That may not be the only reason, and indeed may be an undesirable effect. Different wavelengths have different propagation characteristics, and to get the distance coverage they've had to go with something non-standard. I have seen the same thing up in Canada, and when I was there for an extended trip that involved a lot of rural locations I had to get a phone that was designed for that use...

That's right, apparently the 850mhz frequency has a bit more reach for the same amount of juice, which is a plus when you've got an expansive land mass, low population density and you're trying to cover as much of it as possible.

I'd never go with Telstra though... Funny how even their competitors, who have to rent Telstra's infrastructure, are still able to offer better value for money.

Won't bother. We won't see the technology in Canada before the N900 is very long in the tooth.

I would buy it and keep my n900.. =]