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Zamro To Audit Next G |
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Written by Adam Gosling
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Thursday, 30 November 2006 |
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has
selected a Melbourne-based company, Zamro International, to carry out the
benchmarking audit of service coverage of Telstra's new 3G network.
The tender, called for in October this year, is necessary to
ensure that Telstra's new GSM network maintains mobile phone coverage in the
bush.
Telstra, as part of its rationalisation has chosen to
decommission its CDMA network, once favoured because of its ability to cover
vast distances with mobile phone coverage, with a faster, but shorter distance
technology called WCDMA.
Although the two names are similar the technologies are
significantly different with WCDMA providing very high speed data capabilities,
but requiring more base stations to achieve the same network coverage of CDMA.
Concerns that the new Telstra network would not service
rural Australia
to the same extent as the older network prompted Senator Helen Coonan, Minister
for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts to declare in August
that the ACMA would audit the two networks to ensure Telstra maintained adequate
coverage with its new infrastructure.
Zamro specialises in mobile phone base station and other
telecommunications installation projects for a number of telecommunications
carriers, and has previously conducted benchmarking surveys similar to that
required by ACMA.
Zamro will first check the existing CDMA network and map its
coverage area, before turning its attention to the new network and making a
comparison. While the Next G 3G network is in place and operation, it is not
fully deployed and new equipment and fine tuning of the new network is expected
to take place right through 2007.
Telstra plans to decommission the old CDMA network in 2008.
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