Vodafone: we’ll beat Telecom to full 3G launch - by a day
Twenty-four little hours will give Vodafone bragging rights. The telco says it will have 3G mobile coverage for 97% of the population on May 31, putting it at least one day ahead of Telecom’s “T-Day" launch.
Today, Vodafone’s 3G network covers 70% of the population.
In July last year, the telco said it would offer full coverage by April 2010.
Now, with Telecom spending up large to get its new 3G network ready for its T-Day launch (due on an unspecified day in June), Vodafone has accelerated its schedule to a May 31 launch.
All customers who have 2G today will be able to access 3G speeds (with a compatible phone) from the end of the month, says Vodafone chief executive Russell Stanners.
For now, Vodafone will be sticking with its current 3G pricing plans for phones, dongles and data cards, headlined by a $1 a day up to 10MB plan.
“New Zealand will be uniquely blessed by two fully built-out 3G networks,”Vodafone chief executive Russell Stanners said.
Mr Stanners would not be drawn on whether Vodafone is seeking to tie up exclusive distribution deals with Apple, Google or BlackBerry maker RIM ahead of Telecom’s 3G launch (currently, Telecom has only one BlackBerry, a dual-mode CDMA/3G model, though is obviously trialing other name brands as Gen-i boss Chris Quin is totting an iPhone already running on Telecom’s network; no handsets have been pre-announced).
But Mr Stanners did note that Vodafone will have exclusive rights to certain models. Vodafone’s worldwide buying power has seen it tie up international, exclusive deals on hot 3G handsets like the BlackBerry Storm, and the HTC Android G2 Magic Google phone, due for NZ release later this year.
Telecom will not comment on specific models at this point.
Mr Stanners would not comment on Telecom’s claim that its HSPA+ 3G network will have a peak download speed of 14Mbit/s to Vodafone’s 7Mbit/s over HSPA.
“Making claims is one thing. We won’t know what they’ll do. We’ll have to wait and see the speed when it launches,” said Mr Stanners.
3G leap-frog
The Vodafone chief executive added that he’d definitely keeping an eye on Telstra’s 3G HSPA network, launched two days ago for business customers only, which can hit speeds of up to 21Mbit/s, with a 42Mbit/s upgrade possible by the end of the year:
“I look at that and think “wow”. That’s where we’re going to go to,” said Mr Stanners, who noted that 30% of broadband revenue in Australia comes from mobile – much more than New Zealand.
Beyond that, Vodafone is already look ahead to an LTE (aka “4G”) network upgrade some time after 2010.
Mr Stanners said LTE (long term evolution) mobile broadband has hit speeds of between 50Mbit/s and 100Mbit/s in trials, and even up to 255Mbit/s in a pilot with Japanese carrier NTT.
RMA roadblock
A rep from Vodafone’s broadband infrastructure partner, Nokia Siemens, said suit case -size, power-efficient 3G gear was making it easier to get base stations into more locations.
Mr Stanners said, however, that 3% of the population would remain without Vodafone coverage because of issues like the Department of Conservation refusing to have cell towers on its parks.
But he saw the clouds clearing, at least from the telco’s standpoint: “We’re loving what this government is doing with the RMA [Resource Management Act],”said Mr Stanners.
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Comments and questions21
maybe with the roll out it will stop the crap service that we get with our blackberry phones. so many dead spots around the town, makes doing business on the phone as waste of time - hope they get it sorted
That's why they say 97% of the population, not 97% of the country.
As soon as you travel out of a "populated" area, coverage will always suck.
Hope vodafone will allow paralell imported phones to access it's network flawlessly. That's a big problem for me because I changed carrier because my phone couldn't access Internet properly on vodafone. I still doubt about the 97% of population will get that signal. There will be thousands of dead spots, without doubt.
Vodafone already does allow parallel imported handsets on its network. It's only Vodafone Live that needs the Vodafone software to run - you can surf the net, get your email and all the rest of it without any hassles. Now, Telecom... Telecom doesn't allow CDMA phones to come into the country and be used on its network and doesn't allow you to take your CDMA phone to another country. That's as locked down as it gets.
Hi Marc, maybe you should get the blackberry repaired??? sound faulty to me
People I know with problems on their blackberries are simply because they are GSM devices, and vodafones GSM network is going downhill fast.
A 3g phone is essential if you want a usable service from vodafone. It's just a shame that the iPhone has no 3g option so it keeps falling back to their rather pathetic GPRS network, and no option to stop it happening like on an unlocked nokia.
This will of course be changing with the new network... You can even use Vodafone NZ SIM cards in the new Telecom devices... Thats as unlocked as it gets...
Of course, any parallel imported handset will have to have 3G in the 850 and 2100 frequencies or else they wont even work on Telecom's new network unlike Vodafone's where they can still use the GSM network.
I believe Telecoms network is going to running off the 850Mhz instead of 900Mhz like vodafone so you will need a quadband phone to use a telecom sim and bice versa
The above comment could not be further from the truth, RE: "As soon as you travel out of a "populated" area, coverage will always suck".
I live in the Waikato & I travel extensively with my job & also with my wife. Using a compatible handset, such as the Nokia 6121 Classic - I receive full 3G 900Mhz UMTS coverage nearly everywhere I go, including very small townships.
Furthermore, Vodafone have stated "all areas currently covered by 2G Service, will get 3G coverage by May 31st this year" - which is simply fantastic news!
No more GPRS fall back, you will soon get 3G - providing you have a compatible handset or device that operates on both the 2100Mhz & 900Mhz UMTS Vodafone Networks. :)
A complete list of compatible handsets is listed below:
Mobiles:
Nokia 3120c
Nokia 6121
Nokia 5800
Nokia 5320
Nokia N96
Nokia N85
Nokia E66
Nokia E75
Nokia E71
Nokia E63
Sony Ericsson 715
Sony Ericsson Xperia
HTC Diamond II
LG KS500
Mobile data solutions:
Vodem Stick
Vodafone Mobile Connect
Source: http://forum.vodafone.co.nz/index.php?showtopic=1581&st=0#entry13411
can anyone give me a head's up on if the new Telecom 3G sim card will work on my unlocked iPhone 2G phone? right now i can use a vodaphone nz sim without any issues. thx for your advice. aa:)
You will not be able to use iPhone 2G on the Telecom network because the Telecom network is UMTS (WCDMA) 850MHz {With some UMTS 2100MHz in cities}.
The iPhone 2G is GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900.
Most of the Vodafone 3G phones support UMTS 2100Mhz with 2G GSM 900 / 1800.
The Vodafone network is 2G GSM 900 / 1800 and 3G UMTS 2100Mhz {most cities} , UMTS 900 being installed {to match GSM in the countryside by May 31 2009}
I can't wait for Telecom's network to launch so that i can finally be rid of the pestilence that is Vodafone.
vodafone have become more and more arrogant in recent times they are the new 'telecom'. at last telecom is getting its act together ... 10 years too late though.
I needed a new phone two-and-a-half years ago so I paid out lots of money for a great 3G model from Vodafone, even though I was in a non-3G area. Why - because they said it would be 3G by Xmas 2006 - only a 3 month wait... then it was March 31st 2007... and finally, b@#(@y finally, it is going to be here May 2009. Thanks a lot Vodafone for wasting my money - it was a nice gesture on your part.
It is a shame that Vodafone don't/won't have the decent, consistent backbone behind their 3G network to properly support it - like Telecom does have. Once upon a time it was Telecom playing catchup in the mobile space, now it is Vodafone.
Don't be fooled by the slick advertising, Telecom are still playing catchup. Telecom were supposed to release this network in November last year and are behind schedule not ahead of it. It's the second time they've had to completely revise everything to compete with Vodafone and I'm not convinced their attitude has changed.
They are simply copying every move made by Telstra Australia and I fully expect them to be back behind the 8-ball again in a years time as Vodafone gets ready to roll out LTE 4G technology.
The big advantage here is the increased competition, something that Telecom is still trying to styfle by not adopting European standards (UMTS900MHz) and not letting TelstraClear in on the game. We'll finally see some really sharp pricing out of Vodafone and I hope some 12 and 18 month plan options too.
NZ Communications is the real dark horse here, Telecom is just a red herring.
You can also to wireless.vodafone.co.nz and update your settings so that they appear "vodafoned" - you will not get the short cut to Vodafone Live, but this does help with MMS and Email settings
I'm actually doing a report on the mobile networking in NZ, and i can see that there are many different views on this subject. However, I'm more interested in how our networking compares with the rest of the world and am interested in your thoughts. Thank you!
im sure there is more 3G compatable handsets in New Zealand at the moment.
oh and the interferance with the xt network atm is real because telecom's filters arn't quite ready so they're varing frequences a bit, i think it'll be fixed by xt's launch, vodafone was overeacting :(
I live in ChCh and the new Telecom network appears to have lousy coverage. Just checked on their website and they say;
Fair coverage
For the most reliable service in these areas you might be better to use your mobile outdoors.
Great, it's -1 dgrees and I have to nip down the street to check to see if anyones been txting me? Seriously our phones don't work on our property. The old ones worked fine, I think I'll be switching back.
So I am wondering....as I'm sure others are too. Will a dual sim phone support a vodafone sim card and a new telecom XT sim card at the same time? Anyone out there tried this yet???
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