Telecom XT reaction - what customers are saying

Telecom directors (from left) Sachio Semmoto and Rod McGeoch. The company's XT network outages have upset customers throughout the country. Photo / Steven McNicholl

New Zealanders have been quick to comment on Telecom's XT network on internet forums. Here are some examples from around the web:


"Not at all happy. First of all the phone they sold us (my wife and I) kept doubling up our contacts, when you first turned it on you had to wait for at least 5 mins b4 you cud get to your contacts, when you are talking in what used to be an ok reception zone with cdma the XT service just drops the call unexpectantly. I want out but am locked into a 2 yr contract. LAST time I do that to myself,"
said Investa on nzherald.co.nz


"I think Telecom XT is great and that Paul Reynolds has done a much better job than anyone in power previously at Telecom would ever have done. He's faced the media, being as honest as he can and looks genuinely upset about this fault with the hardware that's disrupted the network. Well done Paul!,"
said Niks on nzherald.co.nz.


"Yes they did, I was with vodafone for about 10 years but changed 3 months ago for business reasons. Only had one problem which they just sorted out. Easy. Telecom XT has had issues from day one, my phone still is no go since yesterday. Timaru has been having lots of problems for a about a month now,"
said Towelynz on the Trade Me forum.

"At Midnight NO XT coverage Fiordland Area ? International Visitors to Te Anau Must be impressed with this? We have to put up with limited coverage when all is normal let alone No Coverage at all.Telecom need to lift their Game ,In all respects on the Mobile and Landline Systems,"
said Chris on tuanz.org.nz.

"So telecom have been caught out! Their supervisor told me on Tuesday that I was the only person complaining about not getting reception on the XT network. I have had problems since purchasing the mobile in December so much so that I asked if I could cancel the contract only to be advised that it would cost me $360 because I only had 7 days to cancel the contract and time had run out!!!! Surely if they can't supply the service promised the contract is null and void? Intend to take matter further,"
said one commenter on the TVNZ website.


"I'm in queenstown, still down. I almost lost my job coz of this! it was up for 1min then it went down again! I can't believe im using my old vodafone phone," said another commenter on the TVNZ website.

wrote oxnsox on the Vodafone forum.

"I think Telecom may have underestimated the potential usefulness of having GSM fallback. At least if Vodafone were to have issues on their newly completed 3G network, they have a perfectly good GSM network available that customers can just slip back onto if required.From what I've heard, Telecom seem to be pointing the finger at Alcatel-Lucent for this latest fault, but at the end of the day, all the customer is going to see is a fault with Telecom and their XT network - there's quite a few, less than constructive, groups on Facebook about the unreliability of XT,"
wrote Kenny on the Vodafone forum.

"XT is a lump of crap. I'm on it and tomorrow im changing back, it crashes all the time, i lose reception almost twice a week, for a few hours and worst of all its damn expensive, what is this?! $12 a month for unlimited texts, you still have to spend $20 on a top up. so it's not that efficent after all. it just failed. Plus they stole half of vodaphone's phones,"
said Carri0n on the Trade Me forum.

"I understand you can guarantee nothing but Telecoms XT core network is continually failing, either Alcatel Lucent & their gear is not up to it or Telecom has done the CDMA experience again and scrimped and saved on key elements to their customers detrement. Not to sure but this is very embarrasing for a data reseller and i feel for my friends in retail & CSR world who are being pushed harder and harder by the Cheeses but the flash harry over priced network is not living up to its hype. Over paid cheeses heads might need to roll if this continues, well thats my view on all corporates at the moment though, transpower, public service....I make the CDMA statement based comments by several network insiders a few years back who said that the cell site density plan for CDMA was 15 sites for a given area as per design, Telecom thought it knew best and went with 13...... and guess what happened..... they where wrong!"
said BBman on the geekzone.co.nz forum.