NZ Government spends $115 million on 450 new cell towers useless to thousands of mobile devices

Forums › New Zealand Mobile and Wireless › NZ Government spends $115 million on 450 new cell towers useless to thousands of mobile devices

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#2601082 10-Nov-2020 15:34

In Summary (from the OP)

theibm:

The problem:

Immediately after the tower switch on the situation for some local mobile uses people has deteriorated rather than improve. Mainly that mobile voice services simply stopped working. When trying to make a call the phone hangs then simply disconnects after 15-30 seconds.

Identified issues relate to voice calling:

Whilst 4G data services and TXT'ing services work normally voice calls simply stop working in the vicinity of these towers unless your in possession of a compatible phone with your service providers software (known as VoLTE) installed.

Full disclosure - this doesn't and probably never will effect me but sounds like an issue that I think needs to be fixed.

BlinkyBill

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#2601152 10-Nov-2020 16:28

KrazyKid:

In Summary (from the OP)

theibm:

The problem:

Immediately after the tower switch on the situation for some local mobile uses people has deteriorated rather than improve. Mainly that mobile voice services simply stopped working. When trying to make a call the phone hangs then simply disconnects after 15-30 seconds.

Identified issues relate to voice calling:

Whilst 4G data services and TXT'ing services work normally voice calls simply stop working in the vicinity of these towers unless your in possession of a compatible phone with your service providers software (known as VoLTE) installed.

Full disclosure - this doesn't and probably never will effect me but sounds like an issue that I think needs to be fixed.

it can be fixed by obtaining a compatible phone. That’s actually the only reasonable fix.

djtOtago

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#2601176 10-Nov-2020 17:31

Were the people in the area told, that their existing voice service, was going to stop working unless they bought a compatible phone, before the new tower was turned on?

And if so, how much notice were they given?

thelonepinetree

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#2601187 10-Nov-2020 17:57

Oh, man, this is going in circles...

Someone mentioned that LTE is a data network. We are not talking about modems unable to connect to data services. We're talking about cellphones that are still today used for making and receiving voice calls. Skype, whatsapp and all other VOIP apps work, but you can't deny that a cellphone is still used by many to make and receive phone calls. Try making an emergency 111 call using skype or whatsapp.

VoLTE is fantastic - the issue at heart here - is how the providers in NZ are going about implementing it, causing confusion, forcing users to "upgrade" their hardware to a "compatible" device, just so that users are able to apply the VoLTE configuration!!! There is no technical reason why this wouldn't or shouldn't work on their "old" hardware!

Let's define the "compatible device" in the context of this: A compatible device is one chosen from a limited selection of devices selected by a provider, with custom software and bloatware, that is designed to work on that provider's network AND might or might not be able to make VoLTE calls on competitor's network.

Undoubtedly, the hidden agenda the mobile providers are going on this restricted/closed path is to keep control of what devices the customers are using, and making sure that these devices come from the provider themselves, so they can clip the ticket. And because there are open-standard standards to do this, this is clearly abusing their monopoly position.

Remember the practice SIM-Locking non-subsidised handsets? It was abolished after consumer backlash only a few years ago! This is heading the same path.

You might've missed this post which explains this clearly.

Linux

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#2601190 10-Nov-2020 18:02

@thelonepinetree Your statement above is not correct as the providers are not implementing RBI/ RBI2 the New Zealand government is

There is no hidden agenda here so this is again another false statement, SIM locking of handsets still happens today in New Zealand by all the carriers.

thelonepinetree

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#2601191 10-Nov-2020 18:04

Linux:

@thelonepinetree Your statement above is not correct as the providers are not implementing RBI/ RBI2 the New Zealand government is

There is no hidden agenda here so this is again another false statement

OK, you're lost. This post has NOTHING to do with RBI/RBI2. Maybe RCG. But the issue is the way the VoLTE is being rolled out by the network providers (vodafone, spark and 2degrees).

Linux

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#2601192 10-Nov-2020 18:06

RCG is RBI / RBI2 and I edited my post, All carriers in New Zealand still sell SIM locked handsets

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Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

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#2601194 10-Nov-2020 18:10

@thelonepinetree just an example below of the major carriers in NZ SIM locking handsets and help pages explaining how to SIM unlock them

Brand new handsets sold today are still SIM locked

https://help.2degreesmobile.co.nz/app/answers/detail/a_id/10/~/how-do-i-unlock-my-locked-phone%3F

https://www.skinny.co.nz/help/unlock-phone/

https://www.vodafone.co.nz/help/mobile-phones/unlock/

https://www.spark.co.nz/myspark/mymobile/unlockingdevices/

thelonepinetree

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#2601195 10-Nov-2020 18:10

RCG is rural connectivity group which is meant to provide voice and data, not just data. They also got a big chunk of the mobile Black Spot fund.

I never dispute the right of providers selling simlocked handsets, if they're subsidising them.

I repeat, the issue here is the way the mobile network providers are implementing the VoLTE in a closed and very anti-competitive manner, which is in network providers' best interest. However, there is a way to do it using open configuration, and that's in customers' best interests.

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#2601199 10-Nov-2020 18:13

It is not anti-competitive you simply go buy a handset from many of the carriers in New Zealand and if that handset supports VoLTE then you have VoLTE in 4G only locations

MaxineN

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#2601217 10-Nov-2020 18:16

Good luck with an open configuration when Android is a mess. There's a reason why phones are validated to work. There's a reason why incompatible phones are not validated. I imagine our big 3 companies are trying to get more phones validated.

Would like to see a telco comment on the process but this is beyond whats expected and probably not kosher to talk about.

Ramblings from a mysterious lady who's into tech. Warning I may often create zingers.

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#2601220 10-Nov-2020 18:18

If it was my choice I would give 24 months notice and say 3G / WCDMA is going bye bye so the spectrum can be used for 4G / 5G only

But the carriers should only be selling handsets that work with VoLTE and support the main 4G bands in New Zealand 700 , 900, 1800, 2100Mhz

sbiddle

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#2601221 10-Nov-2020 18:20

thelonepinetree:

Let's define the "compatible device" in the context of this: A compatible device is one chosen from a limited selection of devices selected by a provider, with custom software and bloatware, that is designed to work on that provider's network AND might or might not be able to make VoLTE calls on competitor's network.

Can we all accept that this "limited selection of handsets" statement is simply not correct?

Every iPhone since the iPhone6 that came out in 2015 has VoLTE support. Just about every Samsung handset released in NZ in the last 3 or so years has VoLTE support, and a significant number of recent Huawei handsets have VoLTE. Together these brands make up close to 90% of all mobile phones sold in NZ.

thelonepinetree

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#2601223 10-Nov-2020 18:22

You still need a specific VoLTE config for your provider. I can not confirm @linux's implied statement that if you bought a spark phone that it would work on VoLTE on Vodafone.

thelonepinetree

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#2601225 10-Nov-2020 18:24

And my current phone I bought in 2017 also has VoLTE support. It's just that no providers in NZ are planning on releasing the configuration for it, so it will probably never work on VoLTE. And right now, I can't make calls in VoLTE only areas.

I agree, let's get rid of 3G/UTMS, but please open up the config for all VoLTE devices, not just a selection.

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