telstra coverage
Submitted: Friday, Jan 06, 2012 at 21:07
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Member - Mal B
we live in a fringe area only about 70ks [as the crow flys] nw of melb, telstra have agreed to supply and fit an aerial to improve coverage, looks like the aerial comes with one point inside the house with a 2mt lead to plug your phone into has anybody had this fitted, thanks mal b
Reply By: Member - DW Lennox Head(NSW) - Saturday, Jan 07, 2012 at 04:52
Saturday, Jan 07, 2012 at 04:52
Hi Mal B
I live in northern NSW near the coast. I am about 1.2 kms from the nearest Telstra mobile tower but live on the opposite side and just below the ridge line from it.
If we wish to have mobile service, we have to leave the interior of our
home and go to an outside spot. Telstra installed a directional antenna on my roof and I get great coverage but I am 'chained' to the cable. However, it does give excellent mobile service. I have an in car kit fitted with a 'broomstick' antenna for great coverage.
The worst part is we live in sight of an Optus tower and Telstra have told me when they get the 4G installations done they will then look at blackspots. There are about 200 people down
hill from me that have no service from Telstra. There was a 'NIMBY' group opposed to the Optus tower but they already had mobile coverage. As I travel a lot, Optus is not a choice for mobile provider in remote areas.
Anyway, if you need mobile service in your
home, the antenna is better than nothing. Just ensure your mobile can be plugged into the cable and not just passively connected as that is not very good.
Good luck.
DW
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Reply By: Ray - Saturday, Jan 07, 2012 at 08:41
Saturday, Jan 07, 2012 at 08:41
I don't understand these things too much but why cannot Telstra put their thingy on the Optus tower??????
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Follow Up By: Member - bbuzz (NSW) - Saturday, Jan 07, 2012 at 08:50
Saturday, Jan 07, 2012 at 08:50
This may be of interest re telstra access.
Wireless Aerial
Bill
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749195
Follow Up By: mikehzz - Saturday, Jan 07, 2012 at 11:09
Saturday, Jan 07, 2012 at 11:09
"I don't understand these things too much but why cannot Telstra put their thingy on the Optus tower??????"
For the same reason that Harvey Norman doesn't let Dick Smith sell gear in Harvey Norman shops of course. Helping the opposition is generally a stupid thing to do. :-)
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749204
Follow Up By: timglobal - Saturday, Jan 07, 2012 at 16:11
Saturday, Jan 07, 2012 at 16:11
Not generally true. Where possible they try to share cell towers.
This is for cost and planning reasons.
The deciding factor is often the backhaul and
population density - the link from the tower to their respective network backbones and enough users to justify it.
Telstra's equation is often sweetened by its USO and other grants.
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749224
Follow Up By: mikehzz - Saturday, Jan 07, 2012 at 19:23
Saturday, Jan 07, 2012 at 19:23
Optus wouldn't want a whole bunch of people suddenly being able to get Telstra mobile by sharing a tower they (Optus) have financed. The
Telstra tower was possibly put up ages ago before the urban spread and Optus probably saw an opportunity to erect a tower to cover the new area. It happened with Vodafone up here in the Blue Mountains. They were the only carrier we could get at
home for a long time. Now that Telstra has a new tower I have given Vodafone the flick.
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Reply By: Member - Joel and Michelle (WA - Saturday, Jan 07, 2012 at 13:38
Saturday, Jan 07, 2012 at 13:38
G'day Mal B
I have a Telstra Zte ( blue tick phone ) and an aerial in the caravan and car. Without the aerial the range is a little better than my wifes I phone. With the phone plugged in to the aerial it almost doubles the range. The higher the aerial the better the signal and this actually plugs into the back of the phone. Have been told that the passive type aren't too good, but no actual experience with that.
Cheers
Joel
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Reply By: AndyMort - Saturday, Jan 07, 2012 at 16:05
Saturday, Jan 07, 2012 at 16:05
Hi Mal,
You said you were in plain site of an optus tower but need telstra for your daily travels.
Have you thought about a dual sim mobile - telstra for when you travel and optus for when you are at
home. Optus (Boost) have a prepaid service with unlimited calls to any mobile/landline in the country for only $40 /month. And yes as a general rule both Optus & Vodafone have crap reception - Telstra is the only real choice for travel
cheers
Andy
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