Telstra or Optus

Second that Only Telstra unfortunately

Yes it will, but it will run on the GSM network in NZ.
Fred

Sorry, forgot to add.. you need to have global roaming BEFORE you go to NZ
Fred

Yes, global roaming has to be enabled - by phoning Telstra, if it is not already enabled (you will need to have a spare few hours free to do this Lol). It is very expensive to make and receive calls, so beware.
Heather

Buy a pre-paid sim card when you get there - much cheaper than using your OZ phone - believe me. I have a pre-paid NZ sim for when I am there 3 times a year for work.

You do not have the ID hassles to buy a sim there either, just walk in, pay your $$ and walk out- no ID reqd unless they have changed the rules over the last 6 months.

Get the sim from Vodafone as Telecom NZ still runs a CDMA network.

Stevesub

Fred, Heather and Steve,

Thankyou all for your info - I will take the Nokia and the charger with me. I will do what Steve suggested and buy a pre-paid sim card.

Fred, do you do any fishing up there ? I used to go barra fishing twice a year before I retired - great times !

Cheers,

Willie.

Hi Willie,
so long as the crocs stay out of my brew, I'll stay out of their water. Haven't done any fishing since leaving the navy at the end of '79. I have seen too many crocs that are bigger than most "tinnies" out there. So I stick to what I enjoy most, 4WD'n, maps & navigation and flying radio control models of about 2mtrs in wingspan.
Fred

not neccessarily true
dont know all the details but 3 and i think whoever there in partnershops hutchinsen vodaphone or whoever will be on the next G network as of a few months time

dont believe all you hear but i was told the only places you wont get next G on your next G 3 phone will be if the telstra tower is privatly owned like some minesite towers

Sorry you must have a Telstra version of a phone to get all the Next G frequencies, that is the fact. For example you can buy a HTC Touch Diamond from Hong Kong and it will work with a Telstra Next G Sim but not get coverage in all areas. The Telstra version of the same phone gets coverage virtually everywhere.

Secondly this is not a case of don't believe what you hear, this is fact. I have tested this and it is fact. Non Telstra phones do not support 850Mhz which is required to get coverage outside of metro areas.

Hope you understand "Get Out More"

I think you will find when the Next G network gets opened to 3rd party providors you should have no problems walking into a 3 or vodaphone shop and picking up a multiband including 850mhz phone

the latest 3 modems I am led to believe are already capable of picking up 850mhz

when the deal goes through and with the right simcard Telstra should not be the only option for truly mobile broad band .

by dont believe all you hear i mean all of my info is from "3" dealers
as is always the case the fine print needs to be seen to see if everything is going to be as good and as cheap as they have been telling me

as for getting phones from OS to work on next G

AFAIK telstra set up the next g with a unique frequency no where else used. This is what resulted in the poor choice of handset initially and very crappy quality.

This was a boom for telstra as the ZTE phones were dieng by the truckload. they would not provide any service or warranty on them.
This left people needing a phone service they were locked into a 2 year contract with no other option than to........................................... buy another ZTE phone.

My missus had several die and took them into Telstra shops. they wouldnt touch them, best they would do is offer $20 off another one.

initially telstra offered the ZTE phones on 2 year plans only no pre paid. During this period they were replacing phones that died but as soon a phones were able to be bought outright all exchanges/loan phones/warranty stopped

Yes well aware the network is opening up in the future but right now it hasn't. At this point 3 phones do not support 850mhz, so once again you must buy a Telstra version of the phone if you want Next G. If you buy an Optus Iphone it will not support Next G, whereas the Telstra Iphone does. So until we have the network opened officially, you "must" buy a Telstra version of the phone of your choice.

You can at the moment by unlocked phones which work on either network

I bought a Nokia 6120 which is unlocked and actually came in a Telstra box all sealed up and all. This is an 850mhz Next G model
The Optus equiv is the Nokia 6121 which is a 900mhz optus Next G eqiv.
However some Nokia N95's have both the frequencies in them as my son bought one 2 weeks ago.
Unique Mobiles in Brisbane sell these in various configurations.
I emiled them and asked which model was Telstra next G and which was Optus (Vodafone) and the reply was that the N 95 was both.

It does pay however to ask.

As far as using your phone in NZ BUY a SIM as if you use your Aussie sim over there it works like this.
You ring a number down the road in NZ the call goes from your phone to Australia then back to NZ to the local number.
Something to do with charging. At least that was what I was told when I queried the horriific charges.
And it gets charged both ways on the one call.

"The Optus equiv is the Nokia 6121 which is a 900mhz optus Next G eqiv. "

The Optus Network has nowhere near the coverage area of the Telstra Next G network - even the Optus coverage maps in the Internet make that very clear.

I fully realise that
However the two phones are identical except for the fact that one has the 850mhz and the other has the 900mhz which is why I stated that it was the equivalent model.
Nothing was mentioned about coverage being equal.
I think we are all aware of that discrepancy.

I will second that. absolutely hopeless when you want service. Cheers

Thank you everyone for your help. Such a shame we have to use Telstra as we have found them to be the worst company to deal with. Their customer service is horrible.