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Thread ID: 98243	2009-03-17 01:27:00	Changing a Vodafone cellphone to Telecom, or v - v	Strommer (42)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
757050	2009-03-17 01:27:00	PF1ers will already know that Telecom is currently building the necessary infrastructure to offer a GSM network. This will then mean that Telecom and Vodafone will both be GSM and I would think that some of us will change providers. At the moment Telecom offers a better Best Mate deal: 3 numbers including land lines for the same price as Vodafones 1 cell phone number. As much as I dislike TeleCON, the coverage is better in some places and I would be tempted to switch if the pricing was better. I thought unblocking a cell phone was illegal, but read here (www.unlock.net.nz). Once Telecon goes GSM, let's hope the competition should make for better deals.	Strommer (42)
757051	2009-03-17 01:40:00	With GSM dont you use Sim cards?? I doubt most of the people who use prepaid phones, would bother, if this is the case Altho, if you use something like an Iphone (and use Vodafone), there are known hacks and ways to do the same thing. For free	Speedy Gonzales (78)
757052	2009-03-17 01:59:00	Yes, some quite nice handsets becoming available on Telecom in June from what I've seen. May consider switching myself!	nofam (9009)
757053	2009-03-17 02:09:00	I am a little confused about the whole GSM issue. I suspect the phones (generally-speaking - there may be exceptions) will still not be transferable between networks. I understand that the frequency used by each network will differ. I believe Telecom will be using 850mHz & 1900mHz, whereas Vodafone use 900mHz and 1800mHz (or similar). There may be a few top end phones (multi-band) that will be multi-network capable, but I think many 'ordinary' phones will still be effectively locked to the network. I hope someone can confirm that this is not the case....	johcar (6283)
757054	2009-03-17 23:34:00	Telecom's new network is WCDMA, not GSM. No GSM-only phones will function on it. The WCDMA network is at 850 MHz, and some phones supplied by Vodafone work with that frequency (such as iPhones). Vodafone WCDMA (ie. Vodafone 3G) is at 2100? MHz in cities and 900 MHz elsewhere. Very few phones support both 850 and 900, although I expect that they'll become more common as time goes on.	Nermal (7077)
757055	2009-03-17 23:48:00	Thanks for that clarification Nermal	johcar (6283)
757056	2009-03-18 00:56:00	I understand you need to look for something labelled a World Phone to be able to access all types of networks (GSM, CDMA and WCDMA). And World Phones look clunky and expensive to me at this stage. I am a Telstra Clear subscriber for landline and internet, and they have been flogging a fairly attractive cellphone deal, with a free handset (TC use the Telecom network). When the TC salesman contacted me, I asked what would happen with this fancy free handset when Telecom swap over to WCDMA. He brightly informed me that it would access the new network... Um, no. I investigated whether my current Voda cellphone would work, but no. So it seems a trifle silly or expensive to swap over to either Telecom or Telstra Clear at the mo. If I did, I would end up with two redundant phones by mid year and have to buy yet another phone. Seems pointless to do anything until the whole thing settles down. Lousy timing by TC.	John H (8)
757057	2009-03-18 06:57:00	Telecom's new network is WCDMA, not GSM. No GSM-only phones will function on it. The WCDMA network is at 850 MHz, and some phones supplied by Vodafone work with that frequency (such as iPhones). It's going to be WCDMA, but there is a backward-compatible aspect, so I think some GSM phones will work.	decibel (11645)
757058	2009-03-18 07:46:00	It's going to be WCDMA, but there is a backward-compatible aspect, so I think some GSM phones will work. Backward compatible sounds like TC alright. ;)	R2x1 (4628)
757059	2009-03-19 08:56:00	It's going to be WCDMA, but there is a backward-compatible aspect, so I think some GSM phones will work. I'll revise that, it is going to be only UMTS apparently and old GSM-only phones won't work. Nermal was 100% correct.:thumbs:	decibel (11645)
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