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The great New Zealand telecommunications battle |
Muhammad-Oli
Joined: Jun 13, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: The NZ of L
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Anyone eles getting thoroughly irritated by those Telecom ads???
That rabbit... I don't know how it has survived. If I was Telecom staff member, I would have taken it and burnt it by now. That voice... Aaaagh!
And that Terry... Oh I could go on for ages. I really hate those ads!
Vodafone on the other hand...
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stunned
Joined: Feb 16, 2008
Posts: 2
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I have just moved to NZ from SA and am sorry to say that I am stunned at how primitive the Vodaphone network is here, especially when it comes to data usage for something as light on data as Opera Mini. On top of that, the company's business franchise system is a flop, with rude franchisees who do not honour any business ethic. The company could not care about customers and overcharges radically for data. I bought a simcard in Christchurch and only discovered in another town that it did not work, and took it to a Vodaphone shop. They washed their hands on my problem and said I had to courier the pack back to the shop I had bought it from. I asked them why the data was so expensive, and their answer was that they are the only show in town and can charge what they like. Shame! I hope that crappy attitude will one day translate into a loss of market share. In SA (where data is dear) the most expensive data on prepay costs about R2 per Mbyte, equivalent to about 33 NZ cents. The equivalent NZ cost is $10 per Mbyte, almost 30 times more. No wonder no-one in NZ uses data. How can these guys ever hope to make money out of heir network? On top of that, their servers seem to be wrongly set up. You barely use a few kilobytes on Opera Mini, and the next thing your phone has gone down by $20. What a ripoff! They also seem to short-change customers in terms of call centre services and use a very primitive SMS system for onine balances etc. Any competitors ready to take these clowns on? In this day and age they could more than make their money back by selling affordable data and texting! |
Muhammad-Oli
Joined: Jun 13, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: The NZ of L
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Welcome to NZ mate! I'm afraid that's just how it is. Telecom is even more primitive, so we have to stick with Vodafone. I don't think there will be a new player in NZ for a long time because its a small country and both our operators have around 50/50 market share, so to take either of them on is quite a task.
Telecom is being forced to change to the sim card system very soon (next few years) and so maybe when that happens we will see some more competitive rates. I definitely agree that Vodafone rips its customers off for data, though I think it can be cheapened by going on a plan if you're interested in doing so!
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stunned
Joined: Feb 16, 2008
Posts: 2
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Nah! I feel too burned. As much as I view mobiles as a magic technology, I think I will just do what everyone else does. Use broadband at home and just use my phone as an emergency device only. No point in giving these guys any more of my money. At least with the bestmates system I can stay in contact with my wife and kids without breaking the bank.
I just hope someone at Vodaphone goes and reads the IBM Redbook on i-mode. (The semi-walled garden). The point is that the success of i-mode in Japan had absolutely nothing to do with a technological model. It was all due to a revolutionary business model, and was achieved almost by accident despite a really crappy network ...
What happened there was that the engineers were faced with a network that was falling apart. They resolved to figure out how to redirect most of their customers to data usage rather than voice usage, as data is less demanding to a network than voice.
Their plan had simle rules.
1. No sites were allowed to have advertising.
2. No porn - not even at a third remove
3. Cumulative services had to be cheap and could not cost a customer more than say the price of a fashion magazine per month.
Hey presto ... within months they had created a legendary internet network and achieved their goal of shunting the bulk of their customers to data usage rather than voice, thereby giving their crumbling network a new life - and at the same time creating a cultural phenomenon that US and European business experts (inclding the guys at Vodaphone in the UK) are still trying to emulate, mostly without success.
The problem is that they all miss the point. I-mode is not a technological model . It is a business model. Based on simple business rules. Sell for cheap and you get lots of customers ... |
Muhammad-Oli
Joined: Jun 13, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: The NZ of L
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On 2008-02-16 11:05:29, stunned wrote:
Nah! I feel too burned. As much as I view mobiles as a magic technology, I think I will just do what everyone else does. Use broadband at home and just use my phone as an emergency device only. No point in giving these guys any more of my money. At least with the bestmates system I can stay in contact with my wife and kids without breaking the bank.
Yeah thats what I do too. I just don't really find the need for using the internet when I'm out and about, I just use it while I relax at home. And I think that most of NZ prefers it that way, or they are just too ignorant to realise that theres such thing as internet on a mobile phone!  I use BestMate for texting an calling my girlfriend, and TXT2000 for texting my mates and my family.
A few years ago, Telecom started the $10 text deal, and this resulted in a huge wave of people selling up their Vodafone phones and switching to Telecom. Nobody cared that it is a shit network with terrible phones and out of date technology, all that mattered was that it is cheap! I think Vodafone needs to do this, because if they do, hell, they could easily have 100% market share in my opinion.
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carkitter
Joined: Apr 29, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Auckland, NZ
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@stunned
I've been trying to use Vodafone data instead of Telecom's crappy Xtra broadband for more than 2 years and only managed it last year when Vodafone finally got thier act together with some good pricing plans; it still needs to get cheaper though, and faster and better coverage. I'm fortunate to be in a 3G area, many people are'nt.
And the franchisee thing is getting out of hand. In Aucklands North Shore its Digital Mobile vs First Mobile and 'God help you' if you bought from one and want service from the other. 
And  genuine accessories don't exist here despite huge range of innovative high quality products. Even the Sony Style stores have to order from the Head Orifice because they don't stock anything.
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Muhammad-Oli
Joined: Jun 13, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: The NZ of L
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On 2008-02-16 14:44:59, carkitter wrote:
And genuine accessories don't exist here despite huge range of innovative high quality products. Even the Sony Style stores have to order from the Head Orifice because they don't stock anything.
And even their head office isn't up to date. They stock few accessories and at high prices.
I wanted an FM transmitter a while back and went into my Sony Style store in Christchurch to see what they could do. They could sell me the older version (the 60 model) for $90! I wanted the 70 model for a lot cheaper than that (maybe around $50). What's more, it was going to take at least a week to get it in! I gave up and bought one to plug into my MP3 player instead.
Sony Style down here in Chch only seems to stock very expensive accessories like some $400 speakers and a $600 watch, and they only have them in because they are too expensive to sell!
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carkitter
Joined: Apr 29, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Auckland, NZ
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Excellent NZ Herald article on Mobile Data here:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sec[....]_id=5&objectid=10492315&pnum=0
Looks like Telsta Australia will go from a useless CDMA network to a whopping 42 - 100 Mbps HSDPA (GSM) network in no time flat. I betcha Telecom will be trying to do likewise and catch VodafoneNZ unawares.
I'm not blowing my own trumpet when I say that I knew 2 years ago that Mobile Data will eventually outpace Landline connections, that's why I've been trying to ditch my landline since 2006. Its obvious that NZ's copper wire network and the infamous 'distance to local exchange' would be a hinderance to development and prohibitively expensive to replace. In fact some of it will never be cost-effective to replace.
Can't wait to see 's 100 Mbps HSDPA offerings! 
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Muhammad-Oli
Joined: Jun 13, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: The NZ of L
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Lol Telecom won't be able to overtake Vodafone, as Vodafone will be upgrading at the same time probably. They may be able to match each other, but I don't see Telecom overtaking, especially with little experience with GSM networks.
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JiSm
Joined: Nov 08, 2007
Posts: 404
From: New Zealand
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I worked for Telecom for 6 years before cummin to UK (to work for Orange) and Telecom has always been primarily Business focused. The CDMA network was viewed as the premium world network due to its data handling abilities. I remember doing a speed test on a Sierra Wireless Aircard and had download speeds of 3 MEG! (I was right next to a Telecom repeater tho) but man, it was fast. It was just after the rollout of EV-DO and mobile data had no competition. In Telecoms vision, the entire country wanted to be completely wireless and speed was the limitation (again, talking business) hence the decision for CDMA (apart from the fact it was cheaper to upgrade the TDMA network with "plug and Play" upgrades to the cell sites). The decision to install a GSM network is purely to fit in with the world I guess. Roaming had always been an issue as 80% of countries dont have a CDMA network and a loan phone and loan number were always required. Things like $10 txt etc were perfect for residential usage and also benefited Telecom because CDMA allowed this to work at no charge to the network - Pure profit. I would think that when the Telecom GSM network is launched, there will be no more $10 txt because of the sheer cost of the messages.
STINK!
Oh well, I will be bringing back a few GSM goodies from here when I come back
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Muhammad-Oli
Joined: Jun 13, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: The NZ of L
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Ooh what kind of goodies?
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JiSm
Joined: Nov 08, 2007
Posts: 404
From: New Zealand
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Haha. The X1 will be out so might pick up a few with my "Buying abilities" I have with Orange 
Still, The X1 jumped out from nowhere so who knows what might pop out just before I leave.
Will be nice! haha
"Back in the land of the long white cloud!" |
Muhammad-Oli
Joined: Jun 13, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: The NZ of L
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Yeah bring a few X1s back, you'll probably get top dollars for them, because it will be ages before we see it properly (through VF) here!
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carkitter
Joined: Apr 29, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Auckland, NZ
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This NZ Herald article mentions Telecom having HSDPA of 14.4Mbps in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch by November.  I knew they'd try to leap frog Vodafone! It'll be interesting to see Vodafone NZ's response.
The article also says Vodafone will use 900Mhz 3G in rural areas to fulfill it's Govt obligations for rural broadband coverage.
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Muhammad-Oli
Joined: Jun 13, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: The NZ of L
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Wwooow! Thats fast! Lets hope Vodafone have a plan in place to be able to throw it all back into Telecom's face!
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Posted: 2007-12-15 12:34
