2degrees deploying MoRAN

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#2509916 22-Jun-2020 17:34

halper86:

PolicyGuy:

Excuse me for being thick, but does this mean that:

2Degrees phones will now 'multi-operate' onto any/all Vodafone towers instead of 'roaming' on selected ones only; or
Both Vodafone and 2Degrees phones will 'multi-operate' on each others' towers seamlessly; or
Something different, I have misunderstood the whole thing

?

Yours in Confusion

PG

On the new RCG (Rural Connectivity Group) towers, all 3 providers own a third of each site and use the same hardware eg. antenna, tower etc as the competitors. This is basically treated as a network provided tower by a handset and hands over seamlessly like any other tower on that network.

Someone correct me if I am wrong :)

From a technical perspective, all three MNO's share the spectrum 33%-33%-33%. Coverage is identical. Using the same radios, same baseband.

From a users perspective you would never know you are on an RCG site. The operation is seamless - handovers in and out happen the same way they do in their native networks.

It was a great idea for the three MNO's to combine their resources and work together to get mobile data and VoLTE coverage to hard to reach areas.

PolicyGuy

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#2509933 22-Jun-2020 18:39

PolicyGuy:

Excuse me for being thick, but does this mean that:

2Degrees phones will now 'multi-operate' onto any/all Vodafone towers instead of 'roaming' on selected ones only; or
Both Vodafone and 2Degrees phones will 'multi-operate' on each others' towers seamlessly; or
Something different, I have misunderstood the whole thing

?
Yours in Confusion

PG

halper86:

On the new RCG (Rural Connectivity Group) towers, all 3 providers own a third of each site and use the same hardware eg. antenna, tower etc as the competitors. This is basically treated as a network provided tower by a handset and hands over seamlessly like any other tower on that network.

Someone correct me if I am wrong :)

nzbsgfan:

From a technical perspective, all three MNO's share the spectrum 33%-33%-33%. Coverage is identical. Using the same radios, same baseband.

From a users perspective you would never know you are on an RCG site. The operation is seamless - handovers in and out happen the same way they do in their native networks.

It was a great idea for the three MNO's to combine their resources and work together to get mobile data and VoLTE coverage to hard to reach areas.

Yes, that's how RCG works.
But that's not actually what I asked.
What I want to know is how this new 2Degrees / Vodafone thing works

Oblivian

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#2509934 22-Jun-2020 18:44

“Most New Zealanders are unaware of the scale of the 2degrees network and we’re now at a point where we're completing our national coverage and choosing to do that efficiently by using our own spectrum over a partner’s cell sites,” he says.

“Using our spectrum in these areas for the first time is like adding a new motorway for our customers to use, they move from sharing our partners’ network to a network dedicated just for 2degrees. This is possible without building new cell towers.”

https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU2006/S00398/2degrees-to-complete-national-network-deploys-innovative-infrastructure-sharing-model.htm

And from google reading the paywall herald

The deal involves around 200 Vodafone NZ cell towers covering the remaining 1.5 per cent of the country by population - or around 20 per cent of the country by area.

Wilko

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#2510094 22-Jun-2020 22:17

Does this mean that 2 Degrees may at last offer wireless broadband as well? I've been waiting for years for it - we have no fibre, and very slow ADSL (not even ADSL2) and despite being in a fibre area according to their map, Chorus refuse to install it to the 200 houses in our lifestyle village

toejam316

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#2510111 22-Jun-2020 23:16

It sounds like the idea is 2Degrees puts in capital and gains access to the plant on existing Vodafone sites, which also lowers the cost to Vodafone to establish these sites as 4G sites. Think of it as cellular carpooling.

Join Quic Broadband with my referral - no sign up fee and gives me account credit

Anything I say is the ramblings of an ill informed, opinionated so-and-so, and not representative of any of my past, present or future employers, and is also probably best disregarded.

SaltyNZ

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#2510174 23-Jun-2020 07:31

Wilko:

Does this mean that 2 Degrees may at last offer wireless broadband as well? I've been waiting for years for it - we have no fibre, and very slow ADSL (not even ADSL2) and despite being in a fibre area according to their map, Chorus refuse to install it to the 200 houses in our lifestyle village

There are already some services - https://www.2degreesmobile.co.nz/broadband/rural-broadband/. I can't speak to what might happen in future, especially with COVID kicking the economy.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

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gordo92

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#2512062 25-Jun-2020 11:37

Well I guess no more Domestic roaming for me then hehe... Weirdly I kinda get a kick out of seeing my phone change from "2degrees" to "Vodafone- Stay Safe" when traveling between Tauranga and Auckland... Aussie has not had any kind of domestic roaming for years so it is kinda cool to see it happen again.
But hey good on 2degrees for finally been happy with there network and not wanting to rely on their competition.

It think even better is the fact that all 3 carriers can out there differences aside for the Betterment of the NZ public and help each other to get better cell service in places that don't have good Coverage.

Personally I think what 2degrees does and the way they go about things is awesome.

Cheers,

Brandon

Broadcast Tech and all round tech nerd

Bay Of Plenty, NZ

tripper1000

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#2512136 25-Jun-2020 13:23

I wonder if it is a two way deal - ie Vodafone gaining access to native 2DM towers ? Such an alliance would be advantageous in competing with Spark and improving VF customer service.

Linux

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#2512139 25-Jun-2020 13:30

tripper1000: improving VF customer service.

Going to take more than MoRAN to fix that

Dochart

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#2512143 25-Jun-2020 13:32

Before they signed this agreement to be able to use Vodafone towers with 2degrees do you need roaming enabled on the phone or does it do it automatically?

Linux

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#2512154 25-Jun-2020 13:43

Dochart: Before they signed this agreement to be able to use Vodafone towers with 2degrees do you need roaming enabled on the phone or does it do it automatically?

Natioal Data roaming could be disabled on official 2degrees handsets other than that it was automatic

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tripper1000

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#2512157 25-Jun-2020 13:49

halper86: On the new RCG (Rural Connectivity Group) ...

PolicyGuy:

Yes, that's how RCG works.
But that's not actually what I asked.
What I want to know is how this new 2Degrees / Vodafone thing works

No - 2DM phones will not operate in any nor all VF tower.
No - VF and 2DM phones will not necessarily roam on others towers seamlessly.
Yes, something different....

Forget roaming type arrangements, it is not roaming any any form.

In the past if two or more operators agree to share a tower, the operators still needed independent radios, antenna, feeders, cabinets etc - the tower was the only thing that was shared. This mean double or triple the gear attached to the tower, which makes the upgrade almost as complex as a new site build.

Using MoRAN, when a VF tower, that they have agreed to share with 2DM, is upgraded, a special 4G radio system is installed (called MoRAN). This enables multiple independent companies (VF and 2DM) to operate independently but using the same radio, same antenna, feeders, cabinet, power supply and tower, and maybe even the same frequencies. Broadly speaking the tower owner benefits by sharing the cost of upgrading, and sharing the future costs of maintaining the tower. The exact nature of the benefits and how costs are shared/recouped depends on the exact agreement they have.

Dochart

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#2512159 25-Jun-2020 13:56

With this agreement could this mean cheaper mobile plans with more mobile data?

Linux

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#2512161 25-Jun-2020 13:59

Dochart: With this agreement could this mean cheaper mobile plans with more mobile data?

@Dochart Mobile plans are already cheap in NZ and many have unlimited data and calling, If you read the article it's 1% of traffic!

Dochart

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#2512162 25-Jun-2020 14:00

Linux:
Dochart: With this agreement could this mean cheaper mobile plans with more mobile data?

@Dochart Mobile plans are already cheap in NZ and many have unlimited data and calling, If you read the article it's 1% of traffic!

Compared to Aus they seem to get way more data with their mobile plans at a cheaper rate.

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