Telecom's CDMA network officially closed last night and
Dunedin cellphone retailers have experienced a rush of
customers not wanting to be left without working cellphones.
The network was switched off at midnight and phones which
used it could no longer make or receive calls, including 111
calls, send texts or use mobile data.
It has been replaced by UMTS technology, on which Telecom's
XT network, 2degrees and Vodafone are based.
Staff at a Dunedin Telecom store were too busy to comment
yesterday, but a company spokeswoman said there had been an
"uplift in CDMA customers to our stores in the past few
weeks".
The company gave customers more than a year's notice of the
closure and ran advertising.
"We are confident that there is good awareness of the network
closure," she said.
2degrees Dunedin store manager Peet Van Niekerk said the
termination had been "absolutely brilliant for 2degrees".
"Over the last couple of months, we've been extremely busy.
We've been getting heaps and heaps in from CDMA," he said.
The retailer brought in extra stock of its basic phones
especially for CDMA customers as they were "inclined towards
cheaper phones".
However, Mr Van Niekerk's expectations of a "crazy" weekend
in terms of sales did not eventuate and he believed most
customers had already switched phones.
Vodafone's Dunedin store did not answer calls yesterday.
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