If Telecom had a gsm network would you move to them ?

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Nz_Dude

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Topic # 6032 18-Dec-2005 20:22

If telecom decided to build a gsm network would you move from vodafone to telecom ? Assuming that you would still get al ALL the same plans and $10 txt including business plans ect....

Im asking this because I would like to know are people with vodafone for the branding or because they have a gsm based network or maybe for their top notch customer support :P
I will say it again I am not a aniti vodafone or telecom person I would just like to see this for personal interest.

Please reply with if you WOULD or WOULDNT change to telecom and also explain your reason in as much detial as you can.

alasta

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Reply # 24935 18-Dec-2005 20:49

I'll be very interested to see the responses to this.

My costs would work out the same with either provider and my own experience would indicate that there is no significant difference in customer service (although others will undoubtedly beg to differ on this point). I recently switched to Vodafone because bluetooth is my only must-have feature, and I was able to get a bluetooth capable GSM handset much cheaper than I could get a Nokia 6255. It's a pity, because Telecom's range of handsets is pretty good these days, but their lack of bluetooth capable handsets really is a major weakness.

So, to answer your question, I would be open to switching back to Telecom if I could use a GSM handset on their network, but only when number portability is available. For me to undergo more than one change of phone number within the space of a year would really irritate my friends and family.

taniwha

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Reply # 24952 18-Dec-2005 22:33

GSM?? - maybe

3GSM -> in a heart beat.

Lipex666

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Reply # 24953 18-Dec-2005 23:01

Would or Wouldnt - I choose both.

Thats a huge question. You couldnt answer this as the two networks are so different and because of that you cant choose on a standard and it depends on your needs. Most countries only have GSM.

If we had two networks the same then it would come down to who looked after me better for deals and the better plans and to a lesser extent the brand. Would that be Vodafone or Telecom will untill they offer the same platform / standard, same phones etc I cant switch.

I choose Vodafone because of 3G as a consumer with video calling, full music track downloads, etc etc and GSM is the leading world standard but if I was business person and wanted mobile broadband ie and my need was a laptop or a pda I would choose Telecom T3G as that is better suited to these needs.

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sbiddle

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Reply # 24965 19-Dec-2005 09:14

Had it not been for the commerce commission in the early 90's Telecom would have had a a GSM network. At the same spectrum auction BellSouth & Telecom Australia who purchased their TACS spectrum Telecom also purchased the 2nd AMPS band as well as a TACS band (later to become the GSM band). They were told they couldn't have both do because of the American influence at the time on the board gave up the TACS spectrum in favour of AMPS. There were plans under way at the time to roll out a GSM network in parallel with AMPS following the lead taken by Telecom Australia (Telstra) who were doing the same but this was then canned because they had no spectrum. In the mid to late 90's Telecom were seriously considering options for a move to GSM but could not because they had no spectrum available to them and they weren't that keen to go down the track of a 1800 GSM network because of the cost.

paradoxsm

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Reply # 24968 19-Dec-2005 09:50

GSM handsets are fantastic. I love my Panasonic VS-2, so simple, so intuitive
Something most 027 phones are not. (compare the 6310i and the 6385 for TXT messaging, the 027 has so many more menus (8) just to send a TXT!!!!!!

GSM network suffers many of the things TDMA (025) suffers, Garbled speech etc. so no, not really.

CDMA has superb coverage and voice performace (apart from clarity), It'll go perfectly to the last, any interference or marginally half coverage on GSM and it's screeching and popping madly and hand-overs seems to be a real problem.

Vodafones brand is old-hat, Vodafone-live is a horrid portal which has very a "me-too" mentality behind it and is copied from everywhere else. Vodafone milk old services to the absolute end of their useful life. (TXT for example)

Telecom usually has more innovative stuff, Wordup (speech operated email), Caller tunes, Song-ID. Not saying super useful. but innovative and unique.

I would actuallly live without my GSM if the WAP pricing came down which is what I use it for mostly and MMSing pics from the field... Hmmm does the harrier do WAP over normal data? (Jamamobile portal?) the Harrier has made CDMA quite useful, it's like mobile Wi-Fi.

Vodafones 3g was impressive, better voice performance but hopelessly patchy coverage even in main centres, switching over between networks was an annoyance and battery life is of limited use. shame it's just a vehicle to shove more through the horrible VLIVE portal.

that's my take... I want to see more comments, Please, this could get interesting :-D

freitasm

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Reply # 24973 19-Dec-2005 10:05

paradoxsm: the Harrier has made CDMA quite useful, it's like mobile Wi-Fi.

Not about switching, but... One of the most interesting ads I've seen in US magazines lately is from Verizon Wireless for their CDMA EVDO. Basically it shows a picture of a train station (or airport, or something else) and points "Wi-Fi here", and a picture of the same place, from the car park with a note "No Wi-Fi here".

In essence it says "you can have good data rates on CDMA EVDO, so why worry about Wi-Fi, with its limited coverage?"

I think the debate should be centered on this aspect, instead of simply GSM x CDMA. I have both and I like the CDMA EVDO speeds, and like the GSM international roaming (including data on GPRS).

I doubt we can have the best of both at this time, so I will keep both accounts.

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taniwha

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Reply # 24978 19-Dec-2005 11:01

There's wifi coverage pretty much for my entire communte... but that's no help unless i stand still. There's no hand over to the next wifi spot, infact i have to log in again through the browser if it's cafenet.

but, since the alternative from both vodafone and telecom costs far too much, i just have to stop walking every now and then, and grab another podcast over wifi.

paradoxsm

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Reply # 24980 19-Dec-2005 12:44

Or you could drive around and pop the yagi ontop of your car and park outside a computer shop, most have lovely unsecured WiFi free for the taking.

you'd probably have better chance with handovers from WiFi at the moment than vodafone anyway. :-P

taniwha

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Reply # 24981 19-Dec-2005 12:53

But what's the point of driving down to the computer store? the only application that makes sense is spamming or other nefarious activity...

it's not mobile if you have to stand still.

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Reply # 24984 19-Dec-2005 14:39

No - I just don't like GSM as a technology. If I go GSM I would have to go with GPRS - ewwww.

Apparently GSM is some sort of 'global standard'... A bit like Windows and Intel. Give me AMD and Linux anyday.

alasta

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Reply # 24992 19-Dec-2005 17:29

Jama: No - I just don't like GSM as a technology. If I go GSM I would have to go with GPRS - ewwww.

Apparently GSM is some sort of 'global standard'... A bit like Windows and Intel. Give me AMD and Linux anyday.

Your analogy doesn't really stack up, because Windows is a product that is developed by one particular company, whereas GSM technology is influenced by numerous companies within the industry.

And why would you have to go with GPRS? 3G handsets aren't that expensive, and they will continue to get cheaper.

taniwha

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Reply # 24993 19-Dec-2005 17:47

Jama: No - I just don't like GSM as a technology. If I go GSM I would have to go with GPRS - ewwww.

Apparently GSM is some sort of 'global standard'... A bit like Windows and Intel. Give me AMD and Linux anyday.

i've always seen it the other way around... GSM is like a rtf file, that lotsa word processors can do really welll, and lotsa word processors do really badly

cdma is like a word document, that has all bells and whistles, but tightly controlled and only really very few applications support the format.

aren't analogies fun? Who's next?

GSM does have more good handsets.. but they also far more bad handsets ;-)
my only reason for liking GSM (and it's descendants) is because i have a bluetooth addiction.

Jama

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Reply # 25001 20-Dec-2005 07:46

because I travel a lot and Voda 3G coverage is patchy so I would spend most of my time on GPRS. I can live with 1x but GPRS is just too slow.

freitasm

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Reply # 25005 20-Dec-2005 08:12

So true... Not only GPRS is slow, but in my experience not reliable. I grant this is because my usage pattern requires multiple connections (web applications) instead of single connections (such as email clients).

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