KEY POINTS:
Telecom mobile users travelling to Australia will soon have to borrow a cellphone if they want to make calls.
From January, Australian telco Telstra is switching off its old network, which means Telecom mobiles will no longer work there.
Telstra has spent two years and A$1.1 billion ($1.25
billion) replacing its CDMA network - the same technology as Telecom's mobile network. Telecom mobile customers use Telstra's CDMA network when roaming in Australia.
Telecom have begun a campaign to let its customers know they will need to purchase a new WorldMode handset capable of working on Telecom's network as well as GSM technology networks more common overseas, including Telstra's new "Next G" mobile network.
Customers not prepared to buy a new WorldMode handset - Telecom currently have only one on the market - can take a free "loan phone" when travelling to Australia.
Telecommunications Users Association chief executive Ernie Newman said having to borrow a phone is a step back to the '80s.
The solution was not up to scratch for business users who treated Australia as a domestic market.
"It beggars belief that they have got to the point where Telstra is switching off in two months and they [Telecom] haven't actually got their plan in place," said Newman.
He said members have expressed frustration they would need to borrow a phone to roam in Australia.
"Borrowing phones is about re-programming your numbers into the system and learning a different keyboard and a different set of commands."
Vodafone's head of roaming, Joanne Grant, said its customers can switch on any of the company's 120 handsets when they reach Australia and it will run on one of the four networks, including Vodafone Australia, that the company has an agreement with.
Telecom said it would release a WorldMode-capable phone in its new OKTA range before Christmas and have further devices available early next year.
The company aims to have data devices, such as Blackberries, able to work on both network technologies before the end of January, but will also have loan devices available.
ACROSS THE DITCH
How to roam to Australia with Telecom.
* Purchase a Samsung W531 WorldMode phone ($299) which will work on a CDMA network (Telecom's technology) or the alternative GSM networks.
* Or customers can borrow a "loan phone" - allow between one and four working days.
* Loan-phone customers can use their own mobile number and voicemail, and will be billed at the standard roaming rate.
* Customers need to take their current phone, WorldMode handset or loan phone and Telecom SIM card into a Telecom store or dealer to transfer across contact lists. Only 180 contacts can be transferred on to a loan phone.
* Roaming charges will appear on normal Telecom bills, but may take up to 12 weeks to show up because of delays in processing information from overseas telcos.
* Pre-pay customers will need to sign up to be billed to their home phone account or be given an individual bill while they have a loan phone.
