Telstra shops and dealers across Australia are preparing for a last minute rush this weekend as remaining CDMA customers grab their last chance to move off the old CDMA network, which closes on Monday, 28 April 2008.

Telstra Country Wide Director, Gary Goldsworthy, said that the ANZAC Day long weekend would be the last opportunity for some CDMA customers to get to a shop and migrate to a new mobile network, such as the Telstra Next G™ network.

“Customers just need to remember that Friday is a public holiday so the weekend is the last real chance for many customers to migrate off the old CDMA network and stay connected,” Mr Goldsworthy said.

“Migrating from CDMA to the Telstra Next G™ network is straight forward and our advice to CDMA customers is to visit your nearest Telstra shop or dealer where our specially trained staff are on stand-by and ready to help.

“It’s very important that customers understand that no calls can be made or received on the CDMA network after midnight on Monday 28 April 2008, including triple 0 emergency calls.

“It’s still not too late to migrate and the good news is that CDMA customers can keep their same mobile number for up to 28 days after the network closes."

Most Telstra shops are open on Saturday and Sunday, however customers are advised to check local store opening hours. Information about shop locations, opening hours plus instructions on how to migrate from CDMA to the Telstra Next G™ network is available from the Telstra website CDMA Upgrade (www.telstra.com.au).

Mr Goldsworthy said that customers were first informed of the CDMA network closure over two and half years ago. Since that time Telstra had used a combination of letters, SMS messages, phone calls and advertising to remind customers about the need to migrate to an alternative mobile network.

“Most of the remaining CDMA customers are aware of the need to migrate to a new network this weekend but we suspect there are a few customers who simply don’t realise they have a CDMA handset.

“We’re therefore urging all mobile customers to complete a quick handset check to determine if they are inadvertently using the old CDMA network. The easiest way is to open the back of your handset and if it doesn’t have a SIM card, then you are using the old CDMA network.

“If a customer still isn’t sure if they are using a CDMA handset, then the next step is to head straight down to a Telstra shop where our staff can offer assistance,” Mr Goldsworthy said.