Telus switching to GSM?

[FireFly]

http://www.thestar.com/article/293353

Inneresting. I smell a headache coming on...

[MarchHare]

iPhone related?

[metallicat]

Awesome. GSM is why I've stayed with Rogers.

[Winsor_Pilates]

I would consider going back to Telus if they had GSM. Their terrible phones have always been their downfall for me.

[HOOT]

I don't know why all carriers don't work together and bring in the phoens that do both GSM and CDMA towers...

[STeeLy]

I have yet to see a phone that is both GSM and CDMA... I don't even know if any companies make phones that are both GSM and CDMA

[SledBC]

Originally Posted by STeeLy

I have yet to see a phone that is both GSM and CDMA... I don't even know if any companies make phones that are both GSM and CDMA

My Telus CDMA Nokia 6265i has a sim card slot so its defenitely possible.

[STeeLy]

Originally Posted by SledBC

My Telus CDMA Nokia 6265i has a sim card slot so its defenitely possible.

That's very interesting...

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by STeeLy

I have yet to see a phone that is both GSM and CDMA... I don't even know if any companies make phones that are both GSM and CDMA

Blackberry 8830 World Edition is CDMA but you can also add a SIM card to use it on GSM networks.

[browna]

Alltell in the States has a US GSM network, a fairly large one...but its not open to subscribers. Its for foreign roamers to use. Those roamers are indirectly paying Alltell for that privledge.

Right now, Rogers has 100% of that pie in Canada.

My guess is Telus will setup a GSM network in the major centres (Vancouver will be first, for the tens of thousands of Euros that will be passing through there in 2 years (and before)) in Canada for this very reason, at least in the short term, to get a footprint.

Also, the CTRC has opened cell bandwidth to new players...if a company like Vodaphone (Euro GSM) gets in in the next few years, Telus wants a headstart on infrastructure to roll out to thier own clients.

This has been rumored for a while, pretty much ever since Telus lost out on acquiring Microcell (Fido) to Rogers.

Should be interesting to see how it plays out, I would be very surprised in the next two years if Telus' GSM network has Canadian subscribers on it, though.

[Barnes]

Good call on the Vancouver thing.

Why not w-cdma/umts? Telus says that they want to change their network to technology that's already out of date?

I guess the opportunity to nickel and dime foreign nationals as well as Canadians is too enticing. Hopefully all this will change after our low spectrum bandwidth auction.

As a side note; I am going 100% Telus free on the 28th of February and can't wait. Not sure how that company is still in business.

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by Barnes

Why not w-cdma/umts? Telus says that they want to change their network to technology that's already out of date?

I was thinking the same thing...why go back in technology? CDMA is the superior network now and will be for a long time.

[FireFly]

Originally Posted by HOOT

I was thinking the same thing...why go back in technology? CDMA is the superior network now and will be for a long time.

Because it's the technology that the consumers want and will pay for.

[mykalberta]

Verizon in the US is also switching, unless I am mistaken I beleive Telus and Verizon are somehow linked.

CDMA might be a superior technology but so was Beta.

[STeeLy]

Originally Posted by HOOT

I was thinking the same thing...why go back in technology? CDMA is the superior network now and will be for a long time.

There's a SLIGHT difference between CDMA and W-CDMA...

You can't use a phone with W-CDMA on a CDMA network. W-CDMA is better used for 3G networks which only Rogers/Fido has at the moment... as is UMTS... Unless Telus introduces anything with 3G, it is very unlikely that they will be with W-CDMA or UMTS.

And with nearly the rest of the world on GSM, which means when people from around the globe come into Canada and uses their GSM phones, all the business will go to Rogers, since they have the only GSM network in Canada at the moment.