Telecom 4G set for NZ launch tonight...

Telecom New Zealand will launch 4G across parts of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch overnight tonight, strengthening the high-quality mobile experience business clients and consumers already receive through its national WiFi and 3G networks.

The telco revealed last month that access to its 4G network would be free for customers with 4G-capable devices, becoming the first Kiwi carrier to make 4G available to its prepaid customers, who will be able to access the faster network for no extra cost.

As part of the launch, Telecom is combining the availability with the up to 31GB per month that most Telecom and all Gen-i mobile customers can access for free on Telecom’s national WiFi network.

“When it comes to using the 4G network, we want our customers to feel confident diving in, going nuts, and taking advantage of how quickly they can do things like stream music and videos, make video calls, upload big files to the Cloud," Telecom says.

“But we recognise that many people are also a bit worried about what changing to the 4G network might mean for their phone bill - we know from looking overseas that they may use a lot more data.

“That’s why we’ve built a national WiFi network with 750 hotspots (and more being added all the time); why we’ve increased the data allowances on our Ultra Mobile plans; and why we are offering a free upgrade to 4G for our customers.

"It’s also why we’re developing a range of smart tools, such as the Telecom Smartphone application, which customers can use to monitor and manage their data usage.”

Gen-i CEO Tim Miles says that while 4G will help feed growing demand for new applications that leverage 4G speeds, it’s the integration of 3G, 4G, fibre and WiFi into a single platform for mobility, backed by Telecom’s high speed core fibre network, that will deliver a superior overall experience for Gen-i clients and their customers.

“Gen-i’s cloud and mobility services directly connected to our communications networks and data centers will really bring the benefits of 4G to life for our clients, and it’s our ability to deliver these services over a single platform for mobility that will make them quick, easy and cost effective for our clients to consume," Miles adds.

"Our WiFi network is a big part of this, as WiFi handover makes for a more cost-effective and consistent mobility experience in more places – complementing and enhancing our growing 4G coverage.

“Our investments across both network infrastructure and innovative new cloud services will ultimately help our clients to create more flexible working environments, increase productivity and provide their employees and customers with easy ‘anytime, anywhere’ access to information and applications.”