It’s a headline I never thought I’d read – Telus considers dumping is ‘Betamax’ of wireless networks. Apparently executives are taking a look at how feasible it is to move from the current CDMA standard to the more widely used GSM. As a Telus Mobility subscriber this is exciting news! I’m not holding my breath though.
The idea "has been presented at the board level and is being actively considered," said one source familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified. The source cautioned that there were no guarantees Telus will go ahead with a changeover, which analysts say could cost about $500 million.
The Rogers network is the only GSM one in Canada at the moment, with both Telus and Bell operating on CDMA. There are significant advantages to being on GSM – most new phones are launched for it first (such as the RAZR and iPhone) and Telus could get a cut of the roaming fees that Rogers collects.
Seems to me that if they were going to do this, they should have done it years ago. The article points out that "4G" networks are on the way, though no one knows how many years it will be until a standard is adopted. It would suck if Telus switched to GSM, only to have to build out a 4G network soon thereafter.
Read: TheStar.com
UPDATE (10/6/2009): The new HSPA+ network built by Telus and Bell will be live in November, when both carriers will start selling the iPhone.
MasterMaq's Blog 
That’s really cool. The *only* reason I have service with Rogers is because they offer GSM. It’d be great to put a bit of pressure of Rogers, and have more options as a consumer.
Rogers & Apple just reached an agreement on April 29, 2008 to introduce iPhone sometime in 2008. Chances are a lot of Telus subscribers will ditch their CDMA phone in favour of the trendy iPhone, especially the young and fashionable population.
Australia’s largest cell company, Telstra has officially shut down their CDMA system today(April 30, 2008). Telstra runs 2 GSM based 3G system, one runs on 2100M Hz(the European & Asian frequency) and another called Next G, running on 850M Hz.(the North Amercian 3G frequency). Hats off to Telstra !
I think Telus managers should take their head out of the sand to get some fresh air once in a while – AND SMELL THE COFFEE(or ROSES). CDMA is on life support and nobody’s there to rescue them !
Although I despise Rogers for a variety of reasons and I have been a loyal TELUS Mobility client for almost a decade, I am thinking of switching for an iPhone or Palm Centro (only available through Rogers in Canada). Currently, I use a BlackBerry 8830.
Dear all i’m looking job i gsm installation so if u can help me i will be so thankful
I think telus should just stick with what they know and not upgrade as they have the worst customer service and HIGH Over priced cancellation fee’s!
BTW, the best way to protect yourself from annoying calls and spy gadgets is to use Phone Jammer