Live blog: 2degrees' launch

2degrees newly-minted chief executive, Eric Hertz, does his first TV interview.

Look ma, no data cards: A punter checks out the nine handsets on 2degrees' Nokia-heavy instore display at Dick Smith (seven models are from Nokia, two from Samsung). Edge data is available for phones at 50 cents a megabyte. 3G data and data cards are promised "soon".

2degrees' marketing chief Larrie Moore (left) on-stage with chief executive Eric Hertz.

A visitor from Hawkes Bay likes what he hears. 2degrees' headline rates for its all-prepay plans are 44 cents/minute for voice calls (or 22 cents when calling another 2degrees customer) and 9 cents a txt.

12.33pm: With its restriction to Edge (which sits above 2G but below full-blooded 3G) at 240Kbit/s, 2degrees was never going to fly on any iPhone. And indeed it doesn't in this Geekzone test. Which is just as well. Wouldn't want to suck down data too quickly at 50 cents a megabyte ($500 a gigabyte). Obviously, this end of town is not 2degrees target market at present - but still, with Vodafone shovelling around 3GB of free data a month and Telecom 240MB free (both on contract), it's not a good look.

12.32pm: If you are in the pre-pay market, check out this price comparison table that's been stitched together by iPhonenewzealand.

12.25pm: Analysis: has 2degrees shot itself in the foot?

12.25pm: 2degrees' website is back online.

10.15am: No BlackBerry support. Boo.

10.13am: 2degrees' network will initially run on the 2100MHz band (also used by Vodafone in urban areas; the two share 900MHz for the bulk of their respective networks). Apple's iPhone runs on 2100MHz and 850MHz (the band used by Telecom nationwide).

9.59am: Data will be over Edge (a step up from GSM/GPRS but below full-blooded 3G) and at "around 240Kbit/s". 3G data is promised at a "confidential" time in the future. "Soon".

9.39am: 2degrees website is down. Bad look for a service company trying to prove its chops. Shop lifting alarm has just gone off instore. Hopefully these aren't omens.

9.34am: 2degrees clarifies: There is casual data, albeit at a nosebleed 50 cents a megabyte ($500 a gigabyte) but no data plans. Co. says most data users only want light usage (it better be at this price). With Vodafone thowing around its 3GB free promotion for iPhone users, Telecom offering them 240MB free a month (on a $79, two-year voice and txt contact), and Vodafone throwing around 100MB of data free on low-end plans, I'd thought the days of 50 cents a megabyte charges were behind us. A big disappointment.

9.27am: Formal part of the proceedings has wrapped up. All nine handsets (and, of course, no data cards) are on display here at Dick Smith. Line-up is pretty much as flagged yesterday, with three mid-range models added.

9.18am:  Roaming: In Australia it will cost $1.89 to make a call, and $1 to recive a call (the standard receiving rate for any country). In Asia and South Africa it will cost $3.39 to make a call; in the US, UK and Europe $4.30 and for the rest of the world a robust $7.39.

9.18am: International calls: 44 cents/minute for calls to 21 countries, including the US, UK and Australia, $1.44 cents/minute for others. Full plans are now on 2degreesmobile.co.nz.

International txts are 9 cents to 21 countries, and 20 cents to the rest.

Photo messages cost 50 cents to anywhere in the world.

9.17am: Why no post-paid. Hertz doesn't rule it out, but says right now must focus on where the market need is. Confirms 2degrees will open own stores down the track.

916am: Why no local zone calls? Again, coming.

9.15am: Hertz comes on. Data plans are coming. We want to keep it simple at first.

9.13am: Consumers have rated Nokia the best phone maker in the world, says Moore (see Nokia-heavy line up here). And you thought it was the iPhone.

9.12am: Free GST receipts; ability to monitor account online; no charge 24/7 support. Can pick 2degrees number or bring Telecom 027 or 021 number.

9.10am: Except: Top up $20, get 100 free txts. 22 cents for 2degrees to 2dgrees calls. 22 cents 2degrees to Telecom landlines - says is quarter Telcom and Vodafone rate.

9.09am: That's it, no other voice or txt charges. Moore says such rates aren't available on Telecom or Vodafone post-pay contracts, and that you'd have to spend $80 a month on Telecom to get the same rates.

9.08am: "Halving" rate of txt to 9 cents to anyone on any network.

9.07am: 2degrees "halving" pre-pay voice call rate to 44 cents. Telecom and Vodafone pre-pay rates are 89 cents a minute.

9.06am: Marketing boss Larrie Moore. NZ has some of lowest cellphone usage in the OECD world. Kiwis have told us they want change in pre-pay and post-pay.

8.28am: Hertz on RNZ: confirms voice and txt only at launch. Data plans to follow at unspecified time.

Keallhauled will be live-blogging. Meantime ... a quick recap:

New 2degrees chief executive Eric Hertz has almost literally parachuted in for the carrier’s low-key Auckland launch today (US native Mr Hertz arrives from Seattle; this is his first month with the company). The location: a new Dick Smith outlet down town. It promises to be a low-budget affair for the telco, which is keeping a tight rein on costs. But it will also be in keeping with 2degrees’ core message that people are more interested in cheaper calls than pyrotechnics or turbocharged data.

The word on the street is that 2degrees will announce 44 cents a minute calling and 9 cent txt, but all will be revealed shortly.

2DEGREES: VITAL STATISTICS

Headquarters: Newmarket, Auckland
Chief executive: Eric Hertz
Chairman: Bill Osborne
Founder: Tex Edwards (2000)
Former names: Eco-net; NZ Communications
Owners: Trilogy International Partners (US) - 52%; Communication Venture Partners (UK) - 26%; Hautaki Trust (provider of spectrum) - 20%. Balance held by private investors, including Tex Edwards’ KLR Hong Kong.
Investment so far: $250 million
Tax payer funding (via the Hautaki Trust): $10 million
Network: 2G/3G Own infrastructure in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown; customers will roam - invisibly, to them - on Vodafone’s network outside those areas. Nationwide network build promised; no time table
Chin wag free sim card triallists: 50,000
Customer projection (ABN Amro Craigs): 100,000 first year (2% of market), 200,000 second year (more projections here)
Retail strategy: No company-owned or dedicated stores. Will sell sim cards and phones through partners including Noel Leeming, Bond & Bond, Dick Smith Electronics, Warehouse Stationery, Pak & Save, New World, Foodtown, Countdown, Woolworths, Shell, Mobil and BP. Direct retail presence promised by new chief executive Eric Hertz, down the track.
Accidental benefactor (Pinot Noir category): 2degrees.co.nz
 

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