Who cares when it's coming out if One is selling people on a false idea now?

gehenna:

 

Who cares when it's coming out if One is selling people on a false idea now?

 

ComCom aren't saying the service won't perform as expected - we won't know that until launch - they are only saying that the limitations aren't clear in some of the advertising. This seems like something the parties will be able to agree on fairly quickly.

CIT6D65: Maybe there is an argument to be made that the ComCom may be as corrupt as S&P were in 2008.

Corrupt is a very, very strong word. 

gehenna:

 

Who cares when it's coming out if One is selling people on a false idea now?

 

I think thats the million dollar question. Are they selling handsets that aren't compatible with the Starlink mobile service (presumably 5G)? Or they overstating its capability or availability? Will they be limiting it to certain plans or service types?

The response from One New Zealand:

 

“Following review, we’ve responded to the Commission’s letter, letting them know that as they themselves noted, our intention was always to wind down our 100% campaign at this point which we have now completed, and that whilst we intend to constructively engage and will make the changes they have requested, we respectfully disagree with their view that our 100% mobile coverage Campaign was confusing, likely to mislead or deceive or otherwise in breach of the Fair Trading Act.

 

 

 

We believe customers inherently understand that while coverage will be 100% when SpaceX has its satellite constellation in place by the end of 2024, there could still be issues that impact a customer’s ability to connect, in the same way that they understand there are similar impacts to cellular services today.

 

We’ll be changing our advertising to state ‘Coverage like never before, launching 2024’, and we’ll clearly display the disclaimer “TXT only launching by end of 2024” and where relevant “TXT delivery within minutes” on screen when we advertise.

 

We trust that this will allay the Commission’s concerns, and we can return our focus to bringing this state-of-the-art communication technology to One New Zealand customers, helping them to stay in touch with friends and family, connect their businesses and stay in touch in emergency situations.”

 

Today's release:

 

One giant leap taken for One NZ coverage with SpaceX ‘cell tower in sky’ satellite launch

 

Launch paves the way for coverage like never before from late 2024; One NZ partners with global telcos to provide satellite roaming

 

“It’s a hugely exciting milestone in providing coverage like never before and represents years of innovation from SpaceX that will directly benefit all New Zealanders,” says One NZ CEO Jason Paris.

 

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off successfully from Space Launch Complex 4E in California at Vandenberg Space Force Base on Tuesday, Jan 2nd, taking 6 SpaceX’s Direct to Cell Starlink satellites into space. The Starlink satellites contain custom silicon ‘phased arrays’ that will allow them to communicate directly with most current smart phones on the ground.

 

Live testing will take place in Aotearoa next year, with One NZ’s network team preparing with SpaceX in advance.  Coverage from SpaceX will complement One NZ’s 4G and 5G mobile networks, which have been awarded New Zealand’s ‘Best in Test’ mobile network by global leader in mobile testing umlaut, part of Accenture for two years running. One NZ mobile coverage currently covers 99% of NZ’s population.

 

One NZ today also announced it will be joining a ‘global alliance’ of telcos to provide reciprocal satellite roaming for its customers, meaning One NZ customers can stay connected via satellite when roaming to partner countries.

 

“We’re delighted to be partnering with global telcos in the USA, Australia and beyond, to provide satellite coverage when roaming. Kiwis love to explore, and this means we’ll have you covered at home or when you’re travelling.” said Paris.

 

The plan is for reciprocal roaming to be available across USA (T-Mobile), Australia (Optus), Canada (Rogers), Japan (KDDI), Switzerland (Salt), with more telcos expected to join the alliance before service launch.

 

It’s not just about travel, One NZ believes its collaboration with SpaceX will keep Kiwis safer, both here and around the world.

 

“With the increase in climate change related impacts to our network, we’re delighted to be adding this layer of resilience for our customers. As we saw with Starlink providing backhaul and connectivity during Cyclone Gabrielle back in February, satellite can be a useful backup should the terrestrial cell network not be available.”
“Whether you’re travelling the world, or exploring our incredible natural environment at home, if you’re with One NZ, you’ll have the ability to connect with loved ones.”

 

I asked One NZ about it. They are testing it later this year with plans to launch the service by the end of 2024. They've updated the release on their website.

Is there any indication yet on how far offshore this service will work?

It might not now happen this year after all: https://archive.ph/YPiQt

Just checked myself and indeed, any reference to a starting date of 2024 has been removed:

https://one.nz/why-choose-us/spacex/?srsltid=AfmBOooOTsx_PBsDIHFl6iPdkKhBGq-74pkvbdjPrdJsWqLq2sQiApnz

That's hardly surprising given that it's dependent on technology promised by Elon Musk. It doesn't even sound that useful because the best use case would be for emergencies, whereas the initial implementation of this service will only support OneNZ's juvenile instant messaging service.

You'd be better off with the satellite connectivity on the latest iPhones which has been proven in service.