Wireless Broadband - Coverage and suppliers

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Aaryn015

104 posts

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#21620 2-May-2008 13:24

Howdy.

I'm looking in "technofying" my dad's mate who wants a laptop and internet to do email and internet stuff on a casual basis.

He's very technical illiterate. e.g. I bumped into him in Dick Smith and mentioned I was checking out Routers. A few days later he asked my mum why I would need a power tool for channelling doors.

Anyhoo - He spends alot of time up north. Whangaroa to be exact. 30mins NE of Keri Keri. Vodafone reception is generally pretty good, even up to 15 miles off shore on the boat.

Where he stays, has no land line. Plus he moves around alot. So I am toying with the idea of getting him a cheap lappy and mobile BB from either Vodafone or Telecom.

Does anyone have any input on how good this option currently is? Especially people who knock around in this area? I found only old posts on the matter and talk of a new Vodafone service being rolled out late in 2007(900Mhz?). My flatmate has a vodem for work, and it's stupid slow in Northcote, so I'm looking more at Telecom at the moment, but have no knowledge of it.

Aaron

CYaBro

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#128095 3-May-2008 00:17

Have you checkout these guys? They may have wireless coverage in that area.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

Aaryn015

104 posts

Master Geek

#128558 5-May-2008 11:35

CYaBro: Have you checkout these guys? They may have wireless coverage in that area.

I'll keep on eye on them. They don't have coverage there yet. Bay of Islands is in the "coming soon" section.

manhinli

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#128626 5-May-2008 18:26

You can check out Kordia's Extend network which is pretty good - Whangaroa's got "some" coverage... but you'll need to check where exactly you're living.

... and then find out the products which the companies offer (from here)

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grant_k

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#128636 5-May-2008 18:46

Aaryn015: Where he stays, has no land line. Plus he moves around alot. So I am toying with the idea of getting him a cheap lappy and mobile BB from either Vodafone or Telecom.

Does anyone have any input on how good this option currently is? Especially people who knock around in this area?

I spend a lot of time in and around the Bay of Islands as well as Whangarei and various other remote areas.

Before getting a Telecom Mobile Broadband card, I used my Vodafone mobile to connect to the internet from most of these areas. I found that Vodafone did not have any 3G coverage North of Whangarei so I was stuck on GPRS everywhere else. I thought that the situation may have improved since I last looked, so just did a check for Kerikeri:

The following coverage is predicted for KERIKERI ROAD KERIKERI:

2G/2.5G coverage in your area

Best

This location has a very strong signal, so you will definitely experience excellent quality for all services. Your mobile data connection will be as fast as a dial-up connection.

3G coverage in your area

None

Sorry, there is no 3G coverage here. We are regularly extending our coverage, though, so please check back regularly.

3G Broadband coverage in your area

None

Sorry, this area does not have Vodafone 3G Broadband coverage. We are always improving our coverage, though, so please check back regularly.

This is extremely disappointing to say the least. Kerikeri is the fastest developing town in the Far North and for Vodafone to have not bothered providing 3G coverage, shows how out of touch they are. For those not familiar with the area, Kerikeri Road is the main road leading into town and is quite elevated for almost all its length. If anywhere in the Kerikeri area was going to get good coverage, this would be it.

I checked Whangaroa and Kaeo and the situation is similar.

So, it doesn't look like anything much has changed since I made my decision to go with Telecom. In the Bay of Islands around Russell and Paihia as well as Kerikeri, I get full 3G Mobile Broadband with download speeds of up to 1Mbps. In other areas, my card falls back to 1X mode which gives a download speed of around 100kbps. This is still far better than the 40kbps (max) I used to get on GPRS.

Telecom's 1X coverage extends into some very remote areas. I have used it while my wife was driving along SH1 as it crossed the Brynderwyn Range. Also at places like Kawakawa and other small towns around the Far North. Over the weekend I used my Telecom card way out near Raglan in the Waikato with speed around 100kbps whereas my Vodafone mobile struggled to make Voice Calls!

That is my experience of the two networks over almost the past 2 years. I still have a Vodafone mobile for voice calls, but never use its data capability any more because the Telecom Mobile Broadband card is just so much better.

Cheers,
Grant.

DjShadow

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#128680 5-May-2008 21:26

I'm wondering if the Kerikeri cellsite has the 900mhz wcdma upgrade on it? (still waiting for vodafone to offcially launch it)

MauriceWinn

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#129788 9-May-2008 23:04

Here's a company in the Bay of Islands area. <<Northland Connect is a High Speed Wireless Provider in the bay of islands prices start from $40.00 a month for unlimited internet *6 month contract applies* $60.00 a month unlimited *no contract* Please Call 021 1232 850 to Sign Up ** Buy a repeater for your property to improve Northland Connect's Coverage and we wi
8-10 Marsden , Paihia
0211232850 mgreaves@nconnect.co.nz >>

Perhaps they will cover Whangaroa. somehow.