Vodafone New Zealand starts live 5G testing in Auckland

News Wireless New Zealand 30 AUG 2019
Vodafone New Zealand starts live 5G testing in Auckland

Vodafone New Zealand announced the start of live testing on its 5G network in Auckland, ahead of a planned services launch in December. The operator has completed five sites for testing, in and around Mangere in South Auckland, using upgraded Nokia equipment. 

The aim is to have at least 100 cell sites upgraded by December when the 5G network is switched on for customers, including sites in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown. These will include inner-city mobile towers in popular and high-traffic locations such as business districts, shopping malls, event centres and airports. 

Vodafone is using its existing 3.5 GHz licence for the initial 5G service. As part of the network upgrades, it's also upgrading 400 existing 4G mobile sites to 4.5G.

Categories:

Mobile

Companies:

Nokia,  Vodafone New Zealand

Countries:

New Zealand

Tags:

Production planning & operations, Data services, Network equipment, Research, 5G

Related Articles

NEW ZEALAND 18 JUL 2022

Vodafone New Zealand sells mobile tower assets alongside Infratil reinvestment

Vodafone New Zealand, together with shareholders Infratil and Brookfield Asset Management, announced the sale of Vodafone New Zealand's passive mobile tower assets for NZD 1.7 billion to funds managed or advised by global investors InfraRed Capital Partners (40%) and Northleaf Capital Partners (40%). This represents a FY2023 pro-forma EBITDA multiple of 33.8x, Vodafone said.

NEW ZEALAND 10 DEC 2019

Vodafone launches 5G services in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Queenstown

Customers will have 5G access at no extra cost until 30 June 2020. To access 5G from 1 July 2020, customers will be able to purchase a 5G Add-On for NZD 10 per connection per month (or the equivalent Prepay term).

NEW ZEALAND 3 DEC 2019

Vodafone starts free 5G trial over Wi-Fi at Wellington Airport

Vodafone New Zealand has teamed up with Wellington Airport to enable travellers to try 5G speeds free of charge. Travellers passing through Wellington Airport can now test 5G speeds by connecting to a Nokia FastMile 5G Gateway device.

NEW ZEALAND 28 NOV 2019

Spark launches 5G commercial wireless broadband in South Island

New Zealand operator Spark has launched its first 5G commercial service in selected areas of five South Island towns and communities. Spark 5G wireless broadband services are now live in selected areas of Westport, Clyde, Twizel, Tekapo, and Hokitika. Spark introduced its 5G service in Alexandra in September this year. Spark also introduced its '5G Discover' plan, which provides up to 600 GB per month of data.

NEW ZEALAND 31 OCT 2019

Vodafone, Bank of New Zealand launch business accelerator programme

Vodafone New Zealand and Bank of New Zealand have teamed up to launch a joint business accelerator programme, aimed at helping scale and grow local startups that provide digital services for SMEs. The Vodafone xone Partner Series is a revamped version of the Vodafone xone programme, which has been running since 2016.

NEW ZEALAND 17 OCT 2019

Vodafone New Zealand launches first X-Squad customer service expert team

Vodafone New Zealand has launched its first X-Squad team in Auckland. The 12 people based in Auckland are now ready to solve complex technical issues for customers, the operator said. Over the coming months more X-Squad teams will be coming online to assist customers. By the end of October, Vodafone plans to have four X-Squad teams, split between its North and South Island headquarters.

NEW ZEALAND 4 OCT 2019

Vodafone launches 4G Calling service across Auckland, RBI2 sites

Vodafone has completed the rollout of its 4G Calling service across Auckland and RBI2 (Rural Broadband Initiative 2) sites. This enhanced 4G Calling will enable Vodafone customers to make voice calls over the operator's 4G network. Vodafone launches its first VoLTE sites in June across Auckland's North Shore as the first step of the rollout.

NEW ZEALAND 1 OCT 2019

New Zealand's Spark launches first 5G wireless broadband connections

New Zealand operator Spark has announced it has launched its first 5G connections. A limited number of business and consumer customers in Alexandra, Central Otago, are invited to experience wireless broadband services delivered by Spark's 5G network. Spark's 5G network in Alexandra uses 2600MHz spectrum. The Spark 5G network in Alexandra uses Nokia 5G radio equipment, including a smart antenna system.

NEW ZEALAND 10 SEP 2019

Vodafone NZ launches 'X Squad' customer service expert team

Vodafone New Zealand has set up a team of customer service experts, called the 'X Squad'. The operator plans to invest an initial NZD 10 million in setting up the X Squad. "The X Squad is a re-invention of the modern customer service model – and will significantly add to our existing frontline call-centre and in-store teams", Vodafone said. Starting October, customers with complex enquiries will be escalated to a dedicated team of multi-skilled experts trained to deliver care for the most difficult issues.

NEW ZEALAND 8 AUG 2019

Nokia wins 5G network deal with Vodafone New Zealand

Nokia was awarded contract to supply and integrate a 5G network for Vodafone New Zealand. The network will be launched in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown in late 2019. The deal, including Nokia's AirScale radio access network, cloud-native core and design services. Nokia said its 5G portfolio offers operators the necessary flexibility and functionalities to deliver 5G services to both consumers and enterprises.

NEW ZEALAND 1 AUG 2019

Vodafone New Zealand to launch 5G network in December

Vodafone has announced it will launch its 5G network in New Zealand this December. The service will initially be available in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown. This announcement coincides with the completion of the sale of Vodafone New Zealand to Brookfield and Infratil, and follows Vodafone's recent rollout of 5G in the UK, Italy, Spain and Germany.

NEW ZEALAND 13 MAR 2019

Spark launches 5G-connected driverless car tests on Auckland streets

New Zealand operator Spark, in partnership with Ohmio Automotion, has launched a 5G-connected driverless car test on Auckland streets. The test is being carried out in a controlled area at Auckland's Wynyard Quarter Innovation Precinct, using Spark's pre-commercial 5G network available as part of its 5G Innovation Lab.

Just In

19 DEC 16:42

SLT-Mobitel launches 5G network in Sri Lanka

19 DEC 16:19

Dialog Axiata launches 5G network, connects 1.5 million subscribers

19 DEC 15:56

UK govt to ban AI-enabled nudification apps to protect women, girls

19 DEC 15:42

3 UK launches last-minute Christmas sale

Commentary

13:56

Video market set for slower growth ahead

11:38

Netflix buys Warner Bros to deepen content catalogue

11:11

KPN's mixed performance in Q3 raises questions for strategy day

15:26

Stock markets breaking records but what happened to Odido's IPO plans?

Background

01:04

The week in telecom: Wi-Fi bolt-ons take off to boost broadband growth, video market works on consolidation

01:39

The week in telecom: Netflix wins bidding for Warner Bros, Apple poaches new execs, Samsung debuts trifold

13:51

Proximus vs. Telenet: Proximus performs better in Q3 while Telenet uses up cash

14:16

Proximus Domestic still struggling with low margins

Complete profile

Before downloading the whitepaper, we would like to ask you to complete your profile with company and position. After confirming you will receive the white paper.