EVDO rev A speeds

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w2krules

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Topic # 32186 15-Apr-2009 17:57

After my last road trip, when I trialled a Vodem stick, I decided that I'd finally had enough of Vodafone's lack of solid 3G coverage. So I bought a PC Express card off TradeMe, and got it connected this afternoon.

My first test was at home in Auckland, and I got download speeds of 2.9 Mb/s, both to a local server and to LA. And the latency is very low - 180 ms to LA. Plus the speed is constant, unlike Vodafone which was all over the place.

It will be interesting to see how it goes on the road, but surely it can't be worse than GPRS!

BTW, the speeds and latency to LA are better than I get in the evenings on the Orcon+ network!

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freitasm

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Reply # 207133 15-Apr-2009 18:08

Mostly in my experience you will find CDMA EVDO performs better when compared with Vodafone's 2100MHz WCDMA implementation. Also it drops back to CDMA 1x which is more reliable than GPRS.

Let's see when Telecom's 850MHz WCDMA comes out what will it be...

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nitrotech

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Reply # 207165 15-Apr-2009 22:00

I love my T-stick EVDO-rev A it gives excellent coverage and great speed, I can use skype without issue and like you sometimes find it faster than ADSL.

I will be interested to see if telecom's $150 credit offer for the WCDMA network extends to Mobile Broadband devices too.

paradoxsm

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Reply # 207189 16-Apr-2009 00:32

I get nothing near those speeds, 300Kbps is typical with a lot of timeouts (Wellington CBD) though when I head outwards it gets extremely fast and reliable.

I'll be doing some speedtests on both Voda's new 900MHz WCDMA network and Telecoms new WCDMA850,

w2krules

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Reply # 207204 16-Apr-2009 07:21

paradoxsm:
I'll be doing some speedtests on both Voda's new 900MHz WCDMA network and Telecoms new WCDMA850,

I understand that both Telecom and Vodafone will use 2100 MHz for the main centres. My understanding is that 850 and 900 will extend coverage in rural areas. Whether WCDMA 850 works better for data than the present Telecom network remains to be seen...

On my recent trip I tried a Vodem stick at Hunua (Winstones quarry), Huntly and Cambridge. The only place I could get 3G was Cambridge, but the signal at my motel on the main road was poor and it kept dropping back to GPRS. Although the next morning at an outdoor table in the cafe in the town, it worked fine.

This has been typical of my experience with Vodafone 3G data over the last year or so. In the main centres, it's usually OK, but there are places where you'd expect 3G and the signal is either too weak to work properly or they have no coverage. A typical example is the motorway service area at the top of the Bombay hills - no 3G coverage at all.

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sbiddle

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Reply # 207207 16-Apr-2009 07:50

w2krules:
paradoxsm:
I'll be doing some speedtests on both Voda's new 900MHz WCDMA network and Telecoms new WCDMA850,

I understand that both Telecom and Vodafone will use 2100 MHz for the main centres. My understanding is that 850 and 900 will extend coverage in rural areas. Whether WCDMA 850 works better for data than the present Telecom network remains to be seen...

This is incorrect. Telecom's network will be 100% 850 UMTS with some 2100 UMTS used for additional capacity in major cities. This has been the case ever since Telecom announced their plan to dump GSM and move to a 100% 3G network.

w2krules

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Reply # 207208 16-Apr-2009 08:00

sbiddle:
w2krules:

I understand that both Telecom and Vodafone will use 2100 MHz for the main centres. My understanding is that 850 and 900 will extend coverage in rural areas. Whether WCDMA 850 works better for data than the present Telecom network remains to be seen...

This is incorrect. Telecom's network will be 100% 850 UMTS with some 2100 UMTS used for additional capacity in major cities. This has been the case ever since Telecom announced their plan to dump GSM and move to a 100% 3G network.

Thanks for clarifying this. Clearly, 100% 850 WCDMA should give Telecom far better 3G coverage in the main centres, where Vodafone's 3G coverage can be a bit patchy.

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nzbnw

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Reply # 207220 16-Apr-2009 09:11

nitrotech: I will be interested to see if telecom's $150 credit offer for the WCDMA network extends to Mobile Broadband devices too.

Nope, voice plans only at this stage.

nzbnw

harrylin

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Reply # 207242 16-Apr-2009 10:08

ok. Funny thing happened. I was in the toilet and put the iPhone on the floor, and it got no signal, not even 2g signal. But I searched for signal, and I found Telecom NZ! 850mhz! But I can't connect to it coz not live yet. So in this case, I can say that telecom will have better coverage than Voda

w2krules

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Reply # 207243 16-Apr-2009 10:27

harrylin: ok. Funny thing happened. I was in the toilet and put the iPhone on the floor, and it got no signal, not even 2g signal. But I searched for signal, and I found Telecom NZ! 850mhz! But I can't connect to it coz not live yet. So in this case, I can say that telecom will have better coverage than Voda

I can just see the ad campaign for the new Telecom network now...

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richms

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Reply # 207358 16-Apr-2009 18:59

w2krules:

Thanks for clarifying this. Clearly, 100% 850 WCDMA should give Telecom far better 3G coverage in the main centres, where Vodafone's 3G coverage can be a bit patchy.

Yeah, like the whole of the warehouse in newmarket, the birkenhead post shop and most of the buildings at unitec.

I am more interested in seeing how telecom go since you dont really see a large number of lamp post mounted sites for them like you do vodafone, yet the CDMA coverage around town isnt too bad...

Richard rich.ms