OK so I am cheap. There is a certain competitor that starts with ‘T’ and ends in ‘elstra’ that provides a far superior coverage (although a parallel test on a similar handset would be awesome). But their plan is frankly pathetic. They offer the iPhone on a phone plan from the 1990s with no data or ‘cap’ of included calls. So yes, tar me with the cheapskate brush. Who cares.

Anyway who cares about coverage per se? Certainly not me. Especially in the middle of town it shouldn’t matter. I don’t have to part the red sea to get to work, so why do you have to to make a phone call? So why the hell can’t I make a call. This is not deepest darkest Sierra Leone or Ascension Island slap bang in the middle of the ocean. It’s the centre of a populist, burgeoning city. For the first time in 5 years, voice mail is essential because the stupid network keeps dropping out. OR you can dial a number (land line or mobile) and after two minutes, it doesn’t even get a dial tone!

Well you do get what you pay for. But you should get a lot more. At least Apple hold up their end and I can play Pac Man or listen to gigs of music until Optus get their act together.