Spark selects Nokia for 5G expansion - 90% of population by end of 2023

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Spark selects Nokia for 5G expansion - 90% of population by end of 2023

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#2789144 4-Oct-2021 15:37

ajw:

Why then didn't they make RCG cellsites 3G voice capable. My understanding is you need a VOLTE enabled handset to talk on a RCG cellsite.

As explained the answer is technical limitations of a multi operator single RAN solution.

Many RCG sites on state highways do have 3G voice though, which adds a lot of cost and complexity to the sites.

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#2789149 4-Oct-2021 15:49

Linux:

Edit: Wait for media release Monday by VodafoneNZ 92% population coverage before end of 2023

Vodafone was installing 5G on my neighbourhood tower last week :) (at least I assume that's what they were doing; there's a licence for the site and I think there's more stuff on the tower now).

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#2789205 4-Oct-2021 17:21

Behodar:

Vodafone was installing 5G on my neighbourhood tower last week :) (at least I assume that's what they were doing; there's a licence for the site and I think there's more stuff on the tower now).

Off topic, but 5G went live here in Kennington, Invercargill a few months ago.

toejam316

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#2789259 4-Oct-2021 18:37

Had a brief play with 5G in Ham East the other day (Man, why'd I have to go to Ham East last week), and found the Voda 5G speeds bloody impressive. I do look forward to the Spark implementation with Nokia, if only because I've found Spark's tower placement a little more sensible than Vodafone in my neck of the Waikato. More than a few times I've weighed up swallowing my pride and moving to Spark as my primary service, just because Spotify keeps dropping out on my commute into Hamilton.

Anything I say is the ramblings of an ill informed, opinionated so-and-so, and not representative of any of my past, present or future employers, and is also probably best disregarded.

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#2789442 4-Oct-2021 21:17

@toejam316 when Spark has enabled 5G on every single site in Invercargill I will be making the move. It won’t be impossible as there isn’t even a dozen of them. Voda seems to be overloaded currently and with 3 out of 10 not being 4G enabled - data speeds are slow and voice isn’t great.

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#2790425 6-Oct-2021 10:40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S53cX6Sf6OI&ab_channel=TheTechxtremist

Strayfire

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#2818122 24-Nov-2021 04:37

sbiddle:

ajw:

I wonder why the mobile companies here in NZ haven't made plans to switch off 3G. I note at&t and tmobile in the US are switching of 3G in January 2022.

There is no need to do this. They have enough spectrum to happily leave 3G running. Why would they create carnage for the millions of people out there with non VoLTE devices when it's not going to deliver any benefits? Why would they kill all the revenue from inbound roaming (sure it's $0 at present, but won't be next year..)

The impacts of the US move are significant including the fact nobody roaming to the US will have voice calling any longer.

1. Most phones support VoLTE in the USA, even parallel imported phones like my Nokia 8 TA-1052 from Taiwan (for T-Mobile USA). Even phones like the Microsoft Lumia 640 XL and Lumia 950 (remember Windows Phone lol?) are supported by AT&T VoLTE.

2. Prepaid phones with VoLTE are cheap as heck in the USA. My new AT&T Moto G Play supports AT&T VoLTE and costs $49 USD with a respectable 5000mah battery, Android 10 and a Snapdragon 460. Many carriers have a "move your number to us and get a free phone with VoLTE that isn't e-waste" promo.

3. As late as July 2021, Spark didn't really have prepaid VoLTE phones under $199 (the new Nokia C01 Plus that just released is terrible but at least it *finally* brings VoLTE to $149).

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old3eyes

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#2818454 24-Nov-2021 13:07

Strayfire:
1. Most phones support VoLTE in the USA, even parallel imported phones like my Nokia 8 TA-1052 from Taiwan (for T-Mobile USA). Even phones like the Microsoft Lumia 640 XL and Lumia 950 (remember Windows Phone lol?) are supported by AT&T VoLTE.

2. Prepaid phones with VoLTE are cheap as heck in the USA. My new AT&T Moto G Play supports AT&T VoLTE and costs $49 USD with a respectable 5000mah battery, Android 10 and a Snapdragon 460. Many carriers have a "move your number to us and get a free phone with VoLTE that isn't e-waste" promo.

3. As late as July 2021, Spark didn't really have prepaid VoLTE phones under $199 (the new Nokia C01 Plus that just released is terrible but at least it *finally* brings VoLTE to $149).

What is the availability of VoWiFi like in the US these days?? Spark seems the only one pulling the chain here in NZ.

Regards,

Old3eyes

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#2818480 24-Nov-2021 14:17

I still find it weird that Wellington still doesn't have Spark 5G. I would have thought the main 4 would have 5G first.

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alasta

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#2818506 24-Nov-2021 15:23

michaelmurfy:

I still find it weird that Wellington still doesn't have Spark 5G. I would have thought the main 4 would have 5G first.

Vodafone's 5G rollout is similar. It's available in Motueka and Feilding, but unavailable in large chunks of the Wellington CBD.

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#2818508 24-Nov-2021 15:25

Vodafone seems to be going after the touristy places first (which does make sense).

wratterus

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#2818559 24-Nov-2021 15:29

Or some small places but still with a decent number of clients that are easier to upgrade? Iron out any bugs?

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#2818587 24-Nov-2021 16:11

wratterus:
Or some small places but still with a decent number of clients that are easier to upgrade? Iron out any bugs?

Tends to be the way - I know with the old PSTN stuff there was specific exchanges like TAW used for initial roll outs, as they're big enough to cover all use cases and potential issues, but small enough that if something goes wrong you're not breaking things in a major location that'll be a major incident.

I'd suspect the mobile operators are very aware of how bad those sort of issues can be in this day and age.

Anything I say is the ramblings of an ill informed, opinionated so-and-so, and not representative of any of my past, present or future employers, and is also probably best disregarded.

wratterus

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#2818595 24-Nov-2021 16:37

Exactly, who cares about Mot. 🙃 We're getting traffic lights though, so you know, it's a real town now... maybe?

I saw some new gear getting put on the Motueka tower a wee while back, was most likely for this. Most people I know here are on Spark though, as in general Vodafone's coverage is far, far worse than Spark's in this area, so I don't even have a Vodafone SIM I could pop in & take for a hoon.

Technofreak

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#2818611 24-Nov-2021 17:25

Not sure if this will affect us here in New Zealand as I'm not sure we're using the same frequency bands.

https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/4/22763502/verizon-att-cband-5g-faa-delay-safety-aircraft

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