The last time we asked Bell reps about their CDMA network was a year ago when their 2,600 MHz spectrum was about to go live. At the time their CDMA network, which by today’s wireless standards is outdated, had about 2 million customers. Looks like those customers on specific handsets are one step closer to obscurity.
According to an internal doc we received, Bell is “decommissioning GSM roaming for CDMA Worldphones.” This will go into place August 20th and the reason is “to remain competitive and focus on HSPA/LTE roaming, customers with a CDMA Worldphone will no longer be able to roam internationally.” The short list of devices are those of years past: Motorola A840, Samsung Ace World Edition, BlackBerry 8830 World Edition, BlackBerry Storm 9530, BlackBerry Storm 2 9550, BlackBerry Style 9670 and the BlackBerry Tour 9630. These smartphones will continue to work within Canada.
This move was eventually expected. HSPA and LTE smartphone are overall faster and more powerful, or as Bell puts it their CDMA Worldphone clients do not receive “the same client experience as HSPA/LTE,” mainly in roaming pricing or the ability to “receive data notifications as with HSPA/LTE.”
More soon.
(Thanks tipster!)
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