XT Network Coverage Experiences

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jjnz1

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#36210 22-Jun-2009 11:27

Hi all, would be good to know from all you out there of any issues good or bad relating to the new XT network and the coverage they provide..

My brother just moved to near Mangatainoka (the tui factory) and he gave me a running commentary on his new XT mobile he bought. The results were:

XT, no signal
CDMA, 2 bars at best
Vodafone 2G 2 bars at best
Vodafone 3G not tested.

From this I take it that Telecom will suffer for not having a fall back 2G network, I also assume that vodafone's 3G wouldn't work there either although untested.

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22 posts

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#227333 22-Jun-2009 12:12

Hi. I switched over about a month ago on an Iphone and to date havent had any issues at all. Had only the 1 call drop out as opposed to when I was with Vodafone it would get at least 1 a day. The only problem I am experiencing is when I use the voicemail and enter my pin, if you do it too fast the voicemail will lock and you have to ring Telecom to get it reset. I have heard that some of the rural areas where Vodafone was good, Telecom isn't. Good luck

Eilatan

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#227338 22-Jun-2009 12:23

It would great to know if anyone else has feedback regarding XT vs CDMA. I have CDMA now and am considering changing.

I may go to rural areas quite often so definitely be great if anyone could share their experiences out there.

Loftus

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#227352 22-Jun-2009 13:08

jjnz1,

What phones is your brother using on each network?

skyplonk

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#227353 22-Jun-2009 13:13

Can not say I am to impressed with XT at the moment. Converge does not seem to be as good as CDMA was/is.

I spend a lot of time on the road, and sure in the main urban areas XT is ok, but further out it seems to be well behind the coverage foot print that CDMA has.

Back of Papakura, Auckland, 2 or 3 bars CDMA (Sanyo 7500, and LG550) now with XT (w995a) no Service or if I am lucky 1 bar. Can not make calls.

Waiau Pa, Franklin District, 2 bars CDMA, 1 Bar XT but calls are ok.

Te Hihi, Franklin District, CDMA voice and data ok, XT calls drop.

Going to take it down to Hamilton in a few days so will test it out vs. CDMA then.

jjnz1

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#227355 22-Jun-2009 13:20

Loftus: jjnz1,

What phones is your brother using on each network?

Loftus:

For XT the telecom R6 black
For Vodafone, the Nokia N82
and for Telecom CDMA, a cheap sanyo i think.

Behodar

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#227382 22-Jun-2009 15:04

I'm behind a hill in Whakatane. Clear calls and flawless texting on CDMA (Nokia 6275i) and XT (SE W705a). Nothing on Vodafone, not even text, unless I go out onto the driveway.

tonyhughes

Hawkes Bay
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#227412 22-Jun-2009 16:26

I spent a good deal of last week travelling in Bay Of Plenty and Waikato.

Hastings, Napier, Taupo, Rotorua, Tauranga, Mt Maunganui, Te Awamutu, Otorohanga, Hamilton and everywhere in between.

XT coverage was excellent, and at least on a par with CDMA whenever I remembered to check.

Have had a couple of dropped calls in excellent signal areas.
Wednesday last week apparently no one in Hastings on XT could send SMS.

Happy with XT coverage, but it's clear there are some teething issues. Have had lots of people asking me if they should upgrade now or wait, and my advice was that unless there was a coverage advantage or they desperately wanted a particular new handset, to wait it out a bit.

No SMS for me before I left town in the morning was a BIG inconvenience, but to Telecoms credit, their faults team rang me back twice in a short space of time to a: keep me updated, and b: ask for more information.

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motorwayne

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#227422 22-Jun-2009 17:00

Other than country towns - what is the experience?

I dwell in Auckland, go to Wellington, Hamilton, Tauranga and Christchurch mainly. Anyone who was VF and is now on XT noticing same or better coverage, and in particular , DOWNLOAD speeds? I can live with the average coverage in the country every now and again, it's the treacherous download speeds in the cities and calls dropped with VF 3G that make my iPhone really suck.

Cheers

friedCrumpet

271 posts

Ultimate Geek

#227429 22-Jun-2009 17:16

motorwayne: Other than country towns - what is the experience?

...Anyone who was VF and is now on XT noticing same or better coverage, and in particular , DOWNLOAD speeds?...

My anecdotal experience: Using a new Nokia 6120 I got 1.7Mbps on my Vodafone sim, switching to my XT sim got 2.7Mbps. Uploads were the same. This is an auckland server speedtest.net test. Coverage is much better for me at my house - with Vodafone I get 3G only at the front of my house but if I step back a few metres it drops out and reverts to GSM. With XT I get full signal throughout the house. I'm in Lower Hutt (Western Hills).

Really the best bet if you are contemplating switching is to get an XT sim and test out your iPhone in the locations that you're most likely to use it, then you can port over later. Or if you're on Prepay now why not just port over and see how it goes, you can always port back...

Johnk

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#227485 22-Jun-2009 19:37

i have noticed that i am not dropping calls like i used to on vodafone/still do, i have the ultratouch on XT and a 6121c on vodafone, still the odd spot where the bars drop off, but it seems better for me on XT. Live in Auck.

sbiddle

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#227498 22-Jun-2009 20:11

jjnz1: From this I take it that Telecom will suffer for not having a fall back 2G network, I also assume that vodafone's 3G wouldn't work there either although untested.

Why do people assume no GSM fallback is a bad thing?

GSM and WCDMA offer virtually identical coverage off the same mast if they use the same frequency. If there is no WCMA coverage then there wouldn't be GSM coverage either.

I'm also interested that there is poor Telecom coverage there. There are both Telecom and Vodafone sites sitting on the hillside next to SH2 by the Tui brewery. Vodafone coverage around that area is typically good and I know Telecom CDMA is also very good.

The fact there is Vodafone GSM would indicate there is more than likely good Vodafone 3G coverage.

scooby101

59 posts

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#227500 22-Jun-2009 20:15

jjnz1:

From this I take it that Telecom will suffer for not having a fall back 2G network, I also assume that vodafone's 3G wouldn't work there either although untested.

Telecom's 3G XT network is nationwide - i.e. it covers much the same area as Vodafone's 2G network and the old CDMA network, as well as (I assume?) Vodafone's new 3G network. There's no need for it to "fall back" to 2G, and in fact the network is better for this. Anywhere you can get coverage on XT, it's 3G.

There would be absolutely no benefit to Telecom or the consumer to have a supplementary 2G network. Faster in more places indeed...

jjnz1

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#227501 22-Jun-2009 20:15

So from this I take it that both Telecom and Vodafone's 3G signal drop out in random spots.
So it must be the 3G technology? Lucky us vodafone customers can drop back to GSM!
I know that with vodafone 3G, and using Voip, i cannot be traveling at 100KM/hr otherwise when i change towers (i think) the call goes funny for a short period.

I've deceided i cant really say the above as my phone does not have extended 3G and falling back to 2G is a part of life for me. When I get my N97, i will definately comment on coverage!!

jjnz1

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#227507 22-Jun-2009 20:19

sbiddle:
jjnz1: From this I take it that Telecom will suffer for not having a fall back 2G network, I also assume that vodafone's 3G wouldn't work there either although untested.

Why do people assume no GSM fallback is a bad thing?

GSM and WCDMA offer virtually identical coverage off the same mast if they use the same frequency. If there is no WCMA coverage then there wouldn't be GSM coverage either.

I'm also interested that there is poor Telecom coverage there. There are both Telecom and Vodafone sites sitting on the hillside next to SH2 by the Tui brewery. Vodafone coverage around that area is typically good and I know Telecom CDMA is also very good.

The fact there is Vodafone GSM would indicate there is more than likely good Vodafone 3G coverage.

There is definately no coverage there- Mangatainoka Valley Road. On the vodafone map, it shows coverage as 2 bars GSM 1 bar 3G.. So what your saying is that 3G should be the same as a 2G signal?

sbiddle

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#227535 22-Jun-2009 21:29

jjnz1: So it must be the 3G technology? Lucky us vodafone customers can drop back to GSM!
I know that with vodafone 3G, and using Voip, i cannot be traveling at 100KM/hr otherwise when i change towers (i think) the call goes funny for a short period.

I just don't know why you have it in your head that GSM fallback is a good thing..Vodafone only have GSM fallback because they had an existing GSM network. There is NO reason to have GSM fallback or build a new network to offer it. I run my phone in UMTS mode all the time because I can't stand GSM fallback.

I can easily travel at 100km/h and have no packet loss with VoIP over 3G. It does however depend where you are, signal strength between handovers and network configuration. If you're in good coverage areas it's fine, if you're not it can be poor.

VoIP over 3G is also a best effort service, there are no guarantees of quality.

All data sessions however can suffer from issues during handovers between sites or even between sectors on sites. The fact VoIP is UDP based rather than TCP based means it's more susceptible to packet loss or jitter.

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