Are You Ready For CDMA Shutdown?

At midnight tonight, April 28 2008, somebody at Telstra (let’s call him Bill) will stand up from their desks, leaving a cup of lukewarm coffee, half a donut and a bag of Burger Rings, and wander over to the CDMA control panel behind him. He’ll then hop down on all fours, wade through the dust that has settled since the network launched in September 1999, and pull the plug.

Telstra’s been fairly aggressive in informing CDMA customers that they need to switch over to NextG if they want to keep making phone calls, so it isn’t expected that too many people will suddenly be left with a worthless mobile phone.

If you are still clinging to CDMA like it’s your firstborn, make sure you sort yourself out today. And if you have made the switch and are wondering what to do with your now obsolete handset, make sure you recycle it.