3g coverage - waikato

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macjones

106 posts

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#20423 26-Mar-2008 00:09

Hi VF,

I have a Sone Ericsson v600i 3g phone and put it on a 200mb data plan.

I live in Tokoroa, second largest town in the Waikato.... 15,000 people.... when will I ba able to Video call and use up my data allowance?

Your website says "we're adding coverage, check back soon", I've been checking back since Sept 07...

Ta
Mac

sbiddle

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#118690 26-Mar-2008 06:44

I doubt you will ever see 2100MHz 3G coverage in Tokoroa. Expect to have 900MHz 3G coverage very shortly however this isn't going to work with your V600i handset as it's not capable of working on the brand new 900MHz 3G network.

peejayw

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#118718 26-Mar-2008 10:23

I wonder if all the 900MHz sites are in place now or will Voda just add sites as demand requires? Guess we will find out next month

I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

mikal

172 posts

Master Geek

#118863 26-Mar-2008 19:44

I thought the upgrade to 900mhz was a more upgrade to the current cell towers without having to setup a new 3G 900mhz tower??

sbiddle

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#118874 26-Mar-2008 20:20

mikal: I thought the upgrade to 900mhz was a more upgrade to the current cell towers without having to setup a new 3G 900mhz tower??

It is.

macjones

106 posts

Master Geek

#118882 26-Mar-2008 20:46

So Vodafone made a big push for me to get 3g, I also purchased a 3g handset for my wife, carkit etc, and now they're saying that the 3g i've got is not the right 3g??

Thats pretty crap, I don't recall anywhere at the Vodafone shop a sign saying this handset will only work in auckland, wellington, chch or I WOULD NOT HAVE PURCHASED IT!!.

I don't recall the staff who sold me the handset saying, oh by the way we are rolling out a new 3g network which your handset WILL NOT WORK ON.....

Sounds like false advertising to me......

Please vodafone take back my $400 V600i, my wifes $399 samsung and my $300 car kit and replace them with $1,100 of 3g gear that will work on your 3g network!

:-( pissed off.

mikal

172 posts

Master Geek

#118888 26-Mar-2008 20:59

So to sum it up Vodafone is spending $$ on new infrastructure that only 1 phone currently supports? I get more 900mhz 3G phones will come as VF prepares for the big launch but...Is any $$$ being spent on expanding the current 2100mhz 3G coverage or is VF going to expand it?

sbiddle

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#118891 26-Mar-2008 21:01

Vodafone have never claimed anywhere that existing 3G handsets would offer 3G coverage everywhere in NZ. Their 3G coverage to date has only ever focused on rolling out coverage to every city NZ as well as other areas of significant population such as tourist destinations. This is pretty much the same with 3G rollouts in every country in the world where 3G coverage has never got close to duplicating GSM coverage.

Vodafone's 900MHz 3G network will be one of a handful of live 900MHz 3G networks in the world and will actually be the largest such network in the world. It's no good throwing out your current handset as there is only 1 handset that does currently work on this network. What this network will deliver is a 3G network to virtually everywhere in NZ that currently has GSM coverage. This is a very exciting project and a very cool network.

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johnr

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#118892 26-Mar-2008 21:04

3G 2100mhz is in alot more places than you have listed. Vodafone have never stated that 3G 2100 was coming to tokoroa. Did someone say it was? Sites using 2100mhz are still been deployed today.

scottjpalmer

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#118893 26-Mar-2008 21:07

There are still plenty of 2100MHz sites going in in the future.

The 900MHz UMTS network is going to be limited by the range of available devices for quite some time where as pretty much all current and future 3G phones are 2100MHz capable.

And another thing, the 900MHz UMTS network has been kept very quiet, your dealer potentially didn't even know it was coming!

macjones

106 posts

Master Geek

#118895 26-Mar-2008 21:09

sbiddle,

I get that its exciting and cool, and I get the 900 vs 2100 thing.....and I'm proud of them having a world first 900mhz 3g network, but for my current hardware it may as well be a 900MHZ CDMA network, if my 3g phone can't see it!

Like most consumers, with my "consumer" hat on, Vodafone had led me to beleive that upgrading to a 3g phone would future proof me and give me lots of fancy new services as their network expanded, expansion which I was happy to wait for.

Now they've piggybacked the expansion on 900, not 2100, I'll never be able to use those services unless I purchase a UMTS 900 phone....

Maybe they need to stop selling 3g phones that won't work on their expanded 3g network!

Mac

sbiddle

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#118896 26-Mar-2008 21:10

mikal: So to sum it up Vodafone is spending $$ on new infrastructure that only 1 phone currently supports? I get more 900mhz 3G phones will come as VF prepares for the big launch but...Is any $$$ being spent on expanding the current 2100mhz 3G coverage or is VF going to expand it?

There is big $$ being spent on 2100MHz expansion at present, I know of at least 10 3G sites that have gone up or are under construction around Wellington in the past 6 or so weeks. Some people have obviously thought that Vodafone's 2100Mhz 3G network would some day deliver nationwide coverage. This has never been the case. 2100Mhz has terrible signal propagation in rural areas and is simply not suited to deliver rural coverage, Vodafone only ever planned to cover every city in NZ (which they did) along with other areas of significance such as popular tourist areas.

When the 3G network was launched in NZ Vodafone Group were already heavily involved with developing the 900MHz 3G standard and had plans to use either New Zealand or Australia as a test network as by law they were prohibited from operating anything but a GSM network on most of their European licences due to licence limitations as only GSM could be operated on 900Mhz licences. 900Mhz 3G was their master plan to deliver nationwide 3G coverage in New Zealand.

macjones

106 posts

Master Geek

#118900 26-Mar-2008 21:17

johnr: 3G 2100mhz is in alot more places than you have listed. Vodafone have never stated that 3G 2100 was coming to tokoroa. Did someone say it was? Sites using 2100mhz are still been deployed today.

Johnr, put your consumer hat on, I agree VF has not said that 3g 2100 was coming, but they did say that 3g was coming, and so I purchased a 3g phone.... and waited paitently for the 3g icon to illuminate in my town. End of story.

To most consumers 3g is 3g, the 2100 vs 900 is irrelevant, and so new that, as pointed out, most stores don't know about it.

Just bummed as I would have waited for the right phones if I'd known that the Tokoroa 3g is likely to be "special" 900mhz 3g.

P.S i know it's in about 20+ centers, just too lazy to list them! :-)

BrentR

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#118907 26-Mar-2008 21:25

V600i's have not been in circulation for well over a year now?!?!?

Did you buy it recently? Brand new???

macjones

106 posts

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#118928 26-Mar-2008 22:07

Jeffthechef: V600i's have not been in circulation for well over a year now?!?!?

Did you buy it recently? Brand new???

Dick Smith end of line, July last year.