Coming back to NZ: MiFi + iPhone, options?

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Coming back to NZ: MiFi + iPhone, options?

nic.wise

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#62132 30-May-2010 23:37

Hi everyone

I've been in the UK for the last 3 years or so (miss me? :) ), and we are coming back at the end of this year for 3 months. We are planning on tripping around a fair bit (auckland, wellington, wanganui, te puke, napier, maybe top of the south island), and I need to be working for some of that. I'm a software developer, working for a Danish company, so I mostly need source control access and email/web. No video, no big downloads, no voip....

I recently got a 3 MiFi (Huawei E5830) for this (in addition to our iPhones, which should be iPhone HD/4/v.next by the time we get to NZ), and was wondering if anyone had an opinion on the best network/package to use.

To save you looking it up, Expansys says it's HSUPA/HSDPA/UMTS 2100mhz, EDGE/GPRS/GSM 1900/1800/900/850. So I suspect that it's got most things covered for the NZ networks.

I mostly need it to check in and out source code, so not a lot of data (maybe 50meg a week), and I'm going to be on broadband and friends/familys houses most of the time, so this is really for when we are "in the sticks" a bit more than normal. I'm guessing that using Skype isn't going to be possible, so I think I'll just stick to normal voice for that.

I've had a look at the XT pre-paid plans ($30/500meg) which look ok, as does Vodafone's 512meg/30$ plan. Any issues with either network (total outages not withstanding) with that device? Anyone know if these can be had sim-only? I dont need another dongle. Is XT much good outside of main centers? I dont' need super-quick, but GPRS is not going to work very well....

They both appear to do monthly, contract ones - vodafone is explicit about "no term", but telecom isn't - anyone know if their $79, 4GB plan is contract-free? And if they can be had sim-only?

Is 2degrees even an option?

Also, has wifi access changed much? it was all Cafenet when I left..... :)

Thanks for any help!

Nic

Nic Wise - fastchicken.co.nz

freitasm

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#336415 31-May-2010 00:02

It will not work on XT, because it is a 2100 MHz device.

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richms

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#336422 31-May-2010 01:29

XT is great outside main centers, as is vodafones 900MHz network. Since your device is only 2100 it is useless on either leaving you with the hopelessly slow vodafone GPRS network.

In either case if you want to use it outside the cities you need a new device, and if you want to use it in the cities I would suggest an XT connection, so again what you have is no use.

Your current iPhones will be sweet as on XT, if they bring out a new one and dont have both 850 and 900MHz in it they may do a 900MHz model for europe and that wouldnt be any good on XT, but would be great on vodafone outside the cities. In the cities on VF you will suffer constant dropbacks to GPRS making it unusable for most interactive things.

But perhaps by then VF will have started replacing GPRS with 3g on 900MHz so that they can compete with XT for urban coverage.

Richard rich.ms

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#336463 31-May-2010 09:09

If you want to use XT then it must support WCDMA 850 MHz. WCDMA is not the same as GSM. It's newer and GSM 850 is not the same as WCDMA 850.

Vodafone uses WCDMA 2100 MHz in the main centres and WCDMA 900 MHz everywhere else. They also have a GSM 900 MHZ network, which is obviously GPRS only. Note their 2G coverage is not the same as 3G so that means "97% of population coverage" doesn't mean you get 3G all the time (heck, not even in the main centres, where most of the times calls are forced down to 2G to preserve bandwidth, or 3G is simply down).

Your iPhone is WCDMA 2100/850 MHz and GSM 900 MHz. It will work as 3G on Vodafone only in the main centres, everywhere else it will be 2G. On Telecom it will be 3G wherever you are.

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Behodar

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#336469 31-May-2010 09:23

Also remember that your iPhones will need to be unlocked. For O2, go here. Orange should have a page somewhere too, although I believe that Vodafone doesn't offer unlocking.

Telecom's plans are all available SIM-only. I believe that the $79 4 GB plan has no fixed term. The 500 MB option definitely has no fixed term, but is only available on prepaid.

1eStar

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#336502 31-May-2010 10:29

Advice for this week: drop the mifi device and tether your unlocked iPhone on XT.
Advice after next week: who knows? (potential new handset and OS4, anyone's guess if tethering on XT will work)

old3eyes

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#336569 31-May-2010 12:46

Behodar: Also remember that your iPhones will need to be unlocked. For O2, go here. Orange should have a page somewhere too, although I believe that Vodafone doesn't offer unlocking.

Better do it before you come to NZ.. If you go to their website you get.

"Thanks for visiting the O2 Online Shop

Unfortunately, we are unable to sell to countries outside the UK."

Regards,

Old3eyes

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nic.wise

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#336842 31-May-2010 23:22

Bother - so the Mifi is a no-go, tho the iphones will work. Oh, well, thats ok :) I might go with XT, given that my old 021 number is on XT anyway.... (and the 3G I have now is unlocked, and if/when I get a new one, it'll be unlocked and without contract - no plans on being in the UK long enough to do a 2 year contract)

Thanks everyone. Much appreciated.

Nic

Nic Wise - fastchicken.co.nz

richms

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#336872 1-Jun-2010 01:58

Do the mifis use a standard minipci wireless card or are they more tightly integrated than that internally?

Richard rich.ms

nic.wise

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#345133 25-Jun-2010 10:26

hey everyone

just to close this one off, I'm most likely going to go the iphone route, not the mifi route. I got an iphone 4, which says on the box it's:

UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA 850/900/1900/2100

GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900

so I'm guessing I'll be good on either NZ network. yay.

thanks for the help.

Nic Wise - fastchicken.co.nz