# Any preference on cell phone companies?



## brody4

I think Vodafone is the biggest network, but was wondering what you all thought about the others as well. Telecom and 2degrees, maybe?


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## jenswaters

brody4 said:


> I think Vodafone is the biggest network, but was wondering what you all thought about the others as well. Telecom and 2degrees, maybe?


Telecom and Vodafone have the widest reaching network/best coverage. But Telecom is the most expensive. I am with 2degrees on a pre-pay and they are the cheapest by far (almost half the price of Telecom)! People are amazed by how much money I save! 2degrees have just brought out contracts on post-pay, but I'm not sure how these are working out in relation to smartphone technology and the range of phones available. It really is horses for courses...if you don't need it for anything flash (i.e. not a business phone) then the pre-pay 2degrees is the best value for money. You can just walk into any supermarket and buy the SIM from the counter...and you're off!

In terms of phones, BRING OUT YOUR UNLOCKED PHONE!!!!!!!!! I have a Blackberry Pearl that is 4 years old and battered beyond belief. People have never seen it before! Although, Iphones are getting bigger and more common. You can always sell it if you don't need it!!

Hope this helps.


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## Daveswift

I used 2 degrees out there, good value and cheap to contact the UK too


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## topcat83

Daveswift said:


> I used 2 degrees out there, good value and cheap to contact the UK too


2 degrees doesn't have quite as good coverage (yet). But if you're OK about having the odd black spot up a mountain, you're OK....


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## ukrberserker

will other sim card phones work in NZ? If I get to come there, I have service with Kyivstar, a Ukrainian company. That would be cheapest for me to call wife and kids. Other providers may be way more expensive.


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## anski

ukrberserker said:


> will other sim card phones work in NZ? If I get to come there, I have service with Kyivstar, a Ukrainian company. That would be cheapest for me to call wife and kids. Other providers may be way more expensive.



You need to get your provider to set you up for roaming & you may find it it expensive calling back to the Ukraine from NZ.

You should be able to find the calling rates from the web site of your provider.

I notice 2degrees do not list Ukraine, you may be able to email them to see if they include it.

2degrees - Find out how cheap overseas calling is on a 2degrees mobile - 2degrees

Not sure if you use Skype, we use it for free chats & low cost calls from our computer. But you can also set up a portable telephone number to make calls. Check out the Skype website for all the info.

Anski


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## mz_qiksky

2degrees definitely, a sim card is only $5


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## sandy16

topcat83 said:


> 2 degrees doesn't have quite as good coverage (yet). But if you're OK about having the odd black spot up a mountain, you're OK....


Hi

Can you tell me if its cheaper to have a contract or Pay as you go deal for mobile phones in NZ and what roughly are the monthly prices.

Thanks
Anita


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## anski

sandy16 said:


> Hi
> 
> Can you tell me if its cheaper to have a contract or Pay as you go deal for mobile phones in NZ and what roughly are the monthly prices.
> 
> Thanks
> Anita



Hi Anita,

These are the 3 websites for all the mobile phone providers in NZ, they list all rates for pre paid or contract.

Hard to say which is more economical as it all depends on your requirements/usage as to which is cheaper.


Broadband & home phone. Mobile phones & plans. Smart phones & data. Vodafone NZ
Telecom New Zealand
2degrees - Prepay & Pay Monthly mobile phone plans - 2degrees


Anski


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## sandy16

anski said:


> Hi Anita,
> 
> These are the 3 websites for all the mobile phone providers in NZ, they list all rates for pre paid or contract.
> 
> Hard to say which is more economical as it all depends on your requirements/usage as to which is cheaper.
> 
> 
> Broadband & home phone. Mobile phones & plans. Smart phones & data. Vodafone NZ
> Telecom New Zealand
> 2degrees - Prepay & Pay Monthly mobile phone plans - 2degrees
> 
> 
> Anski


Hi

thank you for your reply ill have a look at the web sites

Anita


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## gilamonster

Resurrecting this thread because I recently looked into mobile phone service in NZ.

Am I reading this correctly? Vodafone offers a huge amount of texts (2500) but just minutes to talk... usually 200-300 minutes.

They use the term "NZ Minutes" which I take to mean calls to other NZ phones, either mobile or land. But holy cow... I use between 1000-1500 minutes every month in the US. Is the leash really that short on NZ mobile minutes?


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## cheeser

Oh yeah, they're very tight with call time minutes here. That's why we text so much!


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## gilamonster

cheeser said:


> Oh yeah, they're very tight with call time minutes here. That's why we text so much!


How do you do business? Call customer support and wait on hold? Talk to girlfriend/boyfriend for hours?

Are the landlines a different story (I hope)?


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## cheeser

Yes land lines are very different, local calls are normally included as part of your normal monthly fee.

With regards to business on your mobile you can obviously get plans with more minutes etc. but the short answer to all those questions is... you pay.. through the nose. 

Welcome to telecommunications in NZ!

1500 minutes a month sounds awesome. I'm pretty sure I don't talk that much in one month all up!


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## topcat83

Look at 2 degrees too - they seem to be a good deal (when compared to other NZ mobile companies)...


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## escapedtonz

Hi. We did lots of research on mobile phone providers when we were making our NZ move from the UK. The upshot of that research was NZ Telecom useless as a mobile phone provider so it was down to Vodafone or 2degrees. We went 2degrees as all charges miles cheaper than both Telecom or Vodafone. 22c a minute to call the UK etc. We bought 2degrees iPhone 4 micro sim's for our UK iPhones which we unlocked before we got here. The sims delivered to us in UK from NZ so we had the numbers before we arrived to give to family/friends. $30 each I think with some free credit and on Pay As U Go. Registered them in the UK via iTunes then as soon as we landed just swapped the sim's. After a couple of weeks being here we just went into a 2degrees shop and transferred onto Pay Monthly $39 a month for 1.1G 3G Internet, 500 texts & 200 mins per month. Easy peasy plus they do deals on add ons for calls to UK if you want to save from paying the full $0.22 a minute etc. I'd recommend 2degrees. Had no issues with the service at all 😁

Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


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## anski

escapedtonz said:


> Hi. We did lots of research on mobile phone providers when we were making our NZ move from the UK. The upshot of that research was NZ Telecom useless as a mobile phone provider so it was down to Vodafone or 2degrees. We went 2degrees as all charges miles cheaper than both Telecom or Vodafone. 22c a minute to call the UK etc. We bought 2degrees iPhone 4 micro sim's for our UK iPhones which we unlocked before we got here. The sims delivered to us in UK from NZ so we had the numbers before we arrived to give to family/friends. $30 each I think with some free credit and on Pay As U Go. Registered them in the UK via iTunes then as soon as we landed just swapped the sim's. After a couple of weeks being here we just went into a 2degrees shop and transferred onto Pay Monthly $39 a month for 1.1G 3G Internet, 500 texts & 200 mins per month. Easy peasy plus they do deals on add ons for calls to UK if you want to save from paying the full $0.22 a minute etc. I'd recommend 2degrees. Had no issues with the service at all 😁
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


I would have to agree. we had Vodaphone for years & very expensive, on returning to NZ both have pre pay 2degrees & the savings are amazing.


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## gilamonster

anski said:


> I would have to agree. we had Vodaphone for years & very expensive, on returning to NZ both have pre pay 2degrees & the savings are amazing.


Thanks guys I'll give 2° extra consideration.

I have to wonder - are phones like iPhone even that popular in NZ? I pay about $90 US monthly for the privilege of using mine... I can handle that. If it were above 100.. I would've reconsidered.


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## gilamonster

escapedtonz said:


> Hi. We did lots of research on mobile phone providers when we were making our NZ move from the UK. The upshot of that research was NZ Telecom useless as a mobile phone provider so it was down to Vodafone or 2degrees. We went 2degrees as all charges miles cheaper than both Telecom or Vodafone. 22c a minute to call the UK etc. We bought 2degrees iPhone 4 micro sim's for our UK iPhones which we unlocked before we got here. The sims delivered to us in UK from NZ so we had the numbers before we arrived to give to family/friends. $30 each I think with some free credit and on Pay As U Go. Registered them in the UK via iTunes then as soon as we landed just swapped the sim's. After a couple of weeks being here we just went into a 2degrees shop and transferred onto Pay Monthly $39 a month for 1.1G 3G Internet, 500 texts & 200 mins per month. Easy peasy plus they do deals on add ons for calls to UK if you want to save from paying the full $0.22 a minute etc. I'd recommend 2degrees. Had no issues with the service at all 😁
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


Earlier today somehow I totally missed your post, sorry! Thank you that is extremely helpful! I'd be happy to keep my iPhone - I'm saving this advice in my google docs lol. :clap2:

Nevermind my previous post.


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## escapedtonz

gilamonster said:


> Earlier today somehow I totally missed your post, sorry! Thank you that is extremely helpful! I'd be happy to keep my iPhone - I'm saving this advice in my google docs lol. :clap2:
> 
> Nevermind my previous post.


No problem.
Yes I think iPhones are very popular here. If I go to work on the train into Wellington most people seem to have them either listening to music or tapping away on the Internet/texting.
Never seen them on contract in any 2degrees shop whereas you can get them on contract with Vodafone & NZ Telecom.
2degrees do sell the micro sim cards tho especially for iPhones which is what we bought so I can vouch that an overseas iPhone will work in NZ.
Just takes some time & patience backing the phone up to iCloud with old sim card before replacing the sim, registering the new sim and then restoring the iPhone all via iTunes. 
Takes probably an hour but it's fairly straight forward.
Cheers

Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


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## RealE

We use 2degrees and they are pretty good value


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## Song_Si

7 May 2012
*Mobile 2degrees will today launch a new offer that knocks down one of the biggest mobile data customer pain points by allowing customers to share data from one account.*

"Shared Data" means a customer can use data from one account across a range of devices, or share that data with friends and family, provided they too are on 2degrees' network. 

Malcolm Phillipps, 2degrees' chief marketing officer, said 46 per cent of mobile users now have more than one device while 72 per cent of those with a mobile data plan don't use their full allocation.

Shared Data will address both of those issues and simplify account administration and payment for customers.

Now, many customers "tether" devices such as iPads, setting up a wifi network from their smartphones and using that for their tablet to avoid extra data charges. Shared Data means customers will no longer have to do that, said Phillipps.

Phillipps said mobile data use on the 2degrees' network has increased by more than 200 per cent over the last year as more customers use multiple devices to stay connected.

It also delivers economies of scale. Customers can think about taking larger data plans which deliver better value for money. 

more


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## keano_no_16

Hi all

Newbie, first post, be gentle 

I'm moving over to Wellington from Australia on the 6th of next month. 

I've done a bit of investigation into mobile phone providers and 2 degrees seem the best value by far.

One concern though - what is their data coverage like in and around city areas? I won't need it for heavy usage just mainly for sending free messages over Whatsapp and Facebook, and maybe the odd Skype call if I'm not near my laptop

Thanks


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## walshdon

No problems in main cities but when our of range they share vodafones network so you have 3G most places.


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## toadsurfer

I have 2 degrees and have found them good in cities. As above it roams onto Vodafone when out of 2degrees signal (which is pretty 
much anywhere outside the cities!) but when it roams you can't use data, just voice and txt, on prepay at least.


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## Song_Si

there's a news article here A guide to staying connected in Wellington about options for telephones, cellphones; Wellington focus but does supply these links showing coverage from 

telecom
vodafone
2degrees

I left Wellington several years ago - I see the 'blackspots' are still there esp round the south coast suburbs - eg where we lived at Owhiro Bay Vodafone give it a one out of four for 3G broadband; less than 1km away over the hill Island Bay gets a 4/4 for both.


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## Jimaba

I've used Vodafone and 2Degrees and they're both fantastic providers. I really love the attitude of 2Degrees customer support team. Vodafone has the NZ Best Mate plans which are great if you have two or three people that you call heaps and heaps. However, I preferred two degrees over all.


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