Spark 700Mhz LTE

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matisyahu

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#154894 12-Nov-2014 03:26

Is there any word on Spark expanding their 700MHz LTE coverage? I remember when they launched it there was a hiss and a roar but nothing has happened beyond that - are there wheels in motion to switch a whole heap of base stations on in the future some time?

"When the people are being beaten with a stick, they are not much happier if it is called 'the People's Stick'"

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#1173275 12-Nov-2014 07:00

I'm sure coverage is expanding all the time, but it takes time for these things to happen. I would hazard a guess the 4G rollout is in no way complete.

surfisup1000

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#1173284 12-Nov-2014 07:35

We still don't even have 4g in our little city of 120,000 people.

sbiddle

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#1173289 12-Nov-2014 07:50

I haven't heard anything recently, but my understanding was had been some talk of performance some issues with the Huawei 700MHz kit and performance which could have possible slowed things down. Spark had never really committed to a any timeframes for their rollout. Nokia Networks on the other hand seems to have pretty much nailed things and I know there is a massive amount of work on upgrading Vodafone sites with probably a few hundred live on 700MHz by early next year.

Give it a year and I'm sure we'll see a very different landscape. NZ is a very early adopter in the 700MHz space, so it's a bit learning curve for both network hardware providers, and those working on network on deployments and optimisation.

ALTRON

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#1173300 12-Nov-2014 08:25

Hamilton is the only area doing band28 According to the spark coverage site.

And http://gis.geek.nz/infrastructure.html

Voda has added new sites.

matisyahu

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#1175620 14-Nov-2014 08:54

sbiddle: I haven't heard anything recently, but my understanding was had been some talk of performance some issues with the Huawei 700MHz kit and performance which could have possible slowed things down. Spark had never really committed to a any timeframes for their rollout. Nokia Networks on the other hand seems to have pretty much nailed things and I know there is a massive amount of work on upgrading Vodafone sites with probably a few hundred live on 700MHz by early next year.

Give it a year and I'm sure we'll see a very different landscape. NZ is a very early adopter in the 700MHz space, so it's a bit learning curve for both network hardware providers, and those working on network on deployments and optimisation.

Anyone get the feeling that Spark was given the sales pitch to win them over but a distinct lack of scepticism by the decision makers has led to this problem?

Btw, on a side topic - is there any investigation on the lower frequency options? IIRC there is some work on LTE using 450Mhz and possibly lower frequencies which would provide great coverage for those living in the middle of nowhere.

"When the people are being beaten with a stick, they are not much happier if it is called 'the People's Stick'"

old3eyes

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#1175636 14-Nov-2014 09:10

kawaii:
sbiddle: I haven't heard anything recently, but my understanding was had been some talk of performance some issues with the Huawei 700MHz kit and performance which could have possible slowed things down. Spark had never really committed to a any timeframes for their rollout. Nokia Networks on the other hand seems to have pretty much nailed things and I know there is a massive amount of work on upgrading Vodafone sites with probably a few hundred live on 700MHz by early next year.

Give it a year and I'm sure we'll see a very different landscape. NZ is a very early adopter in the 700MHz space, so it's a bit learning curve for both network hardware providers, and those working on network on deployments and optimisation.

Anyone get the feeling that Spark was given the sales pitch to win them over but a distinct lack of scepticism by the decision makers has led to this problem?

Btw, on a side topic - is there any investigation on the lower frequency options? IIRC there is some work on LTE using 450Mhz and possibly lower frequencies which would provide great coverage for those living in the middle of nowhere.

You should know by now in this market driven world it's more important to change your name than to roll out LTE..

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andrewcnz

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#1175641 14-Nov-2014 09:17

Would be nice if Spark fitted 4G gear on RBI sites. vodafone put in 4G but Spark only 3G in the new sites in Canterbury.

gajan

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#1175655 14-Nov-2014 09:40

sbiddle: I haven't heard anything recently, but my understanding was had been some talk of performance some issues with the Huawei 700MHz kit and performance which could have possible slowed things down. Spark had never really committed to a any timeframes for their rollout. Nokia Networks on the other hand seems to have pretty much nailed things and I know there is a massive amount of work on upgrading Vodafone sites with probably a few hundred live on 700MHz by early next year.

Give it a year and I'm sure we'll see a very different landscape. NZ is a very early adopter in the 700MHz space, so it's a bit learning curve for both network hardware providers, and those working on network on deployments and optimisation.

Speculation.

What I can say is that we are building LTE 700 (and others) sites right now as we speak, once sites have passed acceptance and cluster optimisation, they will be put on air.

My comments and remarks are not necessarily of my employer.

andrewcnz

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#1175657 14-Nov-2014 09:42

surfisup1000: We still don't even have 4g in our little city of 120,000 people.

Assume you are talking about Tauranga...see that Spark now have some LTE 700 licences for some Tauranga sites

coffeebaron

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#1177388 17-Nov-2014 14:57

Spark have recently added a whole lot more sites to RSM. Don't know how many are live - Putaruru is not.

TE AROHA
MYSTERY CREEK
PUKETAHA
MAUNGATAPU
MORRINSVILLE
WAIKATO HOSPITAL
HOROTIU
HAMILTON CENTRAL
HAMILTON NORTH
GORDONTON
EUREKA
BOYES PARK
FOREST LAKE
WAIHI BEACH
TIRAU
PUTARURU RELOCATION
PIARERE
ATIAMURI
TOKOROA SOUTH
ROTOTUNA
CLAUDELANDS
HIKUAI
FAIRVIEW DOWNS
DINSDALE
TOKOROA RESERVOIR
LIVINGSTONE WEST
LATHAM COURT
KOPU
WAIKATO UNIVERSITY
CHARTWELL SQUARE
RATAROA
TE KOWHAI WEST
TUHINGAMATA
FRANKTON
MAEROA
NEWCASTLE ROAD
HANGATIKI
TOKOROA EXCHANGE
MATAMATA
MANAWARU
KARANGAHEKE
MELLVILLE EXCHANGE
TE RAPA
TE MIRO
PREECES POINT
OHAUPO
TE KUITI CELL SITE
WHATAWHATA
HUNTLY
LEAMINGTON
PUKEKURA
PUKEMORE
WHAREPAPA SOUTH
KAWHIA
TE KAWA
TAMAHERE
TE RAHU
PAEROA EXCHANGE
COBHAM DRIVE
PAEROA
TOKATEA
AIRPORT RD
NGATEA
RIVERLEA
PUKETE
PIRONGIA
BIRCH HILL
FLAGSTAFF
KAIHERE
NGAHINAPOURI
RUKUHIA
CENTRAL MT MAUNGANUI
KATIKATI
TAURANGA CITY
PUKEMIRO RBI CELLSITE
GREY STREET
MAKETU & PUKEHINA BEACH
OMORI
NGONGOTAHA NORTH
MAMAKU
KAKAPIKO
LAKE ROTOITI
NGONGOTAHA
NGONGOTAHA TOWN

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sbiddle

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#1177403 17-Nov-2014 15:16

andrewcnz: Would be nice if Spark fitted 4G gear on RBI sites. vodafone put in 4G but Spark only 3G in the new sites in Canterbury.

RBI was a joint Telecom/Vodafone bid - it's just that things changed with the split.

There is absolutely no reason why Spark can't wholesale a RBI offering, and the fact they haven't already is quite surprising. I'd almost argue that much like fibre it takes the biggest player to launch a product before it can really become mass market.

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matisyahu

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#1178207 19-Nov-2014 04:56

coffeebaron: Spark have recently added a whole lot more sites to RSM. Don't know how many are live - Putaruru is not.

TE AROHA
MYSTERY CREEK
PUKETAHA
MAUNGATAPU
MORRINSVILLE
WAIKATO HOSPITAL
HOROTIU
HAMILTON CENTRAL
HAMILTON NORTH
GORDONTON
EUREKA
BOYES PARK
FOREST LAKE
WAIHI BEACH
TIRAU
PUTARURU RELOCATION
PIARERE
ATIAMURI
TOKOROA SOUTH
ROTOTUNA
CLAUDELANDS
HIKUAI
FAIRVIEW DOWNS
DINSDALE
TOKOROA RESERVOIR
LIVINGSTONE WEST
LATHAM COURT
KOPU
WAIKATO UNIVERSITY
CHARTWELL SQUARE
RATAROA
TE KOWHAI WEST
TUHINGAMATA
FRANKTON
MAEROA
NEWCASTLE ROAD
HANGATIKI
TOKOROA EXCHANGE
MATAMATA
MANAWARU
KARANGAHEKE
MELLVILLE EXCHANGE
TE RAPA
TE MIRO
PREECES POINT
OHAUPO
TE KUITI CELL SITE
WHATAWHATA
HUNTLY
LEAMINGTON
PUKEKURA
PUKEMORE
WHAREPAPA SOUTH
KAWHIA
TE KAWA
TAMAHERE
TE RAHU
PAEROA EXCHANGE
COBHAM DRIVE
PAEROA
TOKATEA
AIRPORT RD
NGATEA
RIVERLEA
PUKETE
PIRONGIA
BIRCH HILL
FLAGSTAFF
KAIHERE
NGAHINAPOURI
RUKUHIA
CENTRAL MT MAUNGANUI
KATIKATI
TAURANGA CITY
PUKEMIRO RBI CELLSITE
GREY STREET
MAKETU & PUKEHINA BEACH
OMORI
NGONGOTAHA NORTH
MAMAKU
KAKAPIKO
LAKE ROTOITI
NGONGOTAHA
NGONGOTAHA TOWN

Interesting, I went onto http://gis.geek.nz/infrastructure.html but the Telecom/Spark sites are no longer listed.

Going by that list it appears they're going for the smaller towns first but hopefully we'll start to see it come into areas like the Hutt Valley, Porirua, Johnsonville etc. where that low frequency will come in handy.

"When the people are being beaten with a stick, they are not much happier if it is called 'the People's Stick'"

ALTRON

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#1179480 19-Nov-2014 12:43

kawaii:
coffeebaron: Spark have recently added a whole lot more sites to RSM. Don't know how many are live - Putaruru is not.

Interesting, I went onto http://gis.geek.nz/infrastructure.html but the Telecom/Spark sites are no longer listed.

Going by that list it appears they're going for the smaller towns first but hopefully we'll start to see it come into areas like the Hutt Valley, Porirua, Johnsonville etc. where that low frequency will come in handy.

gis.geek.nz is displaying spark sites again but all are listed as new.

Agreed, band28 sites in wellington region would be ACE.

coffeebaron

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#1179509 19-Nov-2014 13:20

ALTRON:
gis.geek.nz is displaying spark sites again but all are listed as new.

Perhaps it's updated to the new Spark name, so shows as all new.

Rural IT and Broadband support.

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stubbed

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#1179557 19-Nov-2014 14:22

Yeah, Spark finally renamed their details in RSM, so it broke gis.geek.nz, my bad, fixed it this morning. All of the sites are showing as new, as they technically are new to Spark.

Here are all of the 700mhz Spark transmitters as per Monday:

I'm in the process of rewriting gis.geek.nz to allow searches/keep history better etc. Will be a Christmas break project realistically.

If anyone wants any specific info just PM me, can run some raw queries easily enough.

https://gisgeek.app

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