2degrees to close down 2G access in March 2018

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#1954264 9-Feb-2018 12:56

Damnit, there I go giving away state secrets again...

Vodafone introduced 3G in ... 2004, 2005? Me thinks back to the Olden Days... So it took 13 years before a carrier could conceivably turn off 2G in favour of 3G+ (XT starting without 2G in the first place notwithstanding). It probably won't be 13 years since LTE launched before 3G is turned off in favour of 4G+ but VoLTE is a mandatory prerequisite because there's no other (universally standardised) way to do voice.

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tripper1000

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#1954355 9-Feb-2018 13:51

Linux:

This is where VodafoneNZ and Spark have a huge advantage over 2Degrees in spectrum allocation but ...

Before 2DM went live to the N.Z. public and was in its construction phase it was carrying international roaming traffic for some meagre income. I thought at the time that Woosh Wireless and 2DM would have been a symbiotic match, as 2DM had expanding infrastructure that it couldn't (yet) utilise and Woosh had 2100MHz spectrum that it couldn't utilise and a desperate need for greater coverage and some decent new UMTS equipment.

2DM would have been in a better position now if it had of absorbed Woosh and it's 2100 & 2300 MHz spectrum - as it was Spark cannibalised Woosh's spectrum and now leads the bandwidth stakes.

I believe most of Spark and Vodafones 2600 MHz LTE spectrum come through a happy coincidence from a historical strategy to hoard/block WiMax spectrum, rather than an improved customer service focus.

Starscream122

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#1959275 16-Feb-2018 17:45

Linux:
Starscream122:

We've only had ours 3 or 4 years I would assume it has 3G

No they don't support 3G until they are swapped out, The newer smart meters may

Linux

our meter has “April 2013” as its MFC date. Would it likely have 3G? If they don’t have 3G to the have to swap the whole meter out again or just replace the Radio module?

Ouranos

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#1959292 16-Feb-2018 18:20

2degrees tell me that our 4 mobiles need to be replaced. The phones are Moto E gen 2, about 3 years old. They have mobile data, which I believe uses 2100 MHz 3G (the only 3G frequency the phones support).
So, is 2degrees correct?
If so, then can we switch to another network? i.e. Vodafone?

Linux

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#1959295 16-Feb-2018 18:47

Ouranos: 2degrees tell me that our 4 mobiles need to be replaced. The phones are Moto E gen 2, about 3 years old. They have mobile data, which I believe uses 2100 MHz 3G (the only 3G frequency the phones support).
So, is 2degrees correct?
If so, then can we switch to another network? i.e. Vodafone?

You need a handset that supports 3G / UMTS 900Mhz as well

Linux

Ouranos

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#1959297 16-Feb-2018 18:59

Linux:
Ouranos: 2degrees tell me that our 4 mobiles need to be replaced. The phones are Moto E gen 2, about 3 years old. They have mobile data, which I believe uses 2100 MHz 3G (the only 3G frequency the phones support).
So, is 2degrees correct?
If so, then can we switch to another network? i.e. Vodafone?

You need a handset that supports 3G / UMTS 900Mhz as well

Linux

For 2degrees or Vodafone or both?

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SaltyNZ

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#1959302 16-Feb-2018 19:19

UMTS will continue to be available on 2100MHz, but without 900MHz support you will find the coverage outside of town centres will be next to nothing.

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KiwiSurfer

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#1959303 16-Feb-2018 19:21

You could in theory get away with just UMTS 2100 MHz if you make sure you keep yourself within close range of 2degrees' cell sites which have 2100 MHz services. However in reality you'd be missing out on quite a lot of the 900 MHz only coverage. If your phone doesn't support 900 MHz 3G then you'll have no coverage on 2degrees in quite a lot of places (mostly rural but there is a lot of pockets of suburban and some inner city areas where 2100 MHz is non-existent especially indoors). On Vodafone you will have poor experience as you'll have to drop down to 2G which is nearly useless for data.

Basically the situation in NZ for 2100 MHz only phone is:-

- Spark (and 2degrees from March): Missing a whole lot of 850/900 MHz only coverage

- Vodafone: Falling back to 900 MHz 2G, but for how long?

quickymart

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#1959472 17-Feb-2018 09:08

Yes but only staying near a cellsite with that signal is a bit pointless if you have to travel anywhere. To me (personally) that would be a major nuisance.

coffeebaron

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#1959475 17-Feb-2018 09:25

Vodafone should launch a switch before your ditched campaign lol :)

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#1959635 17-Feb-2018 16:35

Starscream122: our meter has “April 2013” as its MFC date. Would it likely have 3G? If they don’t have 3G to the have to swap the whole meter out again or just replace the Radio module?

Assuming that your meter is an EDMI meter. The radio modem is a separate module that just plugs in via a RJ45 socket and short cable. Although the protocol is RS232 and power over that cable instead of Ethernet.

My understanding is that It is to support legacy systems. As the radio modem is basically just a dial up modem. I remember seeing in the early 2000s a large switchboard with a smart meter, and a cable that was plugged into a normal telephone jackpoint inside the switchboard.

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tripper1000

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#1960188 19-Feb-2018 10:09

Ouranos: 2degrees tell me that our 4 mobiles need to be replaced. The phones are Moto E gen 2, about 3 years old. They have mobile data, which I believe uses 2100 MHz 3G (the only 3G frequency the phones support).
So, is 2degrees correct?
If so, then can we switch to another network? i.e. Vodafone?

There appear to be four different versions of your phone, 50% of which are fully compatible with 2degrees 3G, so it may not be bad news but we need to know the exact model number to answer you with confidence

To be sure you need to check the exact model/part number (usually found in the menu Settings, About Device).

Here they quote the various models specs as: https://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_e_(2nd_gen)-6986.php.

HSDPA 850 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 - Model XT1527, XT1511

HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 - Model XT1505

HSDPA 900 / 2100 - Model XT1524

So considering 3g only and not considering 4g:

XT1527, XT1511 are Spark only but lacks 2100 so you may get the occasional black spot in cities.

XT1505 is compatible with all New Zealand networks.

XT1524 is compatible with Vodafone and 2Degrees.

To be honest, I wouldn't be shocked to hear you had been told incorrect information. When the 2Degrees call centre called me, the representative seemed poorly prepared and not well versed in the job they were trying to do. For instance they offered me a discounted phone, but didn't seem to expect anyone to take them up on the offer because they couldn't tell me which models I could choose from.

Edit: Why do you only ever see spelling mistakes after you've published the post?

Linux

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#1960195 19-Feb-2018 10:14

@2Degreescare @SaltyNZ Have the RAN team got a timeline once 2G is turned off to when 4G band8 will be enabled on all the sites? I am guessing it's not going to be over night but over some time

Linux

Edit: Sorry should of asked is the 900Mhz 4G going to be CA with 1800Mhz or 700Mhz depending what is live on the site?

2degreesCare

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#1960218 19-Feb-2018 10:57

Linux:

"I am guessing it's not going to be over night but over some time"

Linux

Edit: Sorry should of asked is the 900Mhz 4G going to be CA with 1800Mhz or 700Mhz depending what is live on the site?

Hi Linux

'Over some time' is correct, it's hard to put a time-frame on it. We're turning on 4G on sites across our network but cannot give an exact date when all sites are activated. The best indicator of where you'll get 4G is from our coverage map - 2degrees Coverage

Cheers

^POB

Linux

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#1960225 19-Feb-2018 11:10

@2degreescare coverage map shows current 4G I was more interested in future and the band8 900Mhz where it's going to be

John

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