wco81

Arrived late into Wellington airport and in the baggage claims area was a Verizon kiosk so I bought the 5GB bundle with the nano sim for 85 NZD.

Right smack in the middle of Wellington cbd, no LTE. Went into a Verizon shop in town and they said they didn't know. They tried swapping the Sim and no difference.

3G speeds are around 9 Mpps.

They said maybe because I was trying a non NZ iPad but iPad Air 2 is shown to support most of the LTE bands in Europe, Asia including Oceania as well as North America.

Bummed. If I need more, I'm gonna give Spark a try.

jackal

Do you mean Vodafone? Verizon is a US company and doesn't (AFAIK) have operations in any other countries.

wco81

Yup Vodaphone.

Quokka

For the last several years of trips to NZ, my answer to the Spark (NZ Telecom) vs Vodafone question has been to just get both. There have been too many instances where one or the other carrier's service was simply insufferable even in parts of the Auckland or ChCh CBDs, let alone out in rural areas.

And while it used to be that Spark/Telecom had more coverage than Vodafone in remote areas, that's not necessarily the case anymore. I recently spent 5 weeks travelling well off the beaten path on both islands and kept getting surprised by 1) having any coverage at all and 2) it often being Vodafone rather than Spark.

Finally, if you're coming from the US and mainly care about data and texting (vs making phone calls) ... the US T-mobile flat-rate global data plan includes NZ and with an appropriate device will roam on both carriers at no additional cost for data and texts. The data will be at throttled 3g speeds at best, but it's usually good enough for checking email, Facebook, Flyertalk, etc.

wco81

Yeah I should have mentioned, I'm using iPhone 6S Plus on T-mobile and it's getting Vodaphone LTE in the cities.

I took the ferry today and it was mostly 3G once out of Wellington. Still better than the wifi offered by the ship, which was probably being used by everyone on board.

Then drove from Picton to Nelson using Google Maps on the iPhone and it works fine, though there were some areas with no service.

catsongea

FYI - Wellington airport has a vodafone kiosk by domestic baggage claim on the ground floor and 2Degrees for sale at the relay (magazine shop) opposite the vodafone kiosk. No Spark available at the wellington airport.
In NZ I would rely on either the spark free wifi spots or various free wifi - airport, cafes, wellington waterfront wifi - http://cbdfree.co.nz/

Silver Fox

I used 2 Degrees last time I was there and was not impressed with the lack of service. In the areas where I could not get service everyone that I was with was on VF and they all had service. I will go with them next time.

wco81

Went to a mall in Chistchurch which has both Spark and Vodaphone stores.

First, the Vodaphone store tried and still couldn't get LTE or 4g on my iPad Air 2.

Then I went to the Spark store, told them my concerns about getting LTE or 4g. The sales clerk took the sim out of her iPhone 5, where it displayed 4g and it showed LTE on my iPad Air 2.

Only thing is, they didn't have a trio SIM with no data for $5. Instead all they had was the $29 sim with 1.5 GB. And then I could add data bundles. So I bought the $29 sim even though it wasn't as good a rate as buying the $5 sim and adding a $50 or $90 bundle.

One of the places I stayed in only had Zenbu with 100 MB bundles so I want to have mobile data as a backup.

The next day I went to a different Spark store. They did have the $5 trio sim but they would not exchange or credit the $29 sim I had bought at the other Spark store. They claim no returns, unless the first store was willing to refund my money. I had the receipt and I didn't open it at all.

First, maybe not all Spark stores are owned by Spark? Second, I can't believe there is no return policy for unopened items. Is it specific to Spark? Is it a general policy in NZ?

I remember on a tour I went in Wellington the guide said the city is offering free wifi for 30 minute sessions in many public areas -- as many cities around the world were doing.

He said Wellington wants to become a tech hub for the region.

But their telecom infrastructure could be more competitive. It would be nice if there was a third mobile network, so these mobile cos. Had more competitive prices and more consumer friendly attitude.

And then there is the inadequate wired service at travel lodgings. Daily limits and slow speeds. At least Zenbu seems to be on the way to becoming more rare.

jawnbc

I've lived here in NZ for 3.5 years (Canadian). I've pinged between 2Degrees and Spark for my mobile and tablet. I have an unlocked iPhone 6+ and iPad mini LTE. Currently I use 2 Degrees, and get great speed and coverage around the major centres: where there's no 2Degrees tower I switch to Vodafone at no extra charge.

But NZ is a countries of hills and mountains...with a lot of black holes for 3G/4G/LTE coverage.

airsurfer

There is a Vodafone Travel SIM, with NZ$29, 49 and 99 cards available in the arrival hall in AKL, according to the site, and include 1, 3, resp 8GB data.
They allow even calling to some EU countries, some Asian countries, the US, Canada and South Africa.

http://www.vodafone.co.nz/travel-sim/

Does somebody have experience with it ?

Next Feb we go to NZ, so I am considering this.

wco81

I believe I got the 49 NZD card at arrival in WLG and I could never get LTE on my iPad Air 2.

So I bought a Spark SIM and had no problems with LTE.

flatworm

I used the Vodafone Travel SIM for about three weeks in Feb / Mar 2016. I was impressed - fast 4G in the cities and usually 3G elsewhere. Was using an Apple unlocked UK iPhone 6S , no problems , phone already knew the data settings , no need for unlock it.co.nz. Data often faster than hotel wifi , particularly on Stewart Island. Spent time in AKL , WEL and East Coast of South Island. Tethering was allowed , very handy , so didn't get SIM for iPad. Thought Voda NZ was well worth the money !

Sweetone

I just spent 2 weeks in mid January and used the Vodafone Travel sim. I got the $49 sim and it worked beautifully in and around Auckland and Coromandel. It was super easy to purchase at Auckland airport and the staff will even get your phone set up for you. I used an ancient, unlocked iphone 4S. What a challenge to revert to such a small phone. All in all, I would use Vodafone again.^

wco81

Did you get LTE speeds?

airsurfer

I had the same experience last Saturday. The guy at the Vodafone shop installed the SIM card and it works perfectly.
They did not even ask for my passport, unlike at CPT or JNB.
I did not use data yet, as I have had wifi in the guesthouses, but I will probably use it.