Customers Flock To Telecom’s CDMA

Thousands of customers have already signed up to Telecom’s new CDMA phones and network.

Telecom Mobile General Manager Mohan Jesudason said he is delighted with the customer response from the first few weeks of sales.

“Customers have been flocking to the stores around the country that already have CDMA stock. They are primarily high-level business and corporate customers who have been keenly awaiting our CDMA service launch,” Mr Jesudason said. “There is huge enthusiasm for our new service – New Zealanders are certainly confirming their reputation for being early adopters.”

“Following a month-long trial, Telecom has started selling its new CDMA service from selected dealers on 9 July with a full-scale promotion planned to start next week, including national advertising. The full range of phones, accessories and call plans are available from Telecom’s mobile dealers,” he said.

“We are conscious this is a major new initiative and so our planning is designed to ensure our systems support customer demand. The pilot was designed to identify any teething problems and make adjustments to processes.

“Our dealers are getting great feedback that reflects the results of our pilot feedback.” The major findings have been: - The network is providing superb coverage - Voice quality is close to that of a fixed-line phone - The WAP service is rated as excellent in terms of content (news, weather, email and text messaging rate particularly highly) and delivery - Handsets rate highly – customers like their small size and weight, their functionality and their looks - Customer support and marketing also received high marks.

“Our customers are telling us they are really enjoying the CDMA experience – they like having the latest model in terms of technology and service,” Mr Jesudason said.

The most popular model phone is the Samsung N105. Other models for sale are from Kyocera and Hyundai. Phone prices depend on models and plans. Prices start from $79.00 (plus GST) with an Anytime plan for 36 months.

Telecom launched its CDMA mobile phone service commercially on 9 July. CDMA technology is the world’s fastest growing cellular technology, with more than 90 million customers in more than 30 countries. Telecom CDMA customers can seamlessly roam to Australia. Telecom hopes to include additional countries in the roaming network soon, including Canada, the United States and Hong Kong.

CDMA is a highly efficient mobile technology, offering 10 times the capacity of analogue and three to four times that of other digital platforms. Handsets also transmit at the lowest power levels in the mobile industry – minimising emissions and maximising battery life and talk time.

The technology handing calls between sites reduces the risk of dropped calls and improves signal strength, and significantly minimising interference and fading. CDMA also has excellent security and privacy features.

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