Cellphone coverage and the cost.

Forums › One New Zealand (including Vodafone, WxC, Farmside) › Cellphone coverage and the cost.

rayonline

1734 posts

Uber Geek

#62087 29-May-2010 09:45

Hiya, when companies advise us of the coverage they cover over the country where people live. Does that cover all of the main highways?

Could be some yrs ago, cannot recall recently but .. if we drive Wellington to Auckland or Dunedin to Queenstown are you garuranteed of continual coverage? Meaning 2G coverage. Don't need 3G fancy stuff everywhere. You know .. emergency calls as people need on the highways.

Re: the cost. Landlines are about $45/mo, prepay cellphones (even contract plans) are much cheaper. Are cellular cheaper to run than landlines (from a supplier's view)? I also recall Vodafone has a Home plan thing, this box at home and you get free unlimited local calls around your house's perimeter and it is cheaper than the landline.

Should mobile data then be cheaper than ADSL?

Cheers

quickymart

13927 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#336117 29-May-2010 17:35

I already commented on this in a thread, I seem to recall a few years ago someone (Vodafone maybe?) claimed they covered all (or most) of SH1 from one end to the other. Excluding the North Cape north of Kaitaia, from my experience this is mostly true.

Mobile data is not cheaper than ADSL because it costs a hell of a lot more to deliver it.

VFNZPaulBrislen

970 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#336132 29-May-2010 18:51

You can check out Vodafone's coverage on the Vodafone coverage map.

In essence, we cover 97% of the population - that is, where 97% of the population live work and play.

You can toggle 3G, 3G Extend and 2G on and off to see what's available where.

Paul

Paul Brislen
Head of Corporate Communications
Vodafone

http://forum.vodafone.co.nz

peejayw

1841 posts

Uber Geek

#336143 29-May-2010 20:38

In essence, we cover 97% of the population - that is, where 97% of the population live work and play.

Paul

Does that mean that if you have no coverage where you live but do have coverage where you work, then you would be included in the "97%" ?

Also, what does "cover" mean? Is it, "We can provide a usable service in and around your dwelling" or " there is a detectable signal." ? What in terms of dBm is considered adequate in providing a service?

Thanks,

Pat

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

Blindspot

58 posts

Master Geek

#336529 31-May-2010 11:46

Coverage in this case means you have access basic services, you can make a call, send a text, gprs/R99 data. I think most phones will not try to establish a basic service with anything less than -105dBm.

97% population coverage does not mean 97% coverage.

peejayw in your case your work would be considered the 3% where as your home would fall into the 97%... if you have a hundred or so people working with you in the same location without coverage then you might want to escalate this via 777.

icepicknz

309 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#336531 31-May-2010 11:51

I know driving from Auckland to the mountain (in winter times for snowboarding) that both vodafone and telecom have blank spots for quite some time... I do take the back roads and can't remember the last time I went the motorway...

I know that both vodafone and telecom also have blank spots on SH1 between taupo and auckland because I did that trip a few weeks ago

Barry Murphy
ISPMap - New Zealand ISP map
Vibe Communications LTD - Business ISP and Wholesale Carrier

Any comments made by myself don't reflect the views of my employer, they are mine and mine alone