Telecom to announce 850MHZ WCDMA

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Telecom to announce 850MHZ WCDMA

1 | ... | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15

9119 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#171322 15-Oct-2008 16:59

Wob: It doesn't surprise me that it's Lucatel - we all know Telecom's not beyond rattling cages to get prices down. I feel for Ericsson, they were pretty keen to get back into NZ in a big way.

I missed quite a lot of the "Telecom dumps its GSM network" action - I did hear a rumour they had arranged sale of the kit though. Can anyone point me in the direction of threads about this?

I hope that the Alcatel part of it does a more timely roll out than they have done with the NGN..

Regards,

Old3eyes

bbman

646 posts

Ultimate Geek

#171343 15-Oct-2008 19:51

old3eyes:
Wob: It doesn't surprise me that it's Lucatel - we all know Telecom's not beyond rattling cages to get prices down. I feel for Ericsson, they were pretty keen to get back into NZ in a big way.

I missed quite a lot of the "Telecom dumps its GSM network" action - I did hear a rumour they had arranged sale of the kit though. Can anyone point me in the direction of threads about this?
I hope that the Alcatel part of it does a more timely roll out than they have done with the NGN..

Considering a fair chunk of the base station work is done bar the fibre back haul i would say Telecom will enforcing a strict SLA on this.

With a pilot live in November or December it will be in its final stages early new year.

Very exciting with the fibre back haul to all sites. rural broadband, and semi metro broadband for those with out ADSL reach. Woohoo... opportunity plus!

I just really hope i can get on the PILOT !!!!! :)

www.ultimatebroadband.co.nz
Delivering better broadband services

UFB fibre, Rural fibre on EA networks, RBI wireless, Ruralnet & Ultra wireless, wireless networks

DjShadow

4085 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#171352 15-Oct-2008 20:14

Just a question regarding the GSM gear Telecom has already deployed, will WCDMA run over the new pannels Telecom has installed for GSM850 or does it run over those slim looking ones vodafone uses for WCDMA2100 ?

bbman

646 posts

Ultimate Geek

#171357 15-Oct-2008 20:29

I think it depends from site to site. From the current new sites in CHCH and the existing upgraded ones a mixture of wide and thin antennas have been used.

I would imaging in the cities the 2100mhz antennas could be the thin ones and the wider are to support 850mhz wcdma and in some new sites CDMA/WCDMA

I am really hoping that the rural omni sites get updated, several particularlly Methven are blardy hopeless and really need new decent antennas.

There are a bunch of cluster sites with multi sectors in a small array around the pole, Victoria St and wairakei rd, Nelson airport there are also new designs including a new site in parklands with 2 different sets of antennas completely?

www.ultimatebroadband.co.nz
Delivering better broadband services

UFB fibre, Rural fibre on EA networks, RBI wireless, Ruralnet & Ultra wireless, wireless networks

drquack32

129 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

#171367 15-Oct-2008 21:49

So for the simple folk like me, what handesets are we most likely be able to use - Nokia???? (as thats the only one I will ever use)
Is it sim card based and if so, can we chop and change with Vodafone phones?

Cheers

tonyhughes

Hawkes Bay
8476 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#171369 15-Oct-2008 22:01

drquack32: So for the simple folk like me, what handesets are we most likely be able to use - Nokia???? (as thats the only one I will ever use)
Is it sim card based and if so, can we chop and change with Vodafone phones?

Cheers

No debate there
Any W-CDMA handset that does 3G @ 850 & 2100
Yes
Yes
Yes, as long as your handset is not locked to an operator (some older Vodafone units may still be network locked I think?)

coffeebaron

6231 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#171371 15-Oct-2008 22:15

drquack32: can we chop and change with Vodafone phones?

Cheers

edit: for clarity - talking about 3G bands
The catch here is the handsets seem to either be 2100/900 or 2100/850; I haven't seen any 2100/900/850.
This means in main centres, you can swap no problem as it is mainly 2100 3G.
Out of main centres, it is more of an issue;
- Vodafone (2100/900) --> Telecom = no coverage
- Telecom (2100/850) --> Vodafone = no 3G coverage, but you will get 2G coverage.

Rural IT and Broadband support.

Broadband troubleshooting and master filter installs.
Starlink installer - one month free: https://www.starlink.com/?referral=RC-32845-88860-71
Wi-Fi and networking
Cel-Fi supply and installer - boost your mobile phone coverage legally

Need help in Auckland, Waikato or BoP? Click my email button, or email me direct: [my user name] at geekzonemail dot com

GoodSync

GoodSync. Easily back up and sync your files with GoodSync. Simple and secure file backup and synchronisation software will ensure that your files are never lost (affiliate link).

bleater

58 posts

Master Geek

#171438 16-Oct-2008 10:02

One thing that strikes me about this is that the timeframe, while short in engineering terms, is long in customer terms. June is a long way off for the person wanting to purchase a new handset today and use it today. The FAQ on Telecom's website effectively says "buy a [2 or 2.5G] CDMA phone today, and we'll support it.. until we decide not to". Hmmm...
What I wonder is if the already active GSM network couldn't play a part? Buy a handset today, we'll give you GSM 2.5 G (i.e. GPRS and/or EDGE), and 3G from June. This is effectively what AT&T was able to offer in the USA when the iPhone launched. Their 3G rollout has been progressive.
Does telecom have spectrum at 1900MHz. Is it feasible to have WCDMA and CDMA at 850, GSM at 1900, and WCDMA at 2100?

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79263 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#171449 16-Oct-2008 10:31

coffeebaron: The catch here is the handsets seem to either be 2100/900 or 2100/850; I haven't seen any 2100/900/850.

I've seen some handsets that work - I actually those a couple of Pocket PCs to the USA with Telecom SIM cards just because they worked on all those bands...

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79263 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#171452 16-Oct-2008 10:33

bleater: One thing that strikes me about this is that the timeframe, while short in engineering terms, is long in customer terms. June is a long way off for the person wanting to purchase a new handset today and use it today. The FAQ on Telecom's website effectively says "buy a [2 or 2.5G] CDMA phone today, and we'll support it.. until we decide not to". Hmmm...
What I wonder is if the already active GSM network couldn't play a part? Buy a handset today, we'll give you GSM 2.5 G (i.e. GPRS and/or EDGE), and 3G from June. This is effectively what AT&T was able to offer in the USA when the iPhone launched. Their 3G rollout has been progressive.

During the conference call Telecom announced that special offers will be available - in summary free WCDMA handsets for anyone with an existing contract when the new service comes up. Hard to beat that.

The current WCDMA coverage wouldn't be good enough to start distributing handsets/service.

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

Uber Geek

#171468 16-Oct-2008 11:25

bleater: One thing that strikes me about this is that the timeframe, while short in engineering terms, is long in customer terms. June is a long way off for the person wanting to purchase a new handset today and use it today. The FAQ on Telecom's website effectively says "buy a [2 or 2.5G] CDMA phone today, and we'll support it.. until we decide not to". Hmmm...
What I wonder is if the already active GSM network couldn't play a part? Buy a handset today, we'll give you GSM 2.5 G (i.e. GPRS and/or EDGE), and 3G from June. This is effectively what AT&T was able to offer in the USA when the iPhone launched. Their 3G rollout has been progressive.
Does telecom have spectrum at 1900MHz. Is it feasible to have WCDMA and CDMA at 850, GSM at 1900, and WCDMA at 2100?

The CDMa network won't be switched of for at least 2-3 years I reckon, possibly longer. That is plenty of time to change handsets.
Also, read the 'we will make it easy to switch' part at
http://www.telecom.co.nz/newnetwork/

Sign up with Telecom on any 12, 24 or 36 month mobile monthly plan between now and June 2009 and we will give you a voucher for a FREE handset worth up to $149. The $149 voucher can be used towards a handset from the new W850 range when you move onto our new network on any 24 month plan! This offer will be redeemable from the launch of our new network until the 30th of September 2009.

or

You have two options:

Option 1.
Upgrade & sign up - Upgrade your handset and sign up to Telecom on a 12, 24 or 36 month mobile monthly plan between now and June 2009 and we will give you a voucher for a FREE handset worth up to $149. The $149 voucher can be used towards a handset from the new W850 range when you move onto our new network on any 24 month plan! This offer will be redeemable from the launch of our new network until the 30th of September 2009.

Option 2.
Sign up only - If you are happy with your existing handset, re-sign with Telecom on a 12, 24 or 36 month mobile monthly plan between now and June 2009 and we will give you a voucher for a FREE handset worth up to $299. The $299 voucher can be used towards a handset from the new W850 range when you move onto our new network on any 24 month plan! This offer will be redeemable from the launch of our new network until the 30th of September 2009.

If you are an existing Telecom mobile customer who is still within contract beyond the launch of our new network, we will give you a FREE handset worth up to $149 from the new range when you move onto our new network on any 24 month plan! This offer will be redeemable from the launch of our new network until the 30th of September 2009.

drquack32

129 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

#171475 16-Oct-2008 11:30

Considering I have been on contract with them for over 10 years, spend about $150 per month and have been out of contract since last december, I'd be hoping for a nice flash shiny top of the line phone. Thats called loyalty and should be rewarded. $300 don't get much in terms of phones these days.....

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

Uber Geek

#171484 16-Oct-2008 11:46

drquack32: Considering I have been on contract with them for over 10 years, spend about $150 per month and have been out of contract since last december, I'd be hoping for a nice flash shiny top of the line phone. Thats called loyalty and should be rewarded. $300 don't get much in terms of phones these days.....

The $299 is the offer if you recontract now but don’t upgrade. You can always wait until June to recontract and then get a full subsidy (whatever that might be).

(also, that is only the standard offer, I reckon you could negotiate something better if you spend that much per month)

allstarnz

1719 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#171485 16-Oct-2008 11:47

i agree with DrQuack, Nokia is the only way to go. I am getting frustrated with these delays, my handset is coming to the end of it's life and I won't buy any other brand. The current CDMA range on Nokia is crap, there are basically no mid range $150-350 phones available at the moment now.

Am hanging out for something new in the WCDMA range.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#171502 16-Oct-2008 12:29

allstarnz: i agree with DrQuack, Nokia is the only way to go. I am getting frustrated with these delays, my handset is coming to the end of it's life and I won't buy any other brand. The current CDMA range on Nokia is crap, there are basically no mid range $150-350 phones available at the moment now.

Am hanging out for something new in the WCDMA range.

CDMA phones are history - it's unlikely there will be any new handsets other than what is currently available. Telecom actually had to urgently source more handsets in the middle of this year when the launch date was moved back from November.

1 | ... | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15