Sure Signal (Femto-Cell)

Forums › One New Zealand (including Vodafone, WxC, Farmside) › Sure Signal (Femto-Cell)

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

1923 posts

Uber Geek

#430181 23-Jan-2011 14:37

At this stage I understand the connection must be by a fixed line.

If you were to be able to use a 3G wireless device for the backhaul it would have to be a 900Mhz unit otherwise the Sure Signal will simply end up talking to it's self and disappear up it's own black hole......

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

Uber Geek

#430189 23-Jan-2011 14:56

IlDuce: 2 Questions:

-Could this be run off mobile broadband, which is plugged into a Vodafone Broadband Complete unit (HG556a)?

-If this was set up in a house which gets full bars coverage, would the mobile phone connect to it, or would the cell tower over power it and the phone would just stay connected to the tower?

what would be the point in doing either of those things?

Geese

1028 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#430201 23-Jan-2011 15:33

NonprayingMantis: what would be the point in doing either of those things?

Computer room is in the basement. There is NO reception there at all. So cannot use mobile there. However the house is 5/5. Have mobile broadband for internet in house, with USB cable through wall into basement.

Hence the first question, and second question was relating to what will phone likely decide to hook onto when coming up from basement to where sure signal device is (or elsewhere throughout the house which has good reception).

bbman

646 posts

Ultimate Geek

#430212 23-Jan-2011 16:02

IlDuce:
NonprayingMantis: what would be the point in doing either of those things?

Computer room is in the basement. There is NO reception there at all. So cannot use mobile there. However the house is 5/5. Have mobile broadband for internet in house, with USB cable through wall into basement.

Hence the first question, and second question was relating to what will phone likely decide to hook onto when coming up from basement to where sure signal device is (or elsewhere throughout the house which has good reception).

In rural areas this would provide a solution for coverage as mobile broadband via a high gain antenna and gateway is very effective. As long as decent HSPA kit was used with direct connect Yagi antennas it would't matter whether you are on 2100mhz or 900mhz, the separation and roof should elimate any effects one would hope, if not then it could only be provided in 900mhz coverage areas.

Then again Vodafone should have 900mhz on all small town and rural sites. Deploying 2100mhz on a rural site is just plain stupid and will reduce 3G revenue etc as the signal reach is pathetic compared to 900mhz. Good example of this is Oxford and Rangiora, only 3G 2100mhz to cover a large area.... Just plain dumb, needless to say we can only recommend XT in those areas for broadband, good number of people in that area would probably be happy to connect to Vodafone if they had deployed 900mhz.

www.ultimatebroadband.co.nz
Delivering better broadband services

UFB fibre, Rural fibre on EA networks, RBI wireless, Ruralnet & Ultra wireless, wireless networks

ajw

1932 posts

Uber Geek

#430224 23-Jan-2011 16:40

bbman:
IlDuce:
NonprayingMantis: what would be the point in doing either of those things?

Computer room is in the basement. There is NO reception there at all. So cannot use mobile there. However the house is 5/5. Have mobile broadband for internet in house, with USB cable through wall into basement.

Hence the first question, and second question was relating to what will phone likely decide to hook onto when coming up from basement to where sure signal device is (or elsewhere throughout the house which has good reception).

In rural areas this would provide a solution for coverage as mobile broadband via a high gain antenna and gateway is very effective. As long as decent HSPA kit was used with direct connect Yagi antennas it would't matter whether you are on 2100mhz or 900mhz, the separation and roof should elimate any effects one would hope, if not then it could only be provided in 900mhz coverage areas.

Then again Vodafone should have 900mhz on all small town and rural sites. Deploying 2100mhz on a rural site is just plain stupid and will reduce 3G revenue etc as the signal reach is pathetic compared to 900mhz. Good example of this is Oxford and Rangiora, only 3G 2100mhz to cover a large area.... Just plain dumb, needless to say we can only recommend XT in those areas for broadband, good number of people in that area would probably be happy to connect to Vodafone if they had deployed 900mhz.

I note that Telstra in Aussie are still deploying 2100MHZ sites in rural areas on the Next3G network.

Media Release
25 October 2010

Customers of Telstra's Next G™ network in regional and rural Australia will benefit from Telstra acquiring additional licences in the 2.1GHz band for more than 1400 base stations.

The new 2.1GHz licenses will be used to provide additional capacity at both existing and future Telstra Next G™ network sites throughout regional and rural Australia.

“Data carried on the Next G™ network is doubling every 12 months. Over half of the data traffic on the Next G™ network is driven by regional and remote users,” said Telstra Chief Operations Officer, Mr Michael Rocca.

“These new licences are fundamental to our ability to continue to meet our customers’ demand for ultra-fast, reliable wireless broadband. At Telstra we are continuing to upgrade the speeds we are offering customers on the Next G™ network, including our recent announcement that over 100 regional centres are covered by our dual channel technology, meaning that they can access typical download speeds of between 1.1Mbps - 20Mbps.

“However, as the data traffic increases across the Next G™ network, at ever increasing speeds, we need to build capacity in the network to carry this traffic - and this additional spectrum will enable this to occur economically. Telstra forecasts that the wireless data traffic we are carrying today is a small proportion of the volumes we will be carrying in 2013,” said Mr Rocca.

The Telstra Next G™ network has more than 7000 base stations, offering coverage to 99% of the Australian population over an expansive 2.1 million square kilometres of the Australian landmass plus over 1 million square kilometres out to sea. Since launch of the Next G™ mobile network in 2006, Telstra has completed nine world firsts on this network, including being the first mobile operator in the world to offer HSPA+ dual channel technology to provide a peak network downlink speed of 42Mbps (actual customer speeds will be less). The speeds offered by Telstra are enhanced by its on-going investment in Ethernet backhaul technology which currently services base stations covering over 90 per cent of the population.

The release of these 2.1GHz licenses for public mobile telecommunications is most welcomed, and Telstra is pleased to invest in this spectrum to secure the network capacity which usage on the Next G™ network is demanding. Areas that will benefit from the additional spectrum licences include Hervey Bay, Queensland, Shepparton, Victoria, Forbes, NSW and Mount Gambier, South Australia.

Telstra thanks the Australian Communications and Media Authority for undertaking the extensive work needed to release this spectrum for the benefit of regional and rural Australians.

Reference Number: 388 / 2010

richms

28168 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#430241 23-Jan-2011 17:27

If someone close by or outside is on the 2100MHz, then it leave more capacity on the 850/900 for others who are inside or at a distance. People putting in outdoor yagis etc can use the 2100 which would be less congested.

Not everyone rural is miles away from the sites.

Richard rich.ms

davisg

74 posts

Master Geek

#433056 31-Jan-2011 09:52

Shame the femtocell has to be on the Vodafone ADSL network.

We would really benefit from a femtocell, low signal strength, poor call quality, dropped calls, missed calls, weird audio artifacts etc around the house. BUT we are on Telecom Broadband, locked into a contract for another 15 months.
Would be happy to pay for the femto data to improve the Vodafone signal as we are on call doctors and have to be contactable.

Interestingly the Telecom XT network has full strength coverage here with perfect call quality... May be our other option, but we have been with Vodafone since they were BellSouth and don't really want to change.

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

SteveON

1916 posts

Uber Geek

#433100 31-Jan-2011 11:10

davisg: Shame the femtocell has to be on the Vodafone ADSL network.

We would really benefit from a femtocell, low signal strength, poor call quality, dropped calls, missed calls, weird audio artifacts etc around the house. BUT we are on Telecom Broadband, locked into a contract for another 15 months.
Would be happy to pay for the femto data to improve the Vodafone signal as we are on call doctors and have to be contactable.

Interestingly the Telecom XT network has full strength coverage here with perfect call quality... May be our other option, but we have been with Vodafone since they were BellSouth and don't really want to change.

I see a competitive advantage from XT/2d coming... Considering 2d and telecom indicated they 'may' be on the way this year.

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

Uber Geek

#433257 31-Jan-2011 15:51

Is this the first fixed internet device to be network specific in NZ?

what I mean is, as far as I know, no ISP locks their modems to their own service (e.g. you can use an Orcon issued modem on Vodafone broadband etc), and no mobile phones are locked to a specific network either.
We do have the issue where some devices won't work on other networks (e.g. most vod phones won't work on XT, CDMa phones wont work on Voda etc) but that is not due to network locking, rather to do with the specific technology used being incompatible.

Even the TiVo worked on other ISPs, it just wasn't unmetered on anyone but Telecom.

Is the femto actually locked to Voda's network, or is it only unmetered on voda?

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#433264 31-Jan-2011 16:01

Vodafone maintain IP whitelists that allow the device only to connect from authorised IP addresses. This is to ensure that the device can't be used illegally outside NZ, to ensure QoS on the voice calls, and so zero rated data can be offered so you're not paying twice for data.

The device isn't locked in any way, it's simply that it won't operate unless it's used behind a Vodafone DSL IP address range. I don't see this being any different to Tivo movies only being available on Telecom for example.

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

Uber Geek

#433316 31-Jan-2011 17:02

sbiddle: Vodafone maintain IP whitelists that allow the device only to connect from authorised IP addresses. This is to ensure that the device can't be used illegally outside NZ, to ensure QoS on the voice calls, and so zero rated data can be offered so you're not paying twice for data.

The device isn't locked in any way, it's simply that it won't operate unless it's used behind a Vodafone DSL IP address range. I don't see this being any different to Tivo movies only being available on Telecom for example.

Ah, I see. (although I believe the TiVo movies are available to other ISP customers now,they weren't when it launched.)

wmoore

510 posts

Ultimate Geek

#435787 6-Feb-2011 01:25

Question: why is the unit $350 when in the UK it is only £50 to buy. Also UK allows any broadband provider, but not NZ Why ?

"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." -
-- Abraham lincoln

BarTender

3606 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#435792 6-Feb-2011 07:56

wmoore: Question: why is the unit $350 when in the UK it is only £50 to buy. Also UK allows any broadband provider, but not NZ Why ?

Economies of scale and Customer lock-in.

And there may also be a technical reason for only via VF. They can offer up QOS in theory when they own the DSL connection, well at least on the upstream, and potentially on the downstream if your DSL router supports it. Plus they will zero-rate it so you won't get chaged for any femtocell usage on your regular broadband.

Lastly in the UK it started at £100 and then dropped to 50. So £100 is "close enough" to $350 that it sounds fair.

old3eyes

9119 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#435810 6-Feb-2011 09:34

mrtoken: See vodafone has just released the "Sure Signal"

Just so i get this str8.

If someone has crappy vodafone coverage

1) They have to buy a unit from $350 - $1034
2) Have BB with vodafone and plug the Femtocell into it (in which case it uses your internet to place the call your making from your vodafone cellphone).
3) Still get charged for the call/text you make from your phone via the Femtocell

So you pay vodafone for the unit?
You pay vodafone for your BB which they then use for free to place a call because they have crap coverage where you live? (and does this go onto your BB data limit as well?)
You pay for your calls/text via the FemtoCell

Is that how it works because it sounds like vodafone is milking it.

I would completely agree with you. Why pay extra for something that you should get as a part of the money you pay Vodafone..

Regards,

Old3eyes

cokemaster

Exited
4927 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#435817 6-Feb-2011 10:02

Can 2D users roam on these devices in low signal Vodafone areas?

webhosting

Loose lips may sink ships - Be smart - Don't post internal/commercially sensitive or confidential information!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8