Vodafone Search and Rescue
Together with SAR, Vodafone successfully tested the Vodafone Search and Rescue Network which creates an area of immediate mobile phone coverage beneath a helicopter as it flies overhead – giving rescuers the ability to communicate with cell phones below.
Our Vodafone Search and Rescue Network prototype was tested in the Hunua Ranges – a 15,000 square kilometre zero coverage area of bushland near South Auckland popular with trampers and campers.
Our Vodafone Search and Rescue Network prototype was tested in the Hunua Ranges – a 15,000 square kilometre zero coverage area of bushland near South Auckland popular with trampers and campers.
#PhoneByDrone - World-first drone delivery of an iPhone
Early on September 16 2016, Vodafone made one of its first iPhone 7 customer deliveries by drone - the first of its kind, anywhere in the world. Strapped to a custom drone piloted by David 'The Mad Scientist' Drummond and his team, this Rose Gold iPhone 7 Plus flew around the Viaduct, before being delivered to Irene Hu outside the Hilton Hotel.
“Technology and innovation is at the heart of what we do, and this is another example of how Vodafone can bring this to life in a way that's exciting for our customers,” said Matt Williams, Vodafone's Consumer Director. Meanwhile, Vodafone's flagship store on Queen Street had Apple enthusiasts lining up from as early as 8pm on Thursday evening.
“Technology and innovation is at the heart of what we do, and this is another example of how Vodafone can bring this to life in a way that's exciting for our customers,” said Matt Williams, Vodafone's Consumer Director. Meanwhile, Vodafone's flagship store on Queen Street had Apple enthusiasts lining up from as early as 8pm on Thursday evening.
Vodafone Smart Jacket shines a light on bike safety
Our network has the power not just to connect Kiwis with each other but to help solve everyday issues in unexpected ways. We've teamed up with BMX champion Sarah Walker and comedian Jon Bridges to demonstrate our #4GSmartJacket.
So what makes this jacket smart? The Vodafone Smart Jacket uses the cyclists’ smartphone and an app to send signals to tiny LED lights on the sleeves and back of the jacket, indicating which direction they're turning – which could help make cyclists more visible, and safer at night.
So what makes this jacket smart? The Vodafone Smart Jacket uses the cyclists’ smartphone and an app to send signals to tiny LED lights on the sleeves and back of the jacket, indicating which direction they're turning – which could help make cyclists more visible, and safer at night.
Ready for the ultimate 4G network test?
Watch kiwi drift sensation Mad Mike Whiddett demonstrate the speed and reliability of our 4G LTE network in a high octane experiment at Leadfoot track in Hahei.
Experience the rush as Mike screams through a custom drift course in his fully loaded Mazda FD3 RX7 performance car with our super-fast 4G network being his eyes on the track. All with a special passenger on board.
Experience the rush as Mike screams through a custom drift course in his fully loaded Mazda FD3 RX7 performance car with our super-fast 4G network being his eyes on the track. All with a special passenger on board.
Does my phone support 4G Extended?
If you've bought a new mobile phone in the last couple of years, it is fairly likely that it is 4G LTE capable.4G capable phones started to become more common in 2015. All phones (and devices) listed here work with 4G Extended at 700MHz and 4G at 1800MHz. Some may also support 4G at 2600MHz. Some newer phones will even support 5G.
HTC
- HTC One (M8)
- HTC One M9
iPhone
Huawei
- Huawei P30
- Huawei P20
- Huawei P10
Microsoft
- Microsoft Lumia 640
Sony Xperia
- Sony Xperia E4g
- Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
Samsung Galaxy
- Samsung Galaxy Flip 3
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S21+
- Samsung Galaxy S21
- Samsung Galaxy Note20
- Galaxy Note20 5G
- Galaxy Note20 Ultra
- Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G
- Samsung Galaxy Note 9
- Samsung Galaxy Note 10
- Samsung Galaxy Note 10+
- Samsung Galaxy Note10+ 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S10e
- Samsung Galaxy S10+
- Samsung Galaxy S10
- Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
- Samsung Galaxy S20
- Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S9
- Samsung Galaxy S8
- Samsung Galaxy Note8
- Samsung Galaxy S7
- Samsung Galaxy J8
- Samsung GALAXY Core Prime
- Samsung GALAXY S5 (SM-G900i variant)
- Samsung GALAXY Alpha
- Samsung GALAXY Note 4
- Samsung Galaxy Note 5
- Samsung GALAXY Tab Active
- Samsung Galaxy A12
- Samsung GALAXY A3
- Samsung GALAXY A5
- Samsung Galaxy J5
- Samsung Galaxy S6
Network jargon buster
A quick-reference list of important mobile and network terms. Like "What is 4G?" and mobile frequencies in NZ.
Learn more
2G is known as 2nd generation and was built in the early 1990s. This is our original GSM network, which handles voice calls and text messages. We keep our 2G network in great shape, and it works seamlessly with 3G and 4G for reliability and quality of service.
3G is known as 3rd generation. 3G refers to our fast mobile network that provides mobile calls, mobile internet access, video calls and mobile TV. Our 3G network covers 98% of where Kiwis live, work and play.
4G: Known as 4th generation or LTE, 4G is a high speed data network for mobile phones and devices. It provides almost instantaneous web page loading, faster photo viewing on Facebook and video streaming without the wait. Vodafone launched NZ's first 4G network in Auckland in February 2013 and it's still NZ's biggest.
4G Extended - 700MHz: 4G Extended uses the 700MHz frequency of the 4G spectrum which is typically used in rural areas. 4G Extended complements our 4G network on the 1800MHz frequency.
Band 3 is a 4G standard that uses the 1800MHz frequency.
Band 7 is a 4G standard that uses the 2600MHz frequency.
Band 28 is a 4G standard that uses the 700MHz frequency.
CAT 6 LTE is a technology capable of delivering speeds up to 301.5 Mbit/s by using multiple aerials.
Carrier Aggregation combines separate 4G bands to boost speed and capacity. Vodafone launched dual-band 4G in May 2014 and followed with tri-band Carrier Aggregation in August 2014.
Dual Carrier or DC-HSPA: This technology combines two 3G channels together to provide a faster data session. Where 3G can deliver up to 21 Mbps, Dual Carrier is capable of delivering up to 42 Mbps. Actual speeds will vary depending on your signal level and distance from the network tower.
LTE is a standard for high-speed wireless communication and it stands for Long Term Evolution. It can provide significantly higher data transfer rates than older technologies (with speeds up to 300Mbps download and 75Mbps upload) . LTE also offers reduced latency during data transfer and its capacity can be scaled up to meet future bandwidth demands.
Millimetre wave: This can also be shown as mmWave or mmW. Millimetre wave is a part of the radio spectrum from 30 gigahertz to 300 gigahertz, and it uses a very short wavelength.Millimetre wave will be used by 5G technology. 5G is not limited to using just mmWave; 5G can also use low band frequencies and sub-6GHz frequencies.
Sure Signal: Sure Signal is a device that boosts indoor 3G mobile phone signal. It's a great solution for Vodafone customers who suffer from 'low bars' at home or work.
VoLTE: stands for Voice over Long Term Evolution. VoLTE allows voice calls to be carried across a 4G data network instead of 3G or 2G. Vodafone first trialled VoLTE technology in early 2015. Vodafone now supports VoLTE, and was the first NZ carrier to launch VoLTE, on June 6, 2019.
U900: 3G on the 900MHz frequency, used mostly for rural and marine areas, where there's a greater distance between cell sites. It also provides better indoor 3G coverage.
U2100: 3G on the 2100MHz frequency. U2100 is used more commonly in urban areas, where every cell site has more traffic to manage.
UFB: stands for Ultra Fast Broadband. UFB is a New Zealand government initiative to deliver fast broadband internet access, using fibre, to 75% of the population over a 10-year period. The aim is a minimum speed of 100 Mbps downloading and 50 Mbps uploading.
3G is known as 3rd generation. 3G refers to our fast mobile network that provides mobile calls, mobile internet access, video calls and mobile TV. Our 3G network covers 98% of where Kiwis live, work and play.
4G: Known as 4th generation or LTE, 4G is a high speed data network for mobile phones and devices. It provides almost instantaneous web page loading, faster photo viewing on Facebook and video streaming without the wait. Vodafone launched NZ's first 4G network in Auckland in February 2013 and it's still NZ's biggest.
4G Extended - 700MHz: 4G Extended uses the 700MHz frequency of the 4G spectrum which is typically used in rural areas. 4G Extended complements our 4G network on the 1800MHz frequency.
Band 3 is a 4G standard that uses the 1800MHz frequency.
Band 7 is a 4G standard that uses the 2600MHz frequency.
Band 28 is a 4G standard that uses the 700MHz frequency.
CAT 6 LTE is a technology capable of delivering speeds up to 301.5 Mbit/s by using multiple aerials.
Carrier Aggregation combines separate 4G bands to boost speed and capacity. Vodafone launched dual-band 4G in May 2014 and followed with tri-band Carrier Aggregation in August 2014.
Dual Carrier or DC-HSPA: This technology combines two 3G channels together to provide a faster data session. Where 3G can deliver up to 21 Mbps, Dual Carrier is capable of delivering up to 42 Mbps. Actual speeds will vary depending on your signal level and distance from the network tower.
LTE is a standard for high-speed wireless communication and it stands for Long Term Evolution. It can provide significantly higher data transfer rates than older technologies (with speeds up to 300Mbps download and 75Mbps upload) . LTE also offers reduced latency during data transfer and its capacity can be scaled up to meet future bandwidth demands.
Millimetre wave: This can also be shown as mmWave or mmW. Millimetre wave is a part of the radio spectrum from 30 gigahertz to 300 gigahertz, and it uses a very short wavelength.Millimetre wave will be used by 5G technology. 5G is not limited to using just mmWave; 5G can also use low band frequencies and sub-6GHz frequencies.
Sure Signal: Sure Signal is a device that boosts indoor 3G mobile phone signal. It's a great solution for Vodafone customers who suffer from 'low bars' at home or work.
VoLTE: stands for Voice over Long Term Evolution. VoLTE allows voice calls to be carried across a 4G data network instead of 3G or 2G. Vodafone first trialled VoLTE technology in early 2015. Vodafone now supports VoLTE, and was the first NZ carrier to launch VoLTE, on June 6, 2019.
U900: 3G on the 900MHz frequency, used mostly for rural and marine areas, where there's a greater distance between cell sites. It also provides better indoor 3G coverage.
U2100: 3G on the 2100MHz frequency. U2100 is used more commonly in urban areas, where every cell site has more traffic to manage.
UFB: stands for Ultra Fast Broadband. UFB is a New Zealand government initiative to deliver fast broadband internet access, using fibre, to 75% of the population over a 10-year period. The aim is a minimum speed of 100 Mbps downloading and 50 Mbps uploading.