Why the iPhone 4 will still be better on Telecom XT

Random, posted: 8-Jun-2010 15:27

There has been a lot of buzz today about the new 900Mhz UMTS (3G) support in the next revision of the iPhone announced today. Rightfully so. lower frequency bands have a better in-building penetration which means better coverage for users that don't live, work, and play outdoors 24/7 with direct line of sight to the sky.

However, at least in the short term, the iPhone will remain far better on the Telecom XT network in my opinion.

Sure, the introduction of 900Mhz support in the iPhone will reduce the volume of iPhone "defectors" that use their iPhone on any network other than the supported Vodafone network (as the NBR quite correctly points out). This won't be as a result of the iPhone working as well or better on Vodafone though - most of this will result from people simply not being bothered to take anything but the path of least resistance (using the iPhone on XT or 2 Degrees requires an extremely simple process, but will still be seen as some as "fiddly").

Vodafone iPhone 4 users will welcome the introduction of 900Mhz support nonetheless, as rural areas have 900Mhz UMTS coverage. This means that those going off the beaten track won't suddenly drop back to GPRS speeds due to current iPhones having no support for 3G over 900Mhz.

The fact remains though, that Vodafone currently do not have widespread 900Mhz towers in urban areas where the majority of New Zealanders live. In the cities, 2100Mhz will predominate until such time as Vodafone rolls out 900Mhz (plans are under way if I am lead to believe correctly but I am unsure about timeframes).

I have used the iPhone for extended periods of time on both the XT and Vodafone networks. I have no affiliation to either company, and have had my fair share of reasons for disliking each company equally in the past. However my experiences using the iPhone have been far more positive on the XT network - and I live south of Taupo.

I ran speed tests for XT vs. Vodafone in August 2009, followed up by a repeat test in March 2010. Both these tests showed a significantly better performance for XT compared to Vodafone 3G.

Sure, XT has had some well documented CATASTROPHIC failures, don't get me wrong. But outside of these failures, XT has provided me with near 100% up-time on the network. Vodafone? I have outages on a daily basis - ever time I enter a lift in a building, for example. Even entering some buildings in the central city is enough for me to drop out. 900Mhz UMTS support isn't going to change that until Vodafone rolls it out into (my) urban area.

All this said though, I'm happy that the iPhone has expanded its network support. It will certainly encourage competition. In the mean time could Telecom XT please do something about the horrendous 89c/min calls on prepaid? It is criminal.

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Comment by corksta, on 8-Jun-2010 17:06 , user id: 30469)

Totally agree ahmad. Based on where I work, live, and most frequently travel to, XT will still be better for my iPhone, but still great to see 900MHz included, and looking forward to the speed comparisons when the new phone is released.

Comment by BrentR, on 8-Jun-2010 19:23 , user id: 14564)

I travel the country fairly extensively and for the past 18 months have had my (Nokia) handset locked to UMTS. I can't remember very many times at all where I haven't had coverage, and the places I didn't have coverage on VF, I didn't have coverage on XT.

Comment by kyhwana2, on 8-Jun-2010 20:21 , user id: 31067)

Vodafone still has their criminal 89c/minute for prepay as well. Hmm. So much for competition, right? :P

Well, there's always 2d's, if you have a second smaller phone just for txt/voice..
(Which is what im' doing atm)

Author's note by ahmad, on 8-Jun-2010 20:46 , user id: 31335)

I am not kidding BrentR and I have no reason to lie - my phone drops out on a daily basis (intermittently) every time I enter the lift at work. And if I shop at the biggest and most mall in Dunedin, going to the ground floor foodcourt will cause patchy reception/dropouts - this does not only apply to the iPhone but also other 2100Mhz devices.

Comment by chiefie, on 8-Jun-2010 21:04 , user id: 2263)

Ahmad, that's because 2100mhz is less penetrable (sp?) than lower frequency like 850mhz or 900mhz.

with iPhone4 with 900mhz, it will fair well on Vodafone NZ's extended network.

Author's note by ahmad, on 8-Jun-2010 21:10 , user id: 31335)

I know chiefie - I've already put most of that in the blog post. What I'm saying is that due to lack of 900Mhz in urban areas, most of NZ isn't going to benefit at all.

Comment by Kiwipixter, on 8-Jun-2010 22:25 , user id: )

Dude, you should headline your blog "Why the iPhone 4 will still be better on Telecom XT for a geek who lives in urban areas with bad Vodafone coverage".

You have given no logically explanations why the yet to be released, and yet to be experienced by you, iPhone 4 would be better on XT considering that the network don't officially support the device currently. Please don't generalise from limited personal experience, otherwise please say so.

Author's note by ahmad, on 8-Jun-2010 22:33 , user id: 31335)

I'm not alone in believing that iPhone plus XT is a perfect marriage.

iPhone plus Vodafone 900Mhz would be just as awesome. It's just that most of the population won't have access to this at iPhone 4 launch.

Rural users will benefit from having the choice between low-frequency XT or Vodafone in their areas but most NZers population wise will still enjoy benefits being on XT instead of Vodafone.

This is not about who is better. This is simply about the characteristics of 3G frequencies. And it's a personal blog, with a personal opinion. I'm not writing for anyone.

Author's note by ahmad, on 8-Jun-2010 22:34 , user id: 31335)

In fact on looking back at my post, I have even clearly stated:

"However, at least in the short term, the iPhone will remain far better on the Telecom XT network in my opinion"

...in the second paragraph no less.

Comment by Regs, on 8-Jun-2010 23:55 , user id: 27895)

BrentR - come to my house, or office, and see how your UMTS VF fares... i get issues in both places. More often than not, i'll have dropped calls. The nokias do, however, seem to have better radios than any of the smartphones i've tested.

Comment by Ben, on 9-Jun-2010 09:11 , user id: )

This flawed. You are basing your assumption of the iPhone4 (and 900Mhz) based on using your current iPhone on both Networks. How can you comment on the 900Mhz when your using a device that doesnt support it ?

"I have used the iPhone for extended periods of time on both the XT and Vodafone networks. ..... However my experiences using the iPhone have been far more positive on the XT network - and I live south of Taupo."

Comment by chiefie, on 9-Jun-2010 09:49 , user id: 2263)

Do be aware that even in urban area, it is also covered by 900mhz UMTS as well as 2100mhz.

Your opinion is flawed there, sad to say.

Author's note by ahmad, on 9-Jun-2010 10:02 , user id: 31335)

Chiefie I was lead to believe that 900 wasn't available in urban areas.

Has this now been fully rolled out? If so then yes, these assumptions are incorrect but last time I asked the 900 urban rollout didn't even have a timeline?

Comment by corksta, on 9-Jun-2010 12:10 , user id: 30469)

@chiefie: a quick check of the coverage maps on Vodafone's site clearly shows that 3G Extended either does not exist in the major urban centres, or where it does it is extremely isolated in small pockets with a weak signal.

Author's note by ahmad, on 9-Jun-2010 12:58 , user id: 31335)

I went to look at those coverage maps in case Vodafone has sneakily rolled out 900Mhz into urban areas but according to those maps major cities in NZ (Auckland, Tauranga, Hamilton, Wellington, Dunedin, and maybe Christchurch) are still not sufficiently covered by 900Mhz 3G extended coverage from Vodafone.

So Ben, unless you can show that 900Mhz coverage is actually available to major cities, contrary to the information on Vodafone's own website, I still stand by everything I have written above.

Comment by WH0A, on 9-Jun-2010 18:36 , user id: 43989)

Isn't this all a bit of a hypothetical argument at this stage and iPhone 4 will only be possible on Voda for the foreseeable future?

iPhone 4 will only support micro-SIM and AFAIK that's not an option wiht Telecom ... ?

Author's note by ahmad, on 9-Jun-2010 18:52 , user id: 31335)

@WH0A in the absence of somebody leaving an iPhone 4 in a bar somewhere near me, yes this is hypothetical but less hypothetical than you might imagine.

What will NOT change between now and the release of iPhone 4 (and in fact in the near future in the absence of any announcements from Vodafone), is that Vodafone 3G extended coverage will not be available in major urban centres (as outlined above this includes Auckland, Tauranga, Hamilton, Wellington, Dunedin, and I think Christchurch).

What does that mean? That means that when used in these urban areas, you will get NO benefit from the added 900Mhz support the iPhone 4 introduces.

As fully outlined in the article I posted, when you travel outside of the urban areas, you will indeed get benefit, but not if you stay in the cities.

850/900Mhz wavelengths offer better in-building coverage and "characteristics". That is why I lose 3G coverage in many buildings and elevators in particular. This will not change when I get an iPhone 4.

If someone at Vodafone wants to let us know when there will be a 900Mhz rollout planned for major urban areas then I would love to know. Because right now, based on the information on Vodafone's website (coverage map), and information from Vodafone employees, there is no definite timeframe for any such rollout.

MicroSIMs will definitely be available on Vodafone as they will be supporting the iPhone. However Telecom have also indicated that they intend to offer microSIM (although no date or pricing has been announced).

But that's not that important - hundreds of people are already using 3G iPads in New Zealand. How? A microSIM is simply a cut down SIM card and you can do that yourself with a pair of scissors.

Comment by timmyh, on 9-Jun-2010 21:18 , user id: 15664)

Technically, you are correct that XT will have better coverage because they have a much higher ratio of 850 to 2100 than Vodafone's 900 to 2100. When Vodafone launched its UMTS in 2005, four years before Telecom, 2100 was the only option so all the initial coverage was at the higher frequency. 900 only became possible in 2008 and most regional and rural coverage has been at that lower frequency since then.

This leaves two tricky decisions for Vodafone:
1. Do you back-fill areas that already have 2100 with 900 just to improve in-building?

2. When you are putting in a new 900 UMTS site do you also put in 2100 (even though it won't go as far) because only a low percentage of the installed devices can as yet take advantage of 900?

The answer, as always, is whether the cost will lead to enough increased traffic.

Author's note by ahmad, on 9-Jun-2010 23:31 , user id: 31335)

@timmyh, hence "Why the iPhone will still be better on Telecom XT" (at least at the time of launch).

Thanks for providing that additional information. Once again to reiterate this is not a Vodafone-bash. It's simply a question of technical characteristics.

Comment by timmyh, on 10-Jun-2010 07:54 , user id: 15664)

Over time the ratio of Vodafone's 900 to 2100 will also increase and the difference will become less and less.

I guess the question is for most users, would they notice a lot of difference using a 900/2100 device vs. 850/2100? And is that much different to basic coverage differences between Telecom and Vodafone?

I am not sure and it will be interesting to see how the iPhone operates on 900, and whether there are any 850/900 interference problems. Remember there are only 2 countries in the world where these two frequencies overlap for 3G - Australia and NZ - even in the U.S. it is ONLY 850 MHz. So I wonder how much testing would Apple have done in Aus and NZ?

Comment by Chris, on 10-Jun-2010 11:16 , user id: )

@ahmad, Why not lock your phone to GSM only?? Vodafone have GSM 900 all over the country and I find it always tends to have full signal all the time.

Author's note by ahmad, on 10-Jun-2010 11:21 , user id: 31335)

@Chris if I had wanted 2G/GPRS then I wouldn't have upgraded to an iPhone 3G? Or was that not the point you were making?

Generally I prefer fast over slow.

Comment by corksta, on 10-Jun-2010 11:23 , user id: 30469)

@Chris: the iPhone can't be locked to a particular frequency - if it drops to GPRS you just have to roll with it.

Comment by Chris, on 10-Jun-2010 11:28 , user id: )

@ahmad the iPhone lacks basic features like that. Also I only said that because I don't use data at all and,2G gives way longer battery life.

Comment by Chris, on 10-Jun-2010 11:30 , user id: )

However everyone has different needs. And if they need data then I guess they are going to have to turn on 3G on there handset

Author's note by ahmad, on 10-Jun-2010 11:34 , user id: 31335)

It's everyone's own choice but generally speaking the iPhone was made for mobile data. In fact I believe the figures are that iPhone uses are among the most prolific data users.

Comment by Chris, on 10-Jun-2010 11:44 , user id: )

I bought a iPhone 3G 8GB on a contract once, I sold it around a week latter and used the money to pay the contract (I lost money but was glad to be rid of it)I used the money to pay the contract break fee... The reasons I hated the device:

No user replaceable battery

No front facing camera

No MMS

No Cell Broadcast (Tells you what cell site phone is logged on)

No option to lock to 2G only or 3G only.

Cannot copy contacts onto Sim Card, (but Can copy from Sim that already had contacts)

Does not have a text character counter:

When typing a SMS all other phones will display a counter that tells you how many pages you have done (each 160 characters is one page and if you go over it a second page and a second charge will apply)

Comment by Chris, on 10-Jun-2010 11:47 , user id: )

I realise a small number of these issues have addressed since then

Author's note by ahmad, on 10-Jun-2010 12:14 , user id: 31335)

@Chris this is not about iPhone vs. others but to address your points above:

1. I've never swapped out batteries in phones I used previously even when I bought a spare battery for the purpose. As long as the phone lasts a full day for me it's a non-issue and I'd rather not have to keep another battery around (to lose). Of course this is a personal decision.

2. You can't lock to 3G only, correct, but you have always been able to lock to 2G only if you wanted to preserve battery life (does not work on XT as this is a 3G only network and 3G coverage is required for voice and SMS/MMS).

Other concerns you raised are a "take it or leave it" personal decision - most of the concerns are already resolved or can be resolved with an App (sure, this is not OTB but just saying).

Comment by oxnsox, on 10-Jun-2010 16:29 , user id: 49299)

Ahmad much as I appreciate your right to hold an opinion you would have done better to wait the few weeks unitll you could use an iphone 4 whereever you want to be and then post something that is actual, factual, and meaningful.

You can't pretend to suppose something will be better or worse if you haven't tried it... it's 'bad science'.

Your credibility is as valuable as your opinion... untill you destroy it.

Author's note by ahmad, on 10-Jun-2010 17:11 , user id: 31335)

@oxnsox if the NZ Herald can claim that Vodafone has the edge for the iPhone 4 (due to it being "designed to perform best on the 3G urban frequency used by Vodafone" - which by the way is an incorrect statement), and the NBR can claim that the iPhone 4 won't work on XT because of the microSIM issue (ignoring the relative ease of the trim-down process and the fact that hundreds have already done it), then I'm happy to post facts about the Vodafone and XT networks.

This blog post is about the frequencies upon which Vodafone and XT operate their 3G networks, and so far none of the many comments and criticisms about my post have not discredited what I have stated about this issue.

I am happy to be corrected on what I have said, but so far the facts remain unchallenged:

1. 850Mhz and 900Mhz 3G frequencies offer better "in-building characteristics" and coverage than 2100Mhz 3G.

2. Vodafone do not appear to have 900Mhz 3G coverage in major urban areas (according to their own coverage maps, and because I have not reliably heard of any actual or timelined 900Mhz 3G roll-out in urban areas)

3. Therefore it logically follows that the iPhone 4 will not benefit from from the added support for the 900Mhz UMTS band in major urban areas, which is where most New Zealanders (population wise) live, work, and play.

Even with a drastically improved 2100Mhz radio in the iPhone 4, this does NOT change the fact that 850/900 offers much better in-building coverage. The iPhone is not the only device that drops out in lifts and buildings. However I can say from experience that those areas in which the drop off occurs are definintely covered by the 850Mhz band used by XT.

Comment by portunus, on 11-Jun-2010 10:43 , user id: 18463)

It only takes a few minutes to check Vodafone's site to see that 900Mhz UMTS coverage is minimal in most of the main centres, that's if it exists at all. So I agree with the point Ahmed is making.

If any of you have a Nokia 6121c or similar handset on Vodafone that does 900/2100Mhz UMTS, try locking it on UMTS only - it was a pretty miserable experience last time I tried being a city slicker :)

Author's note by ahmad, on 11-Jun-2010 11:23 , user id: 31335)

via Twitter:

@GrantisNZ posts:

The new iPhone 4's Antenna is built into the external skeleton of the device - nice touch! No more dropped calls?

I know the current iPhone 3Gs has crap Radio Software & does not perform well on 2100Mhz UMTS, I don't think it's a VF Net fault

Ahmad - of course the lower frequencies will be better - they have superior building penetration capabilities!!

Unless the building has 2100Mhz UMTS femtocell's, little chance of it working in a lift of all places dude - it's used for capacity

Author's note by ahmad, on 11-Jun-2010 11:27 , user id: 31335)

My response to @Grantis:

Fair call on the iPhone having "crap radio software", but I know people with non-iPhone 2100 devices which also drop out in lifts and many buildings. However the iPhone using an XT SIM does NOT drop out in the same situations.

Yes, this is not a VodafoneNZ problem, and I've said this clearly in the blog post. But until such time as Vodafone rolls out 900Mhz UMTS then the iPhone (along with any other 850/900/2100 device) will still benefit on XT IMO due to experience both I am friends have had with cut-outs in-building.

I reiterate, this is NOT a VodafoneNZ bashing. It is simply a case of frequency characteristics.

Comment by David Humpherson, on 17-Jun-2010 10:37 , user id: )

I have an HTC Magic on Vodafone's network. This phone supports UTMS 900/2100 MHz and although I live and work in Auckland the phone seams to be in 2G mode more than it is in 3G mode. This applies even when outside in the fresh air.
In general I find Vodafone's 3G coverage to be very patchy.

Comment by Matt, on 18-Jun-2010 14:05 , user id: )

@David Humpherson

I'd previously had the same experience with an HTC Hero, however, having locked it to 'WCDMA only' a couple of weeks back it's never dropped from the 3G network, and only rarely been without HSDPA data.

HTC radio software is configured to favour the strongest radio signal in order to save battery. This is a somewhat flawed strategy as 'signal strength' is not a good indicator of
network quality in a WCDMA network...

Comment by Chilling_Silence, on 18-Jun-2010 17:10 , user id: 45821)

I've also had similar experiences, I can get over 6m/bit downloading from iTunes over 3G on XT, whereas with Vodafone I was lucky to get 100kbps (bits not bytes). I also got regular dropouts, driving down the motorway, or as soon as my phone knew I was even thinking about entering a lift it would drop off the voda network :D

Comment by richms, on 19-Jun-2010 13:54 , user id: 21120)

When vodafone deploy 900MHz in Newmarket, Albany, Birkenhead, The CBD, Ellerslie etc then I will give a crap about having a handset with a 900MHz radio when using vodafone.

I have a couple of 900MHz UMTS nokias, I lock it to UMTS only since GSM fallback seems to be the cause of most missed calls when out and having good signal.

Walk into shops, no signal. There is GSM there, but I dont own a 3G phone to use a 2G network. A very very slow 2G network at that since it has no edge on it.

Until vodafone have nationwide 900MHz service then XT is the network of choice for people with smartphone needs.

Author's note by ahmad, on 19-Jun-2010 14:19 , user id: 31335)

FINALLY someone that "gets" the point of this blog post. As hard as I've tried to be clear on my points, it seems there is still a lot of confusion about the radio frequencies and the fact that Vodafone simply don't have urban 900Mhz UMTS coverage yet.

Perhaps people have got caught up in the whole XT vs. Vodafone issue - this post is certainly not about which company is better.

Comment by NzBeagle, on 20-Jun-2010 09:51 , user id: )

I think an important note here is that the iPhone 4 has been deemed to have a much better design in relation to its aerial, where they are aiming to fix the issues that AT&T have been plagued with, this is where it could show that Apple has started to identify faults in its own aerial and radio configuration and made efforts to improve it. Users may experience better 2100 coverage than previous, as I note that when I pull out my n80 from time to time, it has superior coverage and 3g retention than any other phones I use. So perhaps the new model will infact provide VF users with some comfort of retaining 3g coverage when they are in buildings. Just my 5c worth

Comment by motorwayne, on 2-Aug-2010 17:29 , user id: 19975)

Just wondering if there is any update to the position mentioned above? i.e. VF users getting comfort in retained 3g coverage through the iphone 4?

Author's note by ahmad, on 3-Aug-2010 08:11 , user id: 31335)

Hi motorwayne,

"Watch this space" - and not in a Vodafone iPhone 4 launch kind of a way

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