The Future Of Cat Cdma?

[afarang]

Those that are interested in the future of CAT CDMA, see my interpretation in Mobile devices. This is becoming a stressful topic for many of us. Best Wishes, Bill

[afarang]

I am sorry it ended up in Mobile devices ,as so many people will never find it there

[lomatopo]

Stick a fork in it.

Seriously, not much mystery here. Truemove H have made a series of public announcements.

Where's your "interpretation"? A link might help?

[CharlieH]

Yeah put a link to it please....have searched but damned if I can find topic of mobile devices

[ThaiLife]

I think there may be many people who have no current alternative home internet connection other than CAT CDMA , so any on going news about whats happening and the progression to a change over , would I'm sure be of benefit to all current CAT CDMA users , as we all know things in Thailand can so easily change like the wind , so keeping a thread like this alive would no doubt be of great use .

TL :jap:

[afarang]

Yeah put a link to it please....have searched but damned if I can find topic of mobile devices

When you click on=Internet computers, communications,technology Sub forums , etc. The first thing ,right on the top, will be some "sub topics".The first is Linux in Thailand, next is Gamers Corner, then is Mobile Devices and mobile phones(cell phones). That is where the discussion is taking place. As I said ,I am sorry it got put here ,difficult to find.I most certainly did NOT put it here. I hope you can find it now

[nikster]

^^ have you ever heard of that thing called a URL, or link?

I am guessing you mean this discussion:

To sum up afarang's post there, CAT told him the service would still be running for another 2 years.

I think that's pretty good. Anything can happen in 2 years, so this is as good as saying "it won't be turned off".

afarang assumes that CAT CDMA, in reality, has absolutely no clue as to how they will migrate their existing customers to a new network. Having dealt with the company for a few years, I concur.

Even if the bosses have decided on something now, they like to change their minds. Or they get replaced by political powers. It's random.

And whatever they have decided, you can be pretty sure that CAT customer service will be the last to know about it. In my experience CAT is just a humongous, bumbling state monopoly - they simply don't have the competence to do customer service. On the technical side, they're not all bad - CAT CDMA has been working pretty well, if you don't count the last few weeks. But anything approaching customer service, or even marketing - forget about it.

This company ran a near country-wide 3G network and forgot to tell anyone about it. When I signed up it was a best kept secret. Nobody knew about this. I found a teeny-tiny advert for CDMA at the post office in Pai. I eventually found out that one had to go to the CAT HQ on the superhighway in Chiang Mai to sign up. There was no office in the mall or anything like that. In the HQ, it wasn't advertised either - you had to ask for it. I then got a tour of the building by one of the senior engineers, and lastly, as grand prize, a CDMA modem. Which, as it turned out, worked perfectly, and pretty much all over Thailand. I figure that by the time I signed up, they must have been running this network for at least 6 months, maybe even a year.

[lomatopo]

I was looking for information, not about CAT CDMA, but did find this article from March 2011 which seems to indicate a requirement for supporting CAT CDMA customers "for two years". That might run from Dec/Jan as this is when the deal closed.

As reported by the Bangkok Post, Mr Suphachai said the introduction of True Move H on the 850MHz band would offer an alternative, advanced service for the existing 800,000 or so Hutch CDMA users. Customers wishing to stay with the provider will have two years in which to migrate to the HSPA network, and can retain their old mobile numbers. However, they will need to buy new handsets which the company plans to offer at ‘affordable prices’ in a special campaign. The True-CAT contract says True must serve CDMA customers for two years before shifting to the HSPA platform. ‘Our HSPA network is expected to accommodate up to one million subscribers within the first year of operations,’ Mr Suphachai said, adding that the network would have a capacity for 100,000 mobile phone numbers at the first stage.

So worst case, December, 2012, which is a lot longer than my previous "doomsday" prediction of December, 2011.

[Gary A]

When CAT refused to buy Hutchinson and then allowed True to buy it, that signaled the end of CDMA. When EVDO is working properly, it is quite good but those flashes of good service are getting fewer and farther between. At this point, the service is pathetic.

If there were a plan to keep CDMA EVDO in service, CAT would have jumped at the chance to buy Hutchinson and enjoyed coverage of the entire country. It would have been the ONLY high speed Internet service available country wide.

For those of us who do not live in a highly populated area, 3G is just an inkling of a dream. Until the politicians figure out how to maximize profit and divvy up that profit, 3G will be out of reach for most of us.