Rewind a few years to the former Telecom and the Postmaster General, there were payphones dotted at regular intervals.

Mobile phones and the internet didn’t exist, milk was delivered by horse-driven carriages and television was black and white.

Fast forward to the modern era and nearly everyone has a mobile phone.

Admittedly there are some people who haven’t adopted mobile technology, some who can’t afford it and some who are too young to use it.

For these people, public payphones may occasionally be necessary.

Fortunately, many service stations, shopping centres and hotels provide public phones as a commercial service.

When it comes to maintaining payphones on residential streets, the cost needs to be balanced against the need.

Unfortunately, increasing vandalism has escalated the cost in many cases while the demand is diminishing.

It is unreasonable to expect Telstra to provide this service in residential areas where it cannot recover costs and vandalism is rife.

A more realistic view is that Telstra should be required to maintain payphones at post offices and postal agencies, where security is more easily assured.

While there may be a sentimental attachment to having payphones on street corners, like delivering milk to the doorstep, commonsense suggests it is time to move on and face reality.

Telstra is not the villain in this case. If communities want payphones in areas where they aren’t viable, it should be a government responsibility.

As at June 30, 2009, Telstra operated 20,683 payphones across Australia. There were also 18,645 payphones operated by private businesses, generally using Telstra payphone access lines.

Examples of such payphones include the Blue and Gold payphones located in service stations, hotels and shopping centres.

The story is like something you’d expect to hear from a third world country.

To begin with, I rang the phone company (known here as PC), gave them my new address and asked for a connection. Easy. It should have been set up when I arrived.

For some reason, PC told me it would take a week to connect and I would have to be present between 10am and 2pm on the day of connection.

That didn’t suit me, obviously, but I cleared things at work to meet that request.

Then I received an SMS to say the phone line had been connected, the ADSL broadband would follow and my new number was xxxx.

Terrific. I arrived home that night, called Juliet and started advising family of my new phone number.

I checked my new number by calling 127 221 23, which gives an automated recording.

It was annoying my broadband didn’t get connected at the same time, because I don’t like paying for a wireless modem, but I thought it would be just a matter of days.

Wrong.

Eventually, an SMS came to say my broadband account had been activated.

I arrived home on Monday night this week happy in that knowledge.

Unfortunately, when I went to access the web, various browsers took me to the Adam Internet login page.

Puzzled, I wondered if Primus had some deal with them, so tried entering my account details, which didn’t work.

I rang technical support and waited on hold for 30 minutes before I spoke to someone, who was totally unhelpful. Basically, they suggested I reset the modem.

On Tuesday evening I called again. By that time I had discovered my actual phone number was different to the one I had been notified was mine by SMS.

I explained this to the support person, who said I would have to call the “provisioning” department during business hours.

Apparently the provisioning people couldn’t call me because they’re not allowed to make outside calls!

On Wednesday morning I called provisioning, who confirmed my number should be zzzz and I must have a crossed wire to be getting xxxx.

They told me to get an electrician to visit and repair the line. According to them, that was my responsibility, not the phone company’s.

I searched the Yellow Pages and found a telephone technician who agreed to visit that evening.

He told me the wrong line was coming into my unit, but because there was no “mainframe” box, he could not repair it.

Only Telstra technicians are allowed to play with wires on phone poles. The technician ranted for a while about the so-called deregulated telecommunications industry while billing me $80 for 10 minutes’ work.

He gave me a few tips regarding what to tell the support people at PC.

I phoned PC and reported the fact the correct line wasn’t active in my unit. The technician had suggested not telling them about the crossed line, because he said that would confuse them and delay repairs.

A fault was logged and I had to declare if it wasn’t an “external” problem, I would pay $160 for the call-out.

The estimated repair time was two business days.

On Thursday night I still had the wrong line.

On Friday night I still had the wrong line.

I rang PC support again and asked if the reported fault had been repaired.

They said a line check had revealed it should be working.

I then explained (again) how I had the wrong line in my unit.

Support person said my fault report had been incorrectly logged and would now be checked again on Monday.

I’m waiting (again).

Update (May 22): The Telstra technician came on Saturday morning! I now have the correct phone line and a working internet connection. Relief.

The standard flat rate for a text message at Telstra and Optus has remained unchanged at 25 cents, while at Vodafone, a text is 28 cents.

All carriers offer discount plans, generally for text messages to other people with the same carrier, eg the Telstra one-cent text to other Telstra users.

According to the article, the cost of texting on the GSM (2G) system is effectively free for the telecommunications companies, as they piggyback on the management channel used for the operation of the network. Costs on the 3G network are miniscule.

“The 25 cent cost of a text, for 160 bytes, means Optus and Telstra effectively charge $1560 per megabyte. If comparing with a $30 internet plan with a download limit of 10 gigabytes, the charge per megabyte is 0.3 cents, including free email.”

What a rort.

Even with discount plans there are strings attached and sorting through them is confusing.

I don’t send many text messages myself, and often use a free web-based service if I do, but the fact of the rort annoys me.

The Federal Government should step in and regulate if telcos can’t be trusted to give consumers a fair go.

However, the best Communications Minister Stephen Conroy could offer was: “It is important that consumers shop around for the best deal.”

Meanwhile, consumers who aren’t tech savvy are being ripped off every day.

I thought it was one of those quirky yarns that people would be interested to read.

Optus expects customers to send a record 57 million text messages and make 67 million mobile phone calls tomorrow. Last year, Optus mobile customers sent 44 million SMS and made 58 million mobile phone calls on New Year’s Eve.

On Christmas Day this year, Optus customers sent nearly 50 million text messages, an increase of 28pc from 2008.

The website stats went ballistic this afternoon. For most of the day there were more than 50 people on the site at any given time and most of them were reading that article.

I’ve traced most of the visitors to India. I can only assume the link showed up in a news search, because there was no standout referral site.

For the record, Telstra issued a similar media release shortly after I posted the Optus figures.

Telstra expects more than 66 million SMS to be sent across its network on December 31 and January 1, two million more than last year’s record.

Over New Year’s eve and day, Telstra customers are expected to make around 31 million mobile calls, up from 19.5 million last year.

Frankly, I can’t see the point of sending anyone a text message on New Year’s Eve. The recipient presumably knows the date already.

Update (December 31, 2011): Two years later than the original post it seems people still go into overdrive with SMS on New Year’s Eve.

According to one report, with New Year’s Eve marking the biggest peak of SMS traffic for the year, French mobile operators have made plans to manage demand and avoid some of the problems experienced last year.

Around 930 million text messages were sent at the start of 2011, placing huge demands on the networks of France’s three main operators.

This year, operators have put in place special teams to manage the flow of traffic as 2011 becomes 2012.

The article says an average text message takes seven seconds to reach the recipient. On New Year’s Eve it could take from a few minutes to several hours.

I acquired mine from Hong Kong via eBay for $650 including postage. It was “unlocked” which means you can insert a SIM card from any service provider and it should work.

The phone itself is a beautiful unit: slim, sleek, light and packed with features.

Compared to my former JasJam (which also cost $650 in November 2007), it’s much lighter, faster, installs applications more easily and has a longer battery life.

The evolution of mobile phones into mini computers has been one of the biggest technological advances of recent years.

The HTC Magic connects easily to the internet via wireless or a carrier data plan and gives fast, simple access to Gmail.

That’s the easy part. The hard part is getting it to work on Telstra.

The Magic is currently available in Australia with Vodafone and Three. Neither network has strong coverage in rural areas, and because my call costs are work funded, I didn’t want a new provider account.

The only negative I encountered with the eBay purchase was that Google integration wasn’t included with the phone.

I read a little about this on Google and in some countries the phone is only shipped with basic software that does not include Gmail synchronisation or the all-important Android Market.

The market is where you go to download and install new applications for your phone.

Some that I have already installed include features to enhance GPS location, games, a compass, camera utilities, voice recording, file manager, dictionary, stopwatch and instant messenger.

Although functional without Google integration, not having those capabilities was deflating and contrary to the phone’s purpose.

The Google search engine was my friend in seeking a solution, and as mentioned, it’s complicated and scary for novice users.

Firstly, I had to download and install the Android SDK toolkit to my computer.

The SDK toolkit is needed to establish a USB cable connection and give access to a Fastboot program. I don’t know how to explain this easily, so please use the references above if you’re attempting this.

You also need to select a suitable ROM for the phone.

You download that, rename it update.zip and copy it to the phone’s flash memory card.

Follow the step-by-step instructions on the Arbitrary User website, numbers 11 to 20.

At this point, while waiting for the phone to reboot, you will panic, wondering if you have “bricked” the expensive new phone.

I certainly encountered that feeling when, at the first attempt, I saw nothing but a black screen of death.

Having read enough beforehand to both confuse myself and to learn there were solutions to everything, I realised the ROM mustn’t have been compatible with my phone.

Second time round, everything went according to the script.

Please don’t consider this post to be a “how to” guide. Visit expert sites for that type of information and research extensively online.

The purpose of this post is to explain that Google Android can work on Telstra with a new unlocked HTC Magic imported from overseas in the hands of a user with average technical competence.

I bought the phone on eBay from Hong Kong and installed a ROM that added the Google features, including Android Market.

I’ll write this weekend in more detail about the process (which isn’t easy).

• New topic now posted

Federal Member for Barker, Patrick Secker, is right to criticise the new system as “outrageous and unfair”.

Mr Secker was referring to the announcement by Telstra that it will introduce a fee for every bill paid by mail or at a Telstra Shop or Australia Post.

“Since when has cash not become legal tender to bay bills and hence incur an extra fee?” Mr Secker asked.

He is not alone in posing the question. It’s effectively a bill on a bill.

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network says the decision is ill timed and a bad deal for consumers.

“It is adding insult to injury that Telstra claims the new fee is aimed in part to recover the costs of dealing with consumer complaints,” network CEO Allen Asher said.

“It would be better for everyone – including Telstra shareholders – if it improved the quality of service in the first place so consumers aren’t forced to spend frustrating hours trying to resolve service problems.”

Surprisingly, consumer advocacy group CHOICE supports Telstra’s move, suggesting it will encourage people to become digitally literate. The fee won’t be incurred if bills are paid online.

That’s like saying we should all take cold showers because they’re invigorating and produce fewer greenhouse gases.

Instead of charging more, Telstra should offer a discount for customers who use a less expensive payment method.

Meanwhile, customers can vote with their feet.

TSA Telco Group has been contracted by Telstra to win back customers who have switched to a new telco.

There are claims the company ignores the Do Not Call register and employees pose as Telstra staff.

I haven’t had any experience of this particular group, but the allegations don’t surprise me.

I experienced harassment when my mobile phone plan was coming towards the end.

Telstra (or contracted telemarketers) rang me nearly a dozen times in less than a fortnight. I was on holidays at Mandurah and on the first few occasions I asked them to send me information in the mail.

One person told me that would happen and another told me it was not possible.

I lost patience and asked several times to be removed from the list.

Regarding the fresh claims, “Telstra spokesman Peter Taylor said he did not believe the company was doing anything untoward. He invited people with problems to call Telstra on 132200.”

Honestly, what good would that do? You’d be placed on hold for 20 minutes, leave a message and no action would be taken.

I recommend contacting the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO).

I was actually in credit when I closed the account because I had inadvertently paid a couple of months while also having a direct debit drawn. Bigpond said they would reimburse me with a cheque.

Yesterday however, I noticed there have been two more direct debits made after I cancelled the service.

I tried to login to the account online, but couldn’t because the site said it no longer existed.

I rang Bigpond, and after the usual pressing of buttons and background music, was told that “due to the exceptional volume of calls” (or similar) they couldn’t help me and I should ring back tomorrow (Saturday)!

You’re kidding, I thought. Undeterred, I rang again and this time was placed in a queue, only for about five minutes, which is acceptable.

After explaining my problem, and waiting on hold while the kid spoke to his boss, Bigpond said they would send me a cheque for the two debits made after I cancelled the service.

Thanks, what address do you have for me? I asked.

Kalgoorlie. Wrong. That made me think the previous operator I spoke to not only failed to cancel the debit, he probably didn’t organise for me to receive a cheque for my credit balance.

Correct.

Hopefully this matter is now closed.

Update: Several more debits were made and a cheque was never sent. I eventually recovered the money through a lawyer who noticed Gorey Media had funds outstanding.

In addition to having the best network, you’d think one of their competitive advantages in regional Australia was having a network of Telstra shops.

I visited the Telstra Shop in Kalgoorlie today and left unimpressed.

1) My Bigpond USB wireless modem is broken. The kids were using it and I have no idea what they did. I wanted to know if it could be repaired.

The Telstra Shop offered to sell me a new modem, or suggested I call Bigpond to see if it could be fixed. They wrote Bigpond’s number on a business card for me. Very helpful.

2) I wanted a new phone charger for my iMate JasJam after leaving my main charger in Melbourne at a motel.

The Telstra Shop was out of stock, despite this being a designated Telstra phone. They suggested I go across the road to an electronics store, which happened to specialise in Motorola products and couldn’t assist.

Sigh.