at the end of the day, cdma vs gsm (or utms or whatever) - it matters very little to me.
i'm pretty sure i'm going to give in to temptation and buy a vodafone 3G handset - probably that sony-ericsson clamshell.
Then, when (or if) telecom get a decent handset with bluetooth working on their 3G, i'll definitely be switching back to telecom yet again. The switch from and to telecom is easy, just move my old account to prepay, and then back again later.
The switch to vodafone is hard - last time i tried they refused to give me back my old 021 number, and you can't keep your number when switching to prepay. . etc. etc.
oh, what i'd give for number portability ..... or even just changing account type on voda without a number change.
must resist.... must wait for telecom to get the handsets i want...... but i know i'll cave in sooner or later.
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T3G to get $10m upgrade next year
15 August 2005
By TOM PULLAR-STRECKER
Telecom will roughly double the speed at which customers can surf the net using its T3G mobile phone network next year by upgrading the network to a new standard called EV-DO Revision A at a cost of about $10-$15 million.
The investment is likely to extend T3G's advantage over Vodafone's rival W-CDMA mobile network, launched last week, if only for a while.
Vodafone New Zealand managing director Russell Stanners would not say when Vodafone might upgrade that network by investing in a superfast technology called HSDPA, saying only that the telco was "always looking at new technology".
"What we're delivering now is the beginning of the 3G road map."
Telecom Mobile general manager Kevin Kenrick says Revision A should let T3G users download data to their handsets at an average speed of about 1 megabit per second, with a peak download speed of 3.1 megabits per second possible.
The speed at which handsets can send data back to Telecom will rise to a peak of 1.8 megabits per second.
Mr Kenrick says the extra speed will mean Telecom will be able to offer customers a range of new and improved services that rely on "real-time delivery of high bandwidth", such as high-quality video telephony.
"The point of comparison for images would be with the TV. We are all used to pushing a button and being able to change the channel. With the next revision of EV-DO, you start getting into that territory."
He says the speed hike will also improve the quality of Telecom's Push2Talk service, which lets up to five customers listen in on a mobile conversation and speak one at a time by pressing a button on their handset.
The extra speed will reduce the time lag that Push2Talk users experience between listening to someone else speak and talking themself to "consistently less than one second", he says.
Speaking at Telecom's recent quarterly results briefing, chief executive Theresa Gattung said the upgrade to Revision A was perhaps "12 months out" and could be accommodated within Telecom's 2005-06 forecast Capex spend of $750 million.
Customers will need new handsets to take advantage of the extra speed provided by the upgraded network.
Telecom will be following on the coat-tails of US telco Sprint, with which it signed a wide-ranging supply agreement last year, giving it access to EV-DO handsets on better terms than it could negotiate alone.
Mr Kenrick says Telecom will work closely with Sprint and fellow US telco Nextel when planning the Revision A upgrade.
"They are taking the lead, globally, and we will continue to work closely with Sprint to access phones and data cards. We don't want to end up with a great network and no devices."
Telecom chief operating officer Simon Moutter says Telecom will be among the early-adopters of Revision A.
HSDPA, the next step up for Vodafone New Zealand, promises to deliver download speeds of between 1 and 3 megabits per second, with a theoretical maximum of 14.4Mbps.
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