Vodafone network issues in Alexandra Basin Central Otago,

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JeremyNzl

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#2351699 11-Nov-2019 16:09

Linux:
JeremyNzl:

k14: This is quite interesting. I also live in Alexandra and in the last few weeks my wife's phone has been doing something very similar. She is on 2 degrees and multiple times it has lost all cellular connection untill it has been rebooted. I just put it down to her tech incompetence but sounds very similar to this issue. I am on 2D as well but haven't had this issue. She has a Huawei 3E, I am Samsung Galaxy S9. So could be handset related?

On android goto "settings" then "connections" then "mobile networks" and select "mobile operators" and choose "select manually", your phone will disconnect and scan then choose 2Degrees,

That does not mean the handset will stay connected to the network

You are just forcing the handset to reattach and 6 hours later good chance it will drop off the network again

Would it not increase the chance of the phone connecting to its correct network. in the event of signal loss,

Linux

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#2351702 11-Nov-2019 16:12

JeremyNzl:

Linux:
JeremyNzl:

k14: This is quite interesting. I also live in Alexandra and in the last few weeks my wife's phone has been doing something very similar. She is on 2 degrees and multiple times it has lost all cellular connection untill it has been rebooted. I just put it down to her tech incompetence but sounds very similar to this issue. I am on 2D as well but haven't had this issue. She has a Huawei 3E, I am Samsung Galaxy S9. So could be handset related?

On android goto "settings" then "connections" then "mobile networks" and select "mobile operators" and choose "select manually", your phone will disconnect and scan then choose 2Degrees,

That does not mean the handset will stay connected to the network

You are just forcing the handset to reattach and 6 hours later good chance it will drop off the network again

Would it not increase the chance of the phone connecting to its correct network. in the event of signal loss,

Nope not at all more chance of it connecting on ' Automatic ' doing a manual network selection is just forcing the handset back onto the VodafoneNZ network

You may as well just re-power the handset

Linux

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#2351719 11-Nov-2019 16:39

Manual network selection is for when roaming overseas and you manually want to switch networks from one carrier to another

hio77

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#2351733 11-Nov-2019 17:20

Hard locking a carrier selection on 2d probably wouldn't be the best move..

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Arwen

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#2352194 12-Nov-2019 13:04

Hi, Arwen here from Spark. Thanks for raising this. We’ve been collaborating with Vodafone about Alexandra to diagnose the issue. It turns out there was a minor configuration issue with our new wireless broadband 5G service, which meant that some customers on the fringes of the Vodafone network were affected. We’ve changed the configuration which has resolved the issue for this handful of Vodafone customers. Potentially the same issue may have affected 2degrees customers, but the configuration change should have solved this also.

We can confirm there was no interference issue between our 5G in Alexandra and Vodafone 4G.

cyril7

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#2352202 12-Nov-2019 13:15

Arwen:

Hi, Arwen here from Spark. Thanks for raising this. We’ve been collaborating with Vodafone about Alexandra to diagnose the issue. It turns out there was a minor configuration issue with our new wireless broadband 5G service, which meant that some customers on the fringes of the Vodafone network were affected. We’ve changed the configuration which has resolved the issue for this handful of Vodafone customers. Potentially the same issue may have affected 2degrees customers, but the configuration change should have solved this also.

We can confirm there was no interference issue between our 5G in Alexandra and Vodafone 4G.

Ha, .................. social media have been warning us of the dangers of 5G for sometime, good to see they are right!

Cyril :)

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sbiddle

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#2352247 12-Nov-2019 13:40

Arwen:

Hi, Arwen here from Spark. Thanks for raising this. We’ve been collaborating with Vodafone about Alexandra to diagnose the issue. It turns out there was a minor configuration issue with our new wireless broadband 5G service, which meant that some customers on the fringes of the Vodafone network were affected. We’ve changed the configuration which has resolved the issue for this handful of Vodafone customers. Potentially the same issue may have affected 2degrees customers, but the configuration change should have solved this also.

We can confirm there was no interference issue between our 5G in Alexandra and Vodafone 4G.

I assume when you say "our 5G" you're meaning the Dense Air 5G network that Spark are leveraging for this?

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#2352512 12-Nov-2019 20:43

Good to read this is sorted for VodafoneNZ customers in Alexandra

sbiddle

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#2352587 13-Nov-2019 07:45

Chris Keall wrote about this in the NZ Herald but I don't have a subscription to read it https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12284535

JeremyNzl

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#2352664 13-Nov-2019 09:44

After initially dismissing it had any responsibility for problems suffered by Vodafone and 2degrees customers in Alexandra, Spark has now fessed up.

Service dropouts suffered by Vodafone (and likely 2degrees) customers in the central Otago town were caused by Spark's 5G fixed-wireless trial, Spark now admits.

"It turns out there was a minor configuration issue with our new wireless broadband 5G service, which meant that some customers on the fringes of the Vodafone network were affected," a Spark spokeswoman told the Herald this morning.

"We've changed the configuration which has resolved the issue for this handful of Vodafone customers. Potentially the same issue may have affected 2degrees customers. The configuration change should have solved this also."

The Herald understands that Vodafone and 2degrees handsets were being picked up by Spark's trial network - a feature designed to accommodate 111 emergency calls being shared between providers - but then not being rejected for regular connections because of the configuration error.

Yesterday morning, Vodafone said it had sent a hit squad to Alexandra to investigate interference issues chronicled on a local Facebook page with "high priority".

Today, spokeswoman Nicky Preston said, "On behalf of our customers we're relieved that the root cause of interference issues in Alexandra has been identified as an issue with Spark's trial 5G wireless broadband configuration, and has now been resolved. Our engineers spent the past 36 hours working alongside Spark to investigate the matter."

Hi Aaron. These things happen when we are all pushing the boundaries on tech. It’s unfortunate that it impacted our customers for a short time, but it wasn’t intentional from @SparkNZ, it’s sorted now and they have apologised. As long as it doesn’t happen again we’re all good! 😃

— Jason Paris (@JasonCParis) November 12, 2019

She added, "We will continue to monitor the network closely to ensure strong service continues in the area for our customers."

The furore began when Geekzone, user "J" posted: "This is not a beat-up, our business [account] has been with Vodafone for approx 15 years, and apart from these issues lately I have no complaints.

"There have been several threads on Alexandra local FB pages about the frequent loss of connectivity.

"Phones receiving no signal and displaying a no-carrier message, Txt messages not being delivered till phones are restarted."

A spokeswoman for Spark said on Monday: "Our Spark 5G wireless broadband service in Alexandra is using 2600MHz spectrum, which is not a spectrum band that Vodafone uses in Alexandra. So it is very unlikely that any issues experienced by Vodafone customers are caused by the Spark 5G service."

Vodafone uses 700, 900, 1800 and 2100MHz spectrum in the area, Preston said.

2degrees also has two of its own cell sites in the area, at Alexandra and Clyde, and there is at least one of its customers being caught up in the problems.

"My wife's on 2degrees and multiple times it has lost all cellular connection until her phone has been rebooted," one Geekzoner posted.

Shades of XT stoush

The Alexandra interference incident immediately reminded one veteran Geekzoner of the company-formerly-known-as-Telecom's 3G launch in 2009.

In the run-up to the launch of Telecom's 3G network, branded "XT", Vodafone alleged interference with its network and sought an injunction in the High Court.

After an initial hearing, the pair settled out of court, with Telecom agreeing to install extra filtering gear at a cost of around $1000 per cell site.

The XT interference case occurred at a time when Spark was using 850MHz for its 3G service and Vodafone 900MHz.

One wrinkle next to 2009 is that Spark and Vodafone are using the same network technology partner in present-day Alexandra: Nokia Networks.

Spark turned to the Finnish company for its central Otago trial as it pursues a "multi-vendor" strategy in the face of the GCSB's ongoing ban against its 4G incumbent, Huawei. Nokia Networks is Vodafone NZ's longtime primary technology partner.

NickMack

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#2352665 13-Nov-2019 09:48

k14: This is quite interesting. I also live in Alexandra and in the last few weeks my wife's phone has been doing something very similar. She is on 2 degrees and multiple times it has lost all cellular connection untill it has been rebooted. I just put it down to her tech incompetence but sounds very similar to this issue. I am on 2D as well but haven't had this issue. She has a Huawei 3E, I am Samsung Galaxy S9. So could be handset related?

:-) I'll be down in Alex/Central for Xmas if you're keen for a beer!

https://nick.mackechnie.co.nz | NZ ISP latency monitoring - https://smokeping.thenet.gen.nz

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Arwen

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#2353255 14-Nov-2019 14:27

sbiddle:

Arwen:

Hi, Arwen here from Spark. Thanks for raising this. We’ve been collaborating with Vodafone about Alexandra to diagnose the issue. It turns out there was a minor configuration issue with our new wireless broadband 5G service, which meant that some customers on the fringes of the Vodafone network were affected. We’ve changed the configuration which has resolved the issue for this handful of Vodafone customers. Potentially the same issue may have affected 2degrees customers, but the configuration change should have solved this also.

We can confirm there was no interference issue between our 5G in Alexandra and Vodafone 4G.

I assume when you say "our 5G" you're meaning the Dense Air 5G network that Spark are leveraging for this?

thanks Steve - in terms of the spectrum in Alexandra, we’ve used our own 2600 MHz spectrum allocation and have worked with Dense Air, a large 2600 MHz spectrum holder in New Zealand to enable us to deploy 5G services.

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