Why are Mobile phone software updates so slow Telstra?

Question

Looking at all this crowd support info, I seem to find quite a bit asking about device updates being so much slower than Optus and Vodafone.
Telstra, why, why are you so slow in releasing updates. Please stop blaming the manufacturer as it's obviously not them, you're just releasing 4.4.2 for the galaxy note 3 and we're up to lollipop 5.2, seriously, you're supposed to be the leader in the telecommunications industry but always seem to be two steps behind.

Answer 1

Good evening.I'm very sure indeed that Telstra doesn't need me to defend them BUT ..... I did that exact work every day for several years, and I'll answer your question. The various networks have different philosophies on testing and releasing software.It also depends on how thoroughly various networks conduct their testing, and their philosophy of allowing  a  certain degree of software bugs or software issues to be released, and patched later. In relation to Telstra, they are the dominant network operator in Australia, and in fact one of the 5 best operators in the world.   The last thing they need is a product not to fulfill their criteria, with the resultant backlash. When testing is thoroughly done, it is almost inevitable that  some issues will be found,  and that requires negotiation with the manufacturers, and then it's up to the manufacturers to fix those issues and re-release the software. Then the testing is re-done and sometimes it is again not approved by the operators.    That simply takes time.     Different networks have different philosphies as to what is acceptable to release. Also, the same generic software can display issues that often requires customisation to a degree for different networks.I hope this explains the situation to you. It is extremely complex as phones have now become a multitude of devices all in one.