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With Telstra, the 800-pound telcorilla that has crashed and crashed through the Australian telecommunications jungle, anything is still possible, especially with its $11 billion dollar NBN deal with the Federal Government still potentially up in the air, despite the support of the independents and Green candidate.
That's because calls for a cost-benefit analysis of the NBN just won't go away, seeing as it is a pretty standard and basic business requirement for investments, especially one of the NBN's scale, and with all the talk of additional costs to bring the fibre and the optical network terminal (ONT) up to your house being up to $3b extra over the original $43 figure, and it's no wonder questions continue being asked.
As former Australian Federal Treasurer Peter Costello pointed out in the Sydney Morning Herald on October 13, the B in NBN could easily stand for boondoggle, something I pointed out myself earlier this year.
There's also the renewed threat of the NFN, or National Filtering Network, with Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, recently supporting the notion of government controlled censorship under the predictable guise of protecting the children, granting that right to government and abdicating parents of the responsibility.
Whatever cunning plans Telstra has beyond its promise of increasing market share, becoming more competitive and promising again to dramatically overhaul customer service, and whatever the final outcome of the NBN, be it Labor's current plan or some more sensible plan that opens up competition, speeds and choice without creating the National Bankruptcy Network, it's always the little things that count. Well, after the big things have been taken care of, of course.
In this case, one of the big things is iPhone 3G, 3GS and iPhone 4 ownership, in this case through Telstra, whether through an 'outright' purchase at an Apple Store, or through a Telstra post-paid contract, along with the provision of the Next G voice and data plan.
The little thing in this case is being able to take that same iPhone and using it overseas with a local microSIM without having to pay a $150 unlock fee/toll/ownership tax/whatever-you-want-to-call-it, whether you purchased that phone outright from Telstra or not.
And, so, Telstra has removed the fee. This is more than two years after an iTWire reader by the name of 'mac user' wrote in and explained how he'd unexpectedly been able to get a free unlock from Telstra, a loophole Telstra closed fast!
All the details of the now official iPhone unlock fee removal are on page two, please read on!
In an article entitled 'Telstra removes unlock fee for Apple iPhone for jet-setting Aussies' at Telstra's Exchange blog, Kristen Boschma, Telstra's 'Head of Social Media and Online Media Relations' said:
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'One way to do this is to no longer charge customers a fee for unlocking an Apple iPhone they purchased from us.
'All iPhones purchased from Telstra are locked to the Telstra mobile phone network and as a default will only work with a Telstra SIM card. This will still be the case,
'Many of you have told us that when you travel overseas you would like the ability to put a local operator's SIM into your iPhone. However the network lock prevents you from doing this.
'We're now removing the fee to unlock your handset to give you the freedom to change the SIM in your iPhone when you travel overseas.
'We are still confident, however, that the speed and reliability of the Telstra Next G network means you will have a better iPhone experience with us.
'If you have purchased an iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4 from Telstra and would like to remove the network lock restriction, all you need to do is contact Telstra.
'When you contact us, make sure you have your details: your mobile number, your iPhone serial number and your iPhone IMEI number. You can locate these by pressing the Settings app, scroll down and select General then press the About tab.
'To complete the unlock process you need to make sure you have the latest iTunes software on your computer. Once the unlocking has been processed, the next time you tether your iPhone to your computer, iTunes will unlock the phone'.
Consumers are then advised in the blog posting to call 'call 1800 iPhone or 1800 474 663' to arrange their iPhone unlock.
Business can call 1800 027 167 or should contact their Telstra account representative.
Enterprise and government users are advised to 'simply contact your Telstra account representative'.
So'¦ despite all of my Machiavellian musings over Telstra's ultimate moves and motives in the Australian Broadband Wars, Telstra's little salvo of hope that individual consumers, which are such an integral part of any network, might actually one day be able to individually enjoy quality service all the time, is a glimpse into a potential future we haven't yet reached.
Telstra CEO David Thodey says he'll lead his customers to that promised land, and that the journey will definitely take a lot longer than 40 days and 40 nights, but already the first unlocked iPhone manna from heaven has fallen.
What surprises and dreams of outstanding customer service may yet come true? Will Prophet Thodey be able to part the swirling NBN waters to guide his customers safely through and lead his people to the promised land of milk, honey and broadband?
That's all in the future, but today's iPhone unlock news is a welcome gesture from Australia's biggest telco. Let's hope it's the start of the fundamental transformation Telstra needs for 'Making it easy for you' to be at the core of Telstra's service delivery, and not just the empty pre-Thodeyian slogan that it previously clearly was, going by Telstra's own admission of renewed customer service efforts!
