Bye Bye Old Phones: TELUS Closing CDMA Network

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Bye Bye Old Phones: TELUS Closing CDMA Network

Postby jon » Thu Mar 03, 2016 9:34 am

In a letter to customers received yesterday, TELUS announced that its CDMA Network will become unreliable on June 30th and be shut down on February 1, 2017.

If you have an old phone that is not capable of 4G, it is not just TELUS customers that need to be aware of this. Any cellular provider that either rebrands TELUS service as its own, or relies on TELUS for roaming, is also at risk.

Moving to another provider is unlikely to be a viable option as most CDMA phones being used on TELUS are locked to TELUS. Of course, other CDMA providers are likely to close down their CDMA networks in the not too distant future.

TELUS does offer some incentives to get off CDMA by June 30th, including $100 off any phone and $15 towards a SIM card. Unfortunately, a phone call late yesterday indicates that their computer systems are not yet set up for these credits, so all they can do is phone you back. No on-line ordering is available with this offer, and TELUS brick-and-mortar stores undoubtedly use the same computer system for ordering.

The big question mark right now is summaried by the fine print in the letter being sent: "Some CDMA rate plans are not transferable to the 4G network." The $10/month Prepaid plan is long gone from the TELUS web site, so grandfathering may no longer apply once you switch off CDMA. Hard to say until they get their computer systems updated.

If you are addicted to clam shell phones, they are offering the Alcatel A392A for less than the $100 credit, with no contract required, i.e. - on their Prepaid plans.
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