Less 'G' and whiz for iPhone

Hyped-up Apple fans will have to stomach some disappointments when the 3G iPhone goes on sale in New Zealand next month.

An analyst has warned it may perform sluggishly in small towns and rural areas, because it only supports 2G speeds when using 900MHz radio spectrum, which Vodafone relies on for mobile voice and data coverage outside cities.

Vodafone New Zealand spokeswoman Alison Sykora says that the iPhone will only be available to customers on account. An overseas statement suggesting the iPhone would be sold as a pre-pay phone was briefly posted on the company's website in error.

The iPhone will support fast 3G downloads when connecting to Vodafone's 2100MHz cellsites in much of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

But sources say 3G coverage could be patchy even in many parts of these urban centres, where Vodafone has used the lower frequency 900MHz cellsites to provide infill coverage and improved signal penetration in buildings.

The frequency of the cellsites that customers connect to will determine whether a photo-ladened webpage downloads in 20 seconds or a minute. Very slow connections and large webpages can result in data connections timing-out.

Nokia Siemens last year won a deal to upgrade Vodafone's rural cellsite network to provide 3G, but the iPhone does not support the 900MHz UMTS technology used.

Melbourne-based Ovum analyst Nathan Burley says only two commercial 900MHz UMTS networks exist outside Australasia – both in Scandinavia – and only eight handsets can take full advantage of them, mostly Nokia phones.

Vodafone and Optus face the same issue in Australia, he says, where the two carriers are also using 900MHz spectrum to provide 3G coverage outside big cities.

Rural customers in Australia should "beware" as data speeds provided by the new iPhone when connecting to 900MHz cellsites "will leave users more than unsatisfied", he says.

The situation in New Zealand was similar. "The 2100MHz network covers the majority of the population, but for rural users the iPhone is not going to support the 900MHz frequency and I would be very surprised if the next version of the iPhone did either – it would be quite unlikely, I think."

At the iPhone's launch in the United States last week, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs demonstrated the implications, downloading a webpage in 59 seconds with a 2G iPhone. The new 3G handset took 21 seconds.

Telecom should join Vodafone in selling the 3G iPhone when its new mobile network turns on at the end of the year. Spokeswoman Rebecca Earl says she cannot yet confirm that.

Telecom would only be able to support 3G connections for the phone in the three main centres, where it uses 2100MHz spectrum, and 2G connections elsewhere, where its new network will use 850MHz spectrum and 2G GSM/Edge technology.

The iPhone will support 850MHz cellsites that use 3G UMTS technology, however, meaning Telecom could get an edge with iPhone if it upgraded to the standard. Sources say Telecom is considering this, but spokesman Nick Brown says it has "no new news" at this time.

- © Fairfax NZ News