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Vodafone’s mobiles are sold exclusively for use on Vodafone New Zealand’s network.I guess that's buried in the T&C somewhere... Although, I somehow think that buying a new mobile, minus contract, wouldn't come with T&C... so I call bovine fecal matter.
From 1 May we are locking new handsets to our network. All new handsets sold will include information about handset locking and how to unlock handsets.
Locked handsets can be unlocked for a fee of $50. So if I buy a phone, without a contract, or my contract expires, and I move to, say, Aussie, I have pay for the privilege of using Vodafone & buying a Vodafone handset. I feel much better now.
This is being done to protect the customers’ experience of the Vodafone brand. Vodafone brands its mobiles with both the Vodafone and Vodafone Live! look and feel. If a customers takes a Vodafone mobile to another network, the customer won’t be able to access the Vodafone experience and services.
I wonder how many consumers are going to buy a Vodafone handset, then move to another network & then complain about not being able to access Vodafone Live. Not many, and I imagine that most of the complaints would go to the network they're on. So again, I call bovine fecal matter.
This sounds as hollow as region zoning on DVDs, and possibly equally as illegal. If I buy a handset from Vodafone, and then move to another network, and I'm unable to use my phone, wouldn't that make the phone unsuitable for the purpose it was purchased for? It's an externally applied restriction to protect market share, not to protect the consumer from moving to another network.
One bonus with parallel importing is that the phone won't be locked, it'll be cheaper, and, on top of that, probably faster. I imagine that Vodafone will start losing a lot of handset purchases once people start realising that they can't change networks without the hassle of getting the phone unlocked. As has been mentioned, I imagine Telecom & NZCom will just pay the unlocking charge, same as most ISP pay the churn charge for ADSL.
Vodafone would not need to lock its handsets as 95 per cent would not work on Telecom's planned network.
... Tuanz head Ernie Newman warned Telecom could lock their handsets when they sold them to stop their use on other networks.
Kursten Shalfoon, Vodafone New Zealand's general manager products and services, said Vodafone would not need to lock its handsets as 95 per cent would not work on Telecom's planned mobile network.
manhinli: Anyone remember this?Vodafone would not need to lock its handsets as 95 per cent would not work on Telecom's planned network.
Shalfoon said the frequency - how the mobile device connects to the network - is different to that used by Vodafone's 3G network.
From April 2008, in line with global industry standard practice, Vodafone NZ will begin locking mobiles sold through official Vodafone channels.
Vodafone NZ mobiles are specially designed to work with the Vodafone NZ network, so you can get the best possible Vodafone experience. For example, Vodafone customises mobiles with Vodafone Live! and other services. If you take a Vodafone mobile to another network, some of the functions would no longer work, such as Vodafone Live!
This means that if you wish to put another provider’s SIM card into your Vodafone NZ mobile, you’ll need to request your mobile's unlock code.
This doesn’t affect Vodafone NZ global roaming at all. You can still roam with your mobile as usual. However, if you wish to put another network provider’s SIM card into your Vodafone NZ mobile whilst travelling overseas, you may need to unlock the mobile first. This includes Vodafone SIM cards from other countries.
Vodafone New Zealand’s official unlocking supplier Brightpoint can be contacted on the following numbers to request an unlock code.
Brightpoint operates Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm. If you call out of these hours, please leave a message and Brightpoint will return your call.
A $50 fee applies to unlock your mobile.
Instructions to do this vary, depending on the mobile model you are using. When you put the new SIM card into your mobile, you should be asked for the code to unlock this mobile. Enter the unlock code you were given by Brightpoint.
Should you experience any problems unlocking your phone, please contact Vodafone’s official unlocking supplier Brightpoint on the above numbers.
freitasm:destined: The big difference I see here though (and I assume you are referring to say WorldXchange) is that they VoIP providers limit the devices that you can bring onto their network - they don't care where you source them from, just what they are. They then lock the settings down while you are a customer, and then will release those settings if you wish to leave. SIM unlocking is all about keeping the device on our network - we want you to buy it from us and stay with us. What WxC is doing with VoIP is "protecting the customer experience". What SIM locking is doing is trying to tie me to a provider long term, by increasing the barriers to change (again).
Exactly. WorldxChange guarantees the service works with those settings but the device is yours. You just need to do a reset and it is all free.
Vodafone guarantees the device works only with their network. And you have to pay to be free. They are trying to make it harder for people to switch services.
This doesn’t affect Vodafone NZ global roaming at all. You can still roam with your mobile as usual. However, if you wish to put another network provider’s SIM card into your Vodafone NZ mobile whilst travelling overseas, you may need to unlock the mobile first. This includes Vodafone SIM cards from other countries.
Madmax77: Vodafone NZ mobiles are specially designed to work with the Vodafone NZ network, so you can get the best possible Vodafone experience. For example, Vodafone customises mobiles with Vodafone Live! and other services. If you take a Vodafone mobile to another network, some of the functions would no longer work, such as Vodafone Live!This means that if you wish to put another provider’s SIM card into your Vodafone NZ mobile, you’ll need to request your mobile's unlock code.
This bit makes no sense. If you move to another provider, ofcourse your Vodafone services won't work. Also, their unlock procedure is still going to leave it as a Vodafone branded handset. So this statement has nothing to do with locking their handsets.
Makes perfect cents to Vodafone I guess
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sbiddle:
The reality is that phones are heavily customised with operator firmware and this makes moving them between networks an unrealistic option anyway. My main gripe however is the cost, there should be no charge for this unlock code is the phone is sold at a full price. As others have mentioned Vodafone have just created a market that will be worth millions to 3rd parties to unlock phones!
sbiddle: I think this whole VF bashing is going bit far. It was inevitable VF would SIM lock their handsets, we've discussed this on here numerous times recently. I'm not sure why so many people seem surprised that this has happened.
sbiddle: I think this whole VF bashing is going bit far. It was inevitable VF would SIM lock their handsets, we've discussed this on here numerous times recently. I'm not sure why so many people seem surprised that this has happened.
The reality is that phones are heavily customised with operator firmware and this makes moving them between networks an unrealistic option anyway. My main gripe however is the cost, there should be no charge for this unlock code is the phone is sold at a full price. As others have mentioned Vodafone have just created a market that will be worth millions to 3rd parties to unlock phones!
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