'97% coverage' - how big is that 3%?

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › '97% coverage' - how big is that 3%?

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116 posts

Master Geek

#220693 2-Jun-2009 08:29

gkjb: The coverage up at Vic Uni's Kelburn campus is vastly improved since I went on XT. In places where there used to be no coverage at all (like the inside of a lift in the middle of Kirk building) I now have 4 plus bars.

Its a great feeling to know that you aren't chewing throught the battery life and don't have to look like the world's biggest gimp trying to find that single bar of reception anymore.

Good to hear, I'm moving to XTNetwork, not only because of the good reception but the superior pricing when it comes to data charges for prepaid. All in all, I am a happy chappy moving to telecom.

gkjb

128 posts

Master Geek

#220694 2-Jun-2009 08:33

I'm not on prepaid so I couldn't comment on that one. And being one of the lucky few to get the free phone and credit I won;t have to worry about another bill for a while (thank god). But for me the XT plans ends up being somewhere between $20 and $30 cheaper per month.

kaiwai

116 posts

Master Geek

#220696 2-Jun-2009 08:36

gkjb: I'm not on prepaid so I couldn't comment on that one. And being one of the lucky few to get the free phone and credit I won;t have to worry about another bill for a while (thank god). But for me the XT plans ends up being somewhere between $20 and $30 cheaper per month.

My brother is in the same situation because he is on a contract. For me, I had a look, $12 for 120mb, bonus top ups (like what happened when I was with Optus in Australia) - its a good thing that Telecom have pulled this off because Vodafone desperately needs a kick up the jaxy.

w2krules

492 posts

Ultimate Geek

#220706 2-Jun-2009 08:52

I trialled a Vodem stick a few months ago. Suffice to say that I sent it back after trying it on the road for 3 days.

As others have said, the XT network should be better as it's 100% 3G, whereas some of Vodafone's coverage is still 2G. Plus, they use mainly 2100 MHz in towns and cities for 3G, which will not work as well as the 850 MHz used by the XT network. Also, any Telecom device should fully support their network, whereas only newer Vodafone 3G phones and data sticks will support their 900 MHz 3G network. This also applies to most parallel imported phones.

I was a geek before the word was invented!

Loftus

140 posts

Master Geek

#221037 2-Jun-2009 19:15

Assuming a total population of 4.3 million that implies there are approx. 129,000 people in New Zealand who miss out on using XT due to not having sufficient coverage.

Paulthagerous

698 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#221039 2-Jun-2009 19:22

There are XT coverage maps here:

http://www.telecom.co.nz/mobile/ournetwork/coverage?nv=sd

PS I was on Facebook on my XT phone all the way from Waterloo to Wellington by train today, and it seemed to work fine the whole time

Wipeout

330 posts

Ultimate Geek

#221042 2-Jun-2009 19:26

I'm in Mt Albert and get one bar... then it goes to full, then back to one bar, then full.

Any suggestions?

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kaiwai

116 posts

Master Geek

#221070 2-Jun-2009 20:25

Paulthagerous: There are XT coverage maps here:

http://www.telecom.co.nz/mobile/ournetwork/coverage?nv=sd

PS I was on Facebook on my XT phone all the way from Waterloo to Wellington by train today, and it seemed to work fine the whole time

I got the new phone today; perfect the whole way from wellington - going to grab a data stick in a couple of weeks. No fluctuations, no weirdness.

The question, should I get the Sierra or Telecom Data stick? I question it because I really can't justify the extra $200 for the Sierra unless it is providing something monumentally better.

scottjpalmer

5973 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

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Lifetime subscriber

#221071 2-Jun-2009 20:28

Wipeout: I'm in Mt Albert and get one bar... then it goes to full, then back to one bar, then full.

Any suggestions?

To fix it: go and stand by a window or upstairs or up the street

To understand why: google "umts cell breathing" or similar

scottjpalmer

5973 posts

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#221077 2-Jun-2009 20:34

kaiwai:The question, should I get the Sierra or Telecom Data stick? I question it because I really can't justify the extra $200 for the Sierra unless it is providing something monumentally better.

This discussion is already being had here

Wipeout

330 posts

Ultimate Geek

#221078 2-Jun-2009 20:35

scottjpalmer:
Wipeout: I'm in Mt Albert and get one bar... then it goes to full, then back to one bar, then full.

Any suggestions?

To fix it: go and stand by a window or upstairs or up the street

To understand why: google "umts cell breathing" or similar

Cool, thanks Scott, I will try this. :)

w2krules

492 posts

Ultimate Geek

#221109 2-Jun-2009 21:25

kaiwai:
The question, should I get the Sierra or Telecom Data stick? I question it because I really can't justify the extra $200 for the Sierra unless it is providing something monumentally better.

Remember that you can use your phone for data also. And you can receive voice calls while your data connection is active.

I was a geek before the word was invented!

kaiwai

116 posts

Master Geek

#221112 2-Jun-2009 21:35

w2krules:
kaiwai:
The question, should I get the Sierra or Telecom Data stick? I question it because I really can't justify the extra $200 for the Sierra unless it is providing something monumentally better.

Remember that you can use your phone for data also. And you can receive voice calls while your data connection is active.

True, But I'd like to keep the two separate :) have a data connection and phone one.

kaiwai

116 posts

Master Geek

#221460 3-Jun-2009 22:42

Just an update, I got the Telecom R6 which is a rebranded ZTE phone; I've used it as a internet connection with my netbook and it works perfectly; so I'll stick to using just the one connection since it is all working out well :)

w2krules

492 posts

Ultimate Geek

#221467 3-Jun-2009 23:06

kaiwai: Just an update, I got the Telecom R6 which is a rebranded ZTE phone; I've used it as a internet connection with my netbook and it works perfectly; so I'll stick to using just the one connection since it is all working out well :)

I'm just trying out the same phone, in fact I'm online with it now. Seems to work well, and it even charges through the USB cable! A fully charged battery in my Nokia 6121 only lasts about an hour when used for data on Vodafone 3G.

I was a geek before the word was invented!

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