Should I be roaming on Vodafone data in Palmerston North with 2Degrees?

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lchiu7

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#100327 9-Apr-2012 14:45

I have a national 1G data plan on 2D. I noticed when in the PN CBD i was roaming on VF data as shown by a R in the status icon and checked when i went to Mobile Networks settings in my GN.

I think national data includes roaming but i also noticed a billboard near me advertising 2D 3Gb data.

So I rescanned the networks, found 2D and chose it.I was able to select the network and the icon changed to H which I presume means HSPA or something like that.

I wonder if 2D is available here why I roamed onto VF?

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

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#607076 9-Apr-2012 15:41

I have a problems often when I travel between home (Hokowhitu) and work (CBD). It seems the network has trouble switching between networks because when I'm in town, my data just stops. The guy in the 2Degrees shop says it's because it's still trying to access the (far away) Vodafone tower and not using the (much closer) to 2Degrees.

He says whenever it happens (sadly, almost every day) to get the phone to scan for networks (this takes over a minute!) and select 2Degrees. Once I do, it works again, but it's such a hassle to have to do this every day...

I've emailed 2Degrees about the problem, but its email response time even for on-account customers is 5 working days. Pretty bad if you ask me. I'm thinking I'll switch to Skinny soon.

alasta

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#607090 9-Apr-2012 16:17

GeoffisPure: The guy in the 2Degrees shop says it's because it's still trying to access the (far away) Vodafone tower and not using the (much closer) to 2Degrees.

He says whenever it happens (sadly, almost every day) to get the phone to scan for networks (this takes over a minute!) and select 2Degrees. Once I do, it works again, but it's such a hassle to have to do this every day...

I have also experienced problems with data going dead in national roaming areas. It happened to me in Wanganui earlier this year.

I realise that this can sometimes be a result of incorrect APN settings, but I'm quite convinced that there are also some technical gremlins in the handovers between 2degrees and roaming territories.

DjShadow

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#607096 9-Apr-2012 16:37

Ideally 2degrees should be locking out the vodafone towers where they have their own coverage but the impression I got from another thread is they can only do this when their towers cover a whole "vodafone local calling area"
So yes your phone/device can roam on vodafone where there is 2degrees coverage

SaltyNZ

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#607100 9-Apr-2012 16:48

DjShadow: Ideally 2degrees should be locking out the vodafone towers where they have their own coverage but the impression I got from another thread is they can only do this when their towers cover a whole "vodafone local calling area"
So yes your phone/device can roam on vodafone where there is 2degrees coverage

It's LAC - Location Area Code. Nothing to do with a local calling area. It's not necessarily even geographic. For example the Queenstown cells don't have their own LAC, they're part of one of the others (Christchurch I think).

But yes: roaming is only forbidden in areas where the 2degrees coverage exceeds a Vodafone LAC. In the smaller towns especially, the Vodafone LACs are geographically very large. If we switched roaming off, that would mean no coverage for large areas outside the towns.

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DjShadow

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#607102 9-Apr-2012 16:53

Thanks for clearing that one up

lchiu7

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#607173 9-Apr-2012 19:45

DjShadow: Thanks for clearing that one up

Me too. The VF speed was quite fast :-)

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

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DjShadow

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#607176 9-Apr-2012 19:51

technically they should be with HSPA+/DC-HSPA being rolled out, last time I checked the top speed of 2degrees was 7.2mb

SteveON

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#607201 9-Apr-2012 21:12

I have found that 2degrees new towers aren't good for people who travel.

SaltyNZ

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#607250 10-Apr-2012 07:25

DjShadow: technically they should be with HSPA+/DC-HSPA being rolled out, last time I checked the top speed of 2degrees was 7.2mb

Our minimum speed is 7.2. We have 14.4 and 21 turned on as well in some places, and the higher speed coverage will increase.

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lchiu7

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#607251 10-Apr-2012 07:30

SaltyNZ:
DjShadow: technically they should be with HSPA+/DC-HSPA being rolled out, last time I checked the top speed of 2degrees was 7.2mb

Our minimum speed is 7.2. We have 14.4 and 21 turned on as well in some places, and the higher speed coverage will increase.

Next time I have a choice I might do a quick speedtest and choose the faster network :-)

I know when I was on VF and tethering my phone, my son noted that the Internet speed on his phone using wifi tethered to mine was pretty fast.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

nzkiwiman

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#607392 10-Apr-2012 13:01

Similar situation for me at home -- I am on a fridge zone for 2D and as a result of the single Vodafone tower that seems to cover a very large area (according to the map, it is the only Vodafone tower between Dunedin Airport and Fairfield), I am mostly roaming on Vodafone.

I can pick up 2D by waiting for my phone to search the networks - taking 2-3 minutes per search time in order to stay locked onto 2D until the Vodafone signal is once again picked up and because it is stronger I stay locked onto it.

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lchiu7

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#607394 10-Apr-2012 13:06

Out of interest, if you're on a broadband zone 3G plan rather than a national plan, and the phone roamed to VF and you were doing data, would

1. you be able to do data?
2. What would be the roaming costs.

I guess I didn't care so much since my plan includes national data so if I were on 2D or VF it would be the same.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

SaltyNZ

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#607396 10-Apr-2012 13:15

lchiu7: Out of interest, if you're on a broadband zone 3G plan rather than a national plan, and the phone roamed to VF and you were doing data...

Then you are on Vodafone, and are charged Vodafone roaming rates as you would any other time. That's why they are taking so long to optimise before declaring official broadband zones: the maps are conservative enough that you should not find yourself accidentally roamed onto Vodafone as long as you are within them.

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lchiu7

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#607449 10-Apr-2012 15:22

SaltyNZ:
lchiu7: Out of interest, if you're on a broadband zone 3G plan rather than a national plan, and the phone roamed to VF and you were doing data...

Then you are on Vodafone, and are charged Vodafone roaming rates as you would any other time. That's why they are taking so long to optimise before declaring official broadband zones: the maps are conservative enough that you should not find yourself accidentally roamed onto Vodafone as long as you are within them.

If you have only a Broadband zone 3G plan does that allow you to roam (and pay for roaming data charges)? If so then I guess if you don't want to pay those charges for an Android phone at least (don't know about IOS) you should turn off roaming data.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

SaltyNZ

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#607518 10-Apr-2012 17:43

lchiu7:
If you have only a Broadband zone 3G plan does that allow you to roam (and pay for roaming data charges)? If so then I guess if you don't want to pay those charges for an Android phone at least (don't know about IOS) you should turn off roaming data.

Normal broadband rules apply.

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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