Vodafone or Sparks

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Unubis

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#222515 15-Aug-2017 13:59

Hello and greetings. We (Myself, my wife and our 8 months son) have recently come to live in New Zealand from Australia. We immigrated in 2009 from England but since decided we prefer NZ life. I was using Virgin mobile for my iPhone 7+ and for $30 they delivered rather well. When we arrive in NZ we went for Vodafone as with research in Australia to prepare for a Nerds arrival I wanted to be sure in advance of immediate immigration procedures. Im on a "My Flex Prepay and spend about $28 a month with 1.5G data. It amuses me that you pay for voicemail over here (20c) but Vodafone also doc you the minutes you use receiving the message. I live in Feilding and reception is ok, 4G working at times depending where you stand 😒 Im drawn to Spark as:

1, at times I don't receive a call yet I get a voicemail message and yes I have to pay to receive it.

2, I like the idea of the free Spotify account for Sparks that they offer.

The question is is Sparks as good for reception as Vodafone or better.

I have looked at the coverage maps but its to promote their brands so not always realistic.

Any recommendations or comments?

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#1847069 15-Aug-2017 14:15

They're more-or-less the same in terms of coverage, although I think Spark may have a slight edge with 4G.

Linux

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#1847070 15-Aug-2017 14:15

VodafoneNZ do not take minutes off your included minute bundle for calls that reach voicemail and never have

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sbiddle

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#1847075 15-Aug-2017 14:21

I too am a little confused why you think you're paying to receive a voicemail. This has never been the case.

Vodafone also let you use your incl minutes for retrieving voicemail if you're on a plan that doesn't include free voicemail retrieval.

Coverage isn't really a determining factor these days unless you live or work in a specific location that one or the other doesn't work in. Coverage % is pretty similar from both networks but they both have rural areas where one covers and the other may not.

Unubis

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#1847081 15-Aug-2017 14:30

Thanks for the replies. I quote a Vodafone page "Included in many plans - please check your plan in My Vodafone. where charges do apply, you will pay no more than $0.20 to listen to your voicemail no matter how long it takes." I have checked and yes I pay 20c for voicemail and when I checked my usage it has taken the minutes that I used for my voicemail.

djtOtago

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#1847090 15-Aug-2017 14:44

You can check coverage for each network on their web sites.

http://www.spark.co.nz/coverage

https://www.vodafone.co.nz/network/coverage/

As others have already said. In towns and cities they are basically the same. It is rural areas were their coverage can differ.

Fielding maybe considered rural. :)

Looks like I'll have to check my vodafone talk minutes next time I access voice mail.

If your phone is missing calls I would be looking at the phone as the source of the problem. Try turning 4g (LTE) off and just use 3g for awhile.

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#1847092 15-Aug-2017 14:47

It will not take 20 cents and 1 minute per call into Voicemail end of story I worked on the real time billing platform for 7 years and know the very finer detail of how it works end to end

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sbiddle

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#1847094 15-Aug-2017 14:48

Unubis:

Thanks for the replies. I quote a Vodafone page "Included in many plans - please check your plan in My Vodafone. where charges do apply, you will pay no more than $0.20 to listen to your voicemail no matter how long it takes." I have checked and yes I pay 20c for voicemail and when I checked my usage it has taken the minutes that I used for my voicemail.

That's a charge for listening to your voicemail - it's not a charge for receiving the voicemail.

Most new plans include free voicemail retrieval, but as I mentioned above if you are on an older plan you can ring your own number to check your voicemail and this will be deducted from your included minutes rather than paying 20c

kharris

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#1847098 15-Aug-2017 14:52

Linux: It will not take 20 cents and 1 minute per call into Voicemail end of story I worked on the real time billing platform for 7 years and know the very finer detail of how it works end to end

Linux

I get charged 20 cents for ringing my on account voice mail. Not sure about my minutes though, I don't think they are deducted for this.

Edit for clarification: I am on the advantage lite plan and the small print says "Calls to voicemail: 20c per call".

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Unubis

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#1847111 15-Aug-2017 15:10

sbiddle:
Unubis:

Thanks for the replies. I quote a Vodafone page "Included in many plans - please check your plan in My Vodafone. where charges do apply, you will pay no more than $0.20 to listen to your voicemail no matter how long it takes." I have checked and yes I pay 20c for voicemail and when I checked my usage it has taken the minutes that I used for my voicemail.

That's a charge for listening to your voicemail - it's not a charge for receiving the voicemail.

Most new plans include free voicemail retrieval, but as I mentioned above if you are on an older plan you can ring your own number to check your voicemail and this will be deducted from your included minutes rather than paying 20c

I understand you have a passion for Vodafone. I am on a Pre pay and I currently have 0.18c in my Vodafone balance and tried to call voicemail. A voice on the line said "You don't have enough credit to make this call. Please hold while we try to transfer you". My current days left are 24.

surfisup1000

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#1847116 15-Aug-2017 15:14

Considered skinny? They are spark owned so you are on the spark network with better pricing for NZ use. Roaming may not be quite though so great if that is a requirement.

maxeon

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#1847122 15-Aug-2017 15:22

https://skinnydirect.co.nz/

surfisup1000:

Considered skinny? They are spark owned so you are on the spark network with better pricing for NZ use. Roaming may not be quite though so great if that is a requirement.

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kryptonjohn

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#1847125 15-Aug-2017 15:26

Correct me if I am wrong, but on Spark the whole network has 4G data. On Vodafone you lose 4G when you get out of the cities and major tourist towns.

Seems that way to me anyway.

kryptonjohn

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#1847126 15-Aug-2017 15:26

Correct me if I am wrong, but on Spark the whole network has 4G data. On Vodafone you lose 4G when you get out of the cities and major tourist towns.

Seems that way to me anyway.

sbiddle

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#1847129 15-Aug-2017 15:32

kryptonjohn:

Correct me if I am wrong, but on Spark the whole network has 4G data. On Vodafone you lose 4G when you get out of the cities and major tourist towns.

Seems that way to me anyway.

As of a month or so ago the last stated official coverage figures from both networks put Vodafone 4G coverage at 94% of the population and Spark 4G at 90% of the population.

These figures are below their 3G coverage.

kryptonjohn

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#1847131 15-Aug-2017 15:35

Yeah but that's population coverage I'm talking about anti-population coverage in the wop-wops.

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