Vodafone Mobiles on the XT Network

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nefnee

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#61478 17-May-2010 17:31

Will either of these phones (available from Vodafone) work on the XT network?

LG GW300

Samsung B3410

the vodafone website says that the Samsung phone has

GSM Band
850/850/900/1800/1900

it also says that the LG phone has

GSM Band
GSM 850/900/1800/1900

i havent bought either of these phones yet (as only want to use on xt) so do not have access to the IMEI numbers and cannot check compatibility on the telecom website

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#330978 17-May-2010 17:34

No as advised many times XT is only a 3G WCDMA network only No GSM

John

johnr

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#330979 17-May-2010 17:40

Please read this thread

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=39&topicid=59866

John

nefnee

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#330990 17-May-2010 18:23

so there is absolutely no way either of these phones could work on the xt network?

johnr

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#330991 17-May-2010 18:27

nefnee: so there is absolutely no way either of these phones could work on the xt network?

You will need to call Telecom NZ and ask them to add GSM to the XT network

John

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#331000 17-May-2010 18:53

johnr:
nefnee: so there is absolutely no way either of these phones could work on the xt network?

You will need to call Telecom NZ and ask them to add GSM to the XT network

John

It's one of their $12 extras - add GSM functionality to your phone plan for $12 a month.......

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#331102 17-May-2010 22:12

nefnee: so there is absolutely no way either of these phones could work on the xt network?

No. Telecom do not operate a GSM network. Only Vodafone and 2degrees do.

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nefnee

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#331136 17-May-2010 23:36

if that is true, then why does telecom say that it is possible to bring vodafone phones over to the xt network?

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#331150 18-May-2010 01:55

nefnee: if that is true, then why does telecom say that it is possible to bring vodafone phones over to the xt network?

It is possible, but only a few Vodafone phones work on XT.

The specs have to say 850Mhz 3G (UMTS, WCDMA)

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#331154 18-May-2010 06:49

nefnee: if that is true, then why does telecom say that it is possible to bring vodafone phones over to the xt network?

I've never seen Telecom claim that anywhere. Where did you see this?

The vast majority of handsets these days are 3G with very few being GSM only. The handset you looked at is GSM only, and not even ideal for Vodafone as you can't access their 3G network. It can't be used on XT because Telecom don't operate a GSM network, they only have a WCDMA 3G network.

To make matters worse there are also frequency differnces, Telecom operate a 850Mhz WCDMA network and Vodafone operate a dual band 900/2100MHz WCDMA network. There are NO phones that operate on both WCDMA 850MHz and WCDMA 900MHz which quite simply means there are no phones that can be swapped between both networks and deliver optimal performance and coverage. There are a couple of phones that Vodafone sell (main one is the iPhone) that is better suited to XT as it supports 850MHz WCDMA.

The safest way to sum it up is to say that with the exception of the iPhone there are no Vodafone mobiles that will work on XT. Likewise there are no XT mobiles that will deliver optimal performance on Vodafone - they will work but you won't have nationwide 3G and will be forced back to GSM because they phones support different frequencies.

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#331158 18-May-2010 07:15

Pretty sure you mean optimal, not optical?

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#331160 18-May-2010 07:16

Oops fixed now

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#331170 18-May-2010 08:08

nefnee: if that is true, then why does telecom say that it is possible to bring vodafone phones over to the xt network?

I think what you may be referring to is the ability to take your "number" over to the Telecom network, not the handset itself.

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#331214 18-May-2010 09:53

nefnee: if that is true, then why does telecom say that it is possible to bring vodafone phones over to the xt network?

If you have a Vodafone phone that supports 3G (WCDMA/UMTS), then it may be possible to use it on the Telecom XT network, but on the WCDMA 2100 frequency ONLY. Telecom XT supports WCDMA 850 and 2100. They do not have GSM at all. So the quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900) is absolutely no use with Telecom XT.

The lack of GSM on XT is what limits any Vodafone phone to just two frequencies (noted above - WCDMA 900/2100)....and Telecom do not use WCDMA 900. They use 850. Trying to exist on 2100 alone is a real challenge as coverage is very patchy. I have Telecom XT coverage on WCDMA 2100 at home and at work, but it drops out frequently in between. It's just not reliable as the sole frequency for a Vodafone phone to be used on.

But the iPhone DOES support WCDMA 850 and 2100, so in many ways it is better (for 3G) with Telecom XT than Vodafone......but Telecom lack GSM, which the iPhone also supports...so your access will be more fragile as there isn't the layer of older, reliable GSM tech underpinning the WCDMA.

Hopefully I;ve repeated the same points over often enough from different angle to get you to the point where you understand that:

1. GSM is 2G and is on 850/900/1800/1900.....and ONLY works with Vodafone and 2Degrees.
2. WCDMA (3G) is on 850/2100 for Telecom XT and 900/2100 for Vodafone and 2100 only for 2Degrees (when they get around to launching it - which they haven't yet).

You might think; "Yay! They all do WCDMA 2100!"...and they do....but for 3G, the largest areas for Teleom XT and Vodafone are covered by the 850 and 900.....and the 2100 is used as in-fill mainly urban areas. So if your phone can't do WCDMA 850, then even if it can do WCDMA 2100 it will be a poor choice as a Telecom XT phone as coverage will be very patchy in cities and almost non-existent on the highways between them and in smaller towns.

Telecom XT not having a nationwide GSM network is the final straw that makes GSM-only phone completely un-usuable on Telecom XT.

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#331218 18-May-2010 10:05

Linuxluver: If you have a Vodafone phone that supports 3G (WCDMA/UMTS), then it may be possible to use it on the Telecom XT network, but on the WCDMA 2100 frequency ONLY.

I wouldn't ever think of saying to anyone that a phone will work on Telecom if it doesn't do 850MHz WCDMA. The 2100MHz sites are for infill only, they are not the main network.

If you want a handset to work on Telecom XT it must support 850MHz WCDMA.

As noted before 850MHz WCDMA (3G) is not the same as 850MHz GSM (2G).

Linuxluver: But the iPhone DOES support WCDMA 850 and 2100, so in many ways it is better (for 3G) with Telecom XT than Vodafone......but Telecom lack GSM, which the iPhone also supports...so your access will be more fragile as there isn't the layer of older, reliable GSM tech underpinning the WCDMA.

There's a misconception around this. Vodafone's service is actually two independent networks. GSM (2G) and WCDMA (3G). So the total Vodafone coverage is a mix of both networks. The Telecom network is 100% WCDMA (3G) so its total coverage is a single technology.

Linuxluver: Telecom XT not having a nationwide GSM network is the final straw that makes GSM-only phone completely un-usuable on Telecom XT.

But why bother with GSM? It's an old technology and they need to reuse the frequencies, so better not even invest on it...

Back on topic. Vodafone handsets are (in most parts) not suitable for Telecom XT because they both use difference frequencies, even though the 3G technology (WCDMA) is the same. Simple as that.

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johnr

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#331219 18-May-2010 10:08

nefnee: if that is true, then why does telecom say that it is possible to bring vodafone phones over to the xt network?

Telecom NZ have never advised this

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