Copy of a letter from John & Carol Richard to the ABC Morning Show.

To see more letters click here.

21st December, 1999.

ABC Radio Morning Show
FAX  9333 1203

Dear James,

Suddenly, regional Australian issues have mainstream media attention.  Each
individual area would have differing issues but one commonality is communications.
While Sydneysiders ooh and aah over $5million going up in smoke on 31st December,
in regional NSW we will be commiserating at the loss of mobile telephony.

At present we rely on analogue service.  In hilly terrain, it is fortuitous
service. Nevertheless, it is a wonderful tool and aid to farmers, truck drivers and
pilots.  We know the points where we can get service and I reiterate, we rely on it.

With the introduction of CDMA, we were hoping for reasonably equivalent
service - in fact it was a promise to us.  In reality CDMA is not meeting expectations
and has serious shortcomings.  It is extremely expensive to change over from existing
handsets and there has been inadequate time for testing.  Most importantly, the timing of the
closure is catastrophic at the height of farmers' busy time of harvest, at the start of
"emergency season" with increased traffic on roads, holidaymakers lost in National
Parks and the possibility of a serious bushfire threat with the spring growth haying off.

On January 2 this year (1999), a plane crashed on Coolah Tops and the pilot
perished from injuries and his passenger suffered indescribable pain for almost three
days.  The plane was en route from Walgett to Merriwa - both GSM digital areas.  If
they had analogue instead, they could have dialled for immediate help.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service relies on analogue service to coordinate
patient retrievals.  There is full service air to ground at 12000 feet between
Bourke and Dubbo. Digital interferes with sophisticated navigational equipment.  A recent
accidental setting off of a digital phone by a doctor resulted in five days down time to reset
electronic devices at a cost of many thousands of dollars.

This may be the festive season and the biggest party for the millennium, but
the volunteers and emergency personnel are expected to be out there to fight the
fires, rescue the bushwalkers, resuscitate the crash victims and risk all for others.
They have a right to expect the best support that technology has to offer.

Sincerely,

JOHN and CAROL RICHARD