Telecom 'won't lock handsets'

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Telecom 'won't lock handsets'

old3eyes

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#21966 12-May-2008 12:49

"Telecom says it will not follow Vodafone by "Sim-locking" the phones it will supply for use with its new $300 million mobile network which is due to be completed in November."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4523351a28.html

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Old3eyes

freitasm

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#130210 12-May-2008 12:54

Hopefully the new handsets. The article completely fails to mention that all current WorldMode phones are SIM locked and won't accept any other company's SIM card.

sbiddle

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#130219 12-May-2008 13:42

Telecom head of mobile Martin Butler says Telecom will not follow suit.
"We want our customers to choose to be with us for the value and services we offer, not because we've locked their handsets to our network," he says. "The handsets when purchased belong to our customers and from our perspective they're free to use them as they see fit."

Rather ironic then that Telecom SIM lock all their existing GSM handsets. I'm guessing that Telecom will be providing unlock codes for existing Worldmode handsets on request since there is no reason for having the lock in place?

JonC

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#130221 12-May-2008 13:49

The Herald article/blog about the same thing is more interesting:

http://blogs.nzherald.co.nz/blog/griffins-tech-blog/2008/5/12/telecom-wont-lock-handsets-sci-fi-channel-update/?c_id=5

There is a fair amount of interesting rumour and speculation in it:

Telecom is on the back foot with its new network, the physical reach of which has been scaled back in the timeframe Telecom is indicating. It will only go live in the three main centres in November and industry sources suggest coverage won't be complete in those centres either.
...
Telecom will probably get the iPhone too, but it will be six months behind Vodafone.
...
I think we can expect to see all-you-can-eat data plans on offer from both operators before the year is out as competition intensifies.

Will we finally see some real competition between Vodafone and Telecom to break up the duopoly?

rb85

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#130246 12-May-2008 14:46

Good news that Telecom are not locking their devices!

I assumed that the current range of World Mode devices are not compatible with Telecoms GSM/WCDMA network - due to frequency.

JonC

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#130250 12-May-2008 14:50

I'd speculate that Telecom will ditch the existing world-mode phones. Why bother with them when the new GSM networks are up?

destined

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#130269 12-May-2008 15:42

rb85: I assumed that the current range of World Mode devices are not compatible with Telecoms GSM/WCDMA network - due to frequency.

Correct. The World Mode devices are all GSM 900/1800, and the Telecom GSM network will be 850.

NZtechfreak

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#130295 12-May-2008 17:09

Nice Telecom - depending on what plans you offer I may ditch Vodafone! HINT: good data plans please!

This hard on the heels of their last data plan announcement, it feels odd to me to be praising Telecom...

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sinner

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#130878 14-May-2008 14:32

The only scenario that I can see an unlocked phone being feasable is where the customer purchases the phone at the full acquisition price (not a subsidised $599 price, but at a $800-$900). Anything else, I think it's quite reasonable for Telecom to lock the customer's phone in for a period of time. Otherwise, what's to stop consumers getting a free/subsidised phone then switching providers a month later? Telecom do subsidise handsets by quite a bit currently.

JonC

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#130879 14-May-2008 14:35

sinner: The only scenario that I can see an unlocked phone being feasable is where the customer purchases the phone at the full acquisition price (not a subsidised $599 price, but at a $800-$900). Anything else, I think it's quite reasonable for Telecom to lock the customer's phone in for a period of time. Otherwise, what's to stop consumers getting a free/subsidised phone then switching providers a month later? Telecom do subsidise handsets by quite a bit currently.

That could only happen if the customer bought the phone on a pay-as-you-go plan. With a contract, they couldn't swap to Vodafone without paying the early-termination charge - which would presumably re-coup any subsidy on the phone.

I'd assumed that phones bought on pay-as-you-go plans aren't subisidised.

sinner

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#130880 14-May-2008 14:39

Pay as you go are still subsidised. I agree with the early termination fee. But really you'll still get people complaining about that if, for example, the fee increases from $50 to $80. Personally I just think that unless the customer purchases the phone at the full acquisition price (which can be a few hundred more than the retail), it's reasonable to lock customers in.

JonC

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#130882 14-May-2008 14:47

sinner: Pay as you go are still subsidised. I agree with the early termination fee. But really you'll still get people complaining about that if, for example, the fee increases from $50 to $80. Personally I just think that unless the customer purchases the phone at the full acquisition price (which can be a few hundred more than the retail), it's reasonable to lock customers in.

If they're subisidised, then fair enough. There doesn't seem to be huge subsidies, though - compared to other markets like the UK where free phones on contract are quite common, e.g. you can get a free Nokia N95 in the UK if you sign up to a 35 pounds per month plan for 18 months. Maybe with a common platform (GSM) there will be more competition and a drop in prices???

sinner

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#130887 14-May-2008 15:06

Can depend on your buying power. Telecom is NZ only and gets some buying power by affiliating with overseas providers. Vodafone is a global company and has buying power that reflects that.

JonC

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#130891 14-May-2008 15:19

Vodafone NZ charges a lot for phones compared to its UK counterpart. For example, that free N95 in the UK costs $1300 in NZ. Obviously Vodafone UK builds in the subsidy for the phone into its monthly charges, but even so, at 35 pounds ($90) per month, you're paying out $1620 over 18 months for the phone, which has included 600 minutes call-time and unlimited texts.

Anyway, this is getting off-topic. My point is that Vodafone NZ and Telecom don't subsidise their phones all that much, so aren't really justified in locking them.

mobygeek

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#132135 20-May-2008 18:26

Here's a spanner in the works. Mr Boss reckons The worldmode phones are NOT GSM phones. They are dual mode.

Madmax77

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#132144 20-May-2008 19:07

mobygeek: Here's a spanner in the works. Mr Boss reckons The worldmode phones are NOT GSM phones. They are dual mode.

That may be so, either way, they still support GSM so why lock them at all? If the service is that fantastic then they shouldn't be worried...