Posted by carkitter
I heard on the radio this morning that Call-Plus and Orcon will be joining the ranks of VMNO's soon.
TBH, I can't really see why any potential VMNO would be attracted to Telecom considering the struggle they are having in putting together a GSM network, the choice of GSM850 band for future development, the ongoing reliance on CDMA with it's built in limitations and Telecom's use as a political football by government and subsequent volitility at Board level. One never knows what extreme restructuring measure Telecom will come up with next.
VodafoneNZ must postively glow in comparison!
Posted by yea g
I just saw the ad for telstra clear's new mobile, really why would they go with telecom? in aussie telstra has just shutdown its cdma network recently so telstra clear in nz goes and uses cdma. wtf???
Posted by carkitter
I think they were anticipating Telecom going to GSM but can't wait around for it to happen so they're using what Telecom have available now. I think they went with Telecom after having a bust up with Vodafone over 029.
TelstraClear seem locked into a Landline mentality, unless they can break out of this they won't make a dent in the mobile market. Even if they do begin to understand Mobile consumers, they can't rise above the level that Telecoms sets with its infrastructure so they'll most likely cannibalise Telecom's business customers rather than Vodafones Prepay/Music Downloads/Mobile Data/IT Guru/Small Business markets.
Posted by yea g
hmm.... think b&w will have any chance, I think if they have enough advertising and good plans they could make a dent in vodafones ruling
Posted by carkitter
It's hard to say.
How cheap they can go depends on the wholesale rates they've negotiated with Vodafone. I'm more interested in their POD (point of difference).
In Oz M2 sell their phones online which would streamline their overheads, allowing them to sell phones cheaper. Those phones would need to be locked to B&W to make sure they get the ongoing revenue from customers (ala iPhone). To avoid a backlash from young techno-savvy consumers to locked phones they would have to have cheap rates for calling and txt-ing other networks.
Also in Oz their big POD is the environmental aspect of their plans. Your monthly payments buy Carbon Credits which can offset your V8 Holden or your overseas travel and that's becoming more important these days.
I would expect them to make a big deal about that in Nuclear Free NZ.
Whether many kiwis actually care remains to be seen.
I wonder where they will get their phones from? Have Vodafone negotiated a deal to supply our limited range of SE, or will B&W use the Optus supply channel which gets more SE phones faster? I hope the latter.
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[ This Message was edited by: carkitter on 2008-09-01 23:22 ]
Posted by yea g
yea i don't really care how fast they get the phone as i usally wait until xmas to get a fone (you know price cuts and that sorta shit) it doesn't look like b&w will bother branding the fones, just an extra expense that they probably wont want considering they are only just setting up
Posted by carkitter
I came across this little gem the other day when reading a PC magazine in the Uni library. You can read the whole column here.
Maybe I'm drawing a long bow here, maybe I'm speculating. But if this industry practice by Verizon (US) is practiced by VodafoneNZ it would explain alot about SE phone availability in NZ and what Voda stand to lose when other GSM networks get up and running.
"...Let's rejoin the reality-based community: Verizon will still certify phones and charge money to certify them, though the process will take "weeks, not months," says a spokesperson. It will reject individual foreign imported phones because they don't hew to the U.S. E911 standard. How much will the service plans cost? Who knows?..."
How I interpret this statement:
For the last 10 years Vodafone has been the only GSM game in town and may have been not only veto-ing what phones get released but actually making money off manufacturers in return for allowing phone models access to the network. Knowing how small SE is here, has budgetry constraints prevented SENZ from expanding thier range?
Why do I think VodafoneNZ might be doing this? Verizon Wireless is 45% owned by Vodafone Group who own all of VodaNZ and this is just the sort of thing they would do IMO.
If B&W get thier phones through VodafoneNZ then this scheme will probably continue for a while. I hope B&W are smart enough not to fall for that having had access to Optus handsets in Oz.
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[ This Message was edited by: carkitter on 2008-09-08 11:38 ]
Posted by carkitter
Vodafone are making their Red Network available to the wholesale market, which will put pressure on Telecom's profitability once again...
Arch-rival launches fresh attack on Telecom
* New regulations made Telecom open up its telephone exchanges to competitors - the unbundling of the local loop.
* It meant Telecom competitors could offer their own retail services rather than just re-selling Telecom capacity.
* In June Vodafone began "The Red Network", its retail fixed line with equipment at unbundled Auckland exchanges.
* Vodafone has moved retail competition into the wholesale market.
* It will wholesale its Red Network surplus capacity - "offering faster speeds" - starting with Slingshot.
* It will compete with the Telecom retail and wholesale arms.
More...
Posted by carkitter
Telecom has announced changes to plans for it new network. The are dropping older GSM technology entirely meaning that existing 2G and 2.5G Vodafone compatible phones won't be able to use the network.
They are going for a WCDMA (read UMTS/HSDPA) based network so only 3G and 3.5G phones will be compatible. However (and here's the crunch) their new network will be WCDMA 850 band only.
Yes thats right., 850 band like in the US.
So nearly all existing Vodafone handsets won't be compatible. So much for the competition we've been looking forward to.
Vodafone uses UMTS 2100 and HSDPA/HSUPA 2100 at the moment. Both Telecom and Vodafone are being required by the Govt. to extend 3G coverage to 97% of the country. This means shifting to lower frequencies which give better reception in rural areas. While Telecom have chosen 850 band, Vodafone have chosen the relatively obscure 900 band.
G705 uses UMTS 2100, HSDPA 2100.
G705a uses UMTS 2100, HSDPA 2100 and UMTS 850, HSDPA 850.
X1 uses UMTS 2100, HSDPA 2100 and UMTS 850, HSDPA 850 in America and
UMTS 2100, HSDPA 2100 and UMTS 900, HSDPA 900 in other markets.
K850 uses UMTS 2100, HSDPA 2100 and UMTS 850, HSDPA 850.
C905 uses UMTS 2100, HSDPA 2100.
C905a uses UMTS 2100, HSDPA 2100 and UMTS 850, HSDPA 850.
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[ This Message was edited by: carkitter on 2008-10-16 07:17 ]
Posted by yea g
stupid telecom.
Posted by carkitter
That's right. All those people with two phones who were looking forward to being able to 'just swap SIM cards' will find that their budget phones aren't compatible and that you'll need a premium US spec phone to use both networks. Quad band phones like the V640i aren't compatible because its low range frequencies only support GPRS and EDGE.
Posted by Muhammad-Oli
On 2008-10-16 06:20:48, yea g wrote:
stupid telecom.
Stupid Vodafone too. Pretty ridiculous going for such an obscure frequency just so they can meet the government's requirements. Hardly anyone will be able to use it!
Posted by carkitter
The thing about Vodafone is that they'll be running two frequencies for quite some time - the 900 band will be for remote rural areas only. Telecom onthe other hand will be using 850 band only and not the widely accepted 2100 band so it's gonna take sometime to get a decent supply of handsets for their network; so far only highend phones like N95, N96 and Xperia X1 are compatible so all thoseteenagers with $80 prepay Nokia's will be out of luck.
The November release has been put back to June 2009, probably to allow more time to find handsets. Telecom taking a big risk folowing the American route because the slow pace of 3G progress over there will surely limit handset availability. And if Wimax takes off over there (with Google Android aboard) Telecom could find itself with the wrong technology for the third time.
Should be interesting.
Posted by carkitter
Well, here we are in November and I've been looking high and low, under every rock and I still can't find the More Competitive mobile market we were all looking forward too.
- 7.2 Mbps data from Vodafone hasn't materialised.
- 14.4 Mbps WCDMA from Telecom hasn't arrived, only a promise of 3.6Mbps HSDPA 850 in June next year with no 2G/2.5G coverage.
- NZ Communications is looking for more investment to finish building it's network.
- TelstraClear are giving away 1 crappy Nokia CDMA phone when you sign up to a 2yr plan.
- Black & White have arrived with a fresh attitude and a pricing structure similar to Vodafone but without the terms. Member discounts are on phones not seen outside of importers.
- Access to data is mildly cheaper for users signed up to an iPhone plan but other users still pay thru the nose.
- No sign of any
7.2 Mbps USB/PCMCIA devices hitting the NZ market yet.
- No sign of naked DSL (Landline Broadband without the phone) yet from the major players.
- Rollout of ADSL2+ (up to 25 Mbps) has forced some ISP's to quit their own infrastructure and do a deal with the big boys - Slingshot have signed a deal to use Vodafone's Red Network (if you can't beat 'em, join 'em).
- No 4G (LTE) until late 2010/early 2011.
Its clear that there is still only going to be two mobile networks in this country and a smattering of VMNO's (read hangers-on).
I can't see NZC getting a foothold in the market especially while Vodafone is so dominant. It will require a significant Govt subsidy and that won't be popular in this political/financial climate. Telecom is creating a network so similar to Telstra Australia's Next G that one wonders whether a sell-off is on the cards. It's a definate possibility.
Landline based ISP's are consolidating too. They either fail or give in to the major players. Well done Labour Govt, this is the environment your industry regulation has created much like the Broadcasting industry (with Sky being the dominant player) to the detrement of the public.
Perhaps the incoming National Govt can do better? Let's hope so.
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[ This Message was edited by: carkitter on 2008-11-07 22:23 ]
Posted by Muhammad-Oli
Quite right carkitter. I think you should write a letter in to somebody about it. Maybe the newspapers cause I think it would get featured. Or Campbell Live even! You know your stuff so I think you could explain it well in a letter or email of complaint.
Incoming National government? God I hope not. I can't stand that John Key, and his cocky "I'm so good" grin. He is a tosser and I hope he fails. It wouldn't look good having him represent our country.
Posted by carkitter
TelstraClear jilted again
By TOM PULLAR-STRECKER - The Dominion Post | Monday, 27 October 2008
Telecom will not let other telcos resell connections to its new $571 million W-850 mobile network till at least 2011, dealing a major blow to TelstraClear which re-entered the mobile market last year after striking a deal to resell Telecom's current CDMA network.
more...
So the market gets less and less competitive. By 2011 Vodafone will be rolling out 4G (LTE) and HSDPA 850 will be obselete. TelstraClear should reconsider it's decision not to build its own network, or perhaps this could be a bonus for NZ Communications?
Posted by Muhammad-Oli
Bad luck to Telstra Clear. I honestly hope they don't build their own network, cause they'll copy Telecom's network, and Telecom's network was a bad idea.
Posted by carkitter
NZ communications website