent their office and then allow Telus to enter the market? doesn't really make sense to me~

    but its about time Telus switched. They're finally making some sense.
  • da_prodigy
    edited March 2008
    Wow, that is very interesting news. I am definitely into this kind of stuff, especially considering that the wireless industry is booming. This is going to put Telus in direct competition with Rogers which is great. I think they knew that CDMA technology was inferior to GSM, but it allowed them to keep their customers essentially "trapped." If you are a Telus customer, switching your phone is not easy and there are many costs along the way (cha ching for Telus) whereas a GSM customer can simply pop their sim card out and put it in a new phone. Sometimes I wonder if Telus customers even know any better. Even though I don't like Telus as a company, it will be good for us because it will create more competition and bring better phones to Canada as well as lower prices (hopefully for data).
  • imelting
    edited March 2008
    about time they made this move

    and regarding this:
    1ftw;24091 said:
    Why would Rogers allow Telus rent their office and then allow Telus to enter the market? doesn't really make sense to me~
    renting the towers will make them revenue, simple as that

    assuming telus is switching to gsm regardless, they will build their own towers , rogers cant stop that

    its not like denying them gsm towers will allow rogers to take telus's client base, they can only accomplish that by having telus on the gsm network and offer their clients a painless transistion

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