New Zealand coverage

[wolfbln]

"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."

Well, New Zealand has three networks. Vodafone (with a f, not ph), Spark and 2° (spoken two degrees) and MVNOs like Skinny. That's not bad for competition.

"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?"

A SIM card or plan is not like any merchandise with warranty and a right to return. Because even a prepaid plan normally involves a kind of contract to define the T&Cs.

All over the world most vendors will stay away from taking back a SIM plan that you have bought in a different store. Even if it looks untouched, there is no obligation to do so. You can do a lot of things with a plan online on your account, without touching the SIM. It's more like a concert ticket, that your ticket agency may take back before the event, but often is not obliged to do so. All you can count on is their courtesy. But you can't expect it between different stores (of the same provider) especially if you want to change a more expensive plan to a less expensive one. I think this is not limited to New Zealand, but general rule.

So let's compare with the US. You can walk in every operator store in NZ and can get a SIM plus 1 GB data for NZ$25-35 (if it's physically available). NZ$30 is around US$20. Which US provider sells me 1GB data for a tablet plus prepaid SIM for US$20? T-Mobile already charges $15 for the SIM alone in their branded stores outside of promotions and AT&T prepaid plans start at US$25. Both operators check IMEI numbers to be sure that I don't activate my "tablet plan" on a different device. If the device is not recognized as one of their featured tablets, I'll be moved to a phone plan with less favourable data rates. This all doesn't sound more competitive to me.

[kiwisteve]

We have a 3rd network ( 2 Degrees ) this has 4G in the main centres on 1800 Mhz I use this network and find it works very well on my Samsung J2

You could also try SKINNY which also operates on Spark Network various sims and packages

As for returns normally if you have a receipt and its not suitable for the
required purpose you should be able to return it

I dont buy directly from a store like Spark I use The Warehouse or Noel Leemings which have good return policy

Spark would also be well down on my choice of providers

[wco81]

Well for whatever reason, Spark gets me LTE but Vodafone is stuck on 3G.

But I drove from Fanz Josef to Wanaka yesterday and most of the time, neither had coverage. Maybe Vodafone was slightly better between the Haast Pass and Lake Hawea but you'd have signal and then a kilometer later, around the next bend, no signal.

[kiwisteve]

Yes you prob picked the worst area for coverage low population = low coverage

4G rural you need 700 Mhz city 1800 Mhz in general
many rural areas do not have 4g yet

enjoy your trip and dont worry about phones !

[wolfbln]

Have in mind that LTE in Australia on 700 MHz is different to the US on 700 MHz.

In the US you use band 12 (T-Mobile) and 17 (AT&T). In Australia and soon in Europe band 28 is used.

All of them are called 700 MHz, but have different uplink and downlink frequencies. So it's better to add the bands to this in the future.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-UTRA...nel_bandwidths

[kiwisteve]

4G here is the Asian spec bringing hardware from USA and Europe
will run the risk of not working here correctly esp 700 Mhz band hardware
probably why our visitor had issues
all 3 nets run correctly here on My Samsung J1 and J2s

[wco81]

Must have been the profile on the Vodafone Sim, which always was 3G while Spark was LTE and 3G.

My USA T-Mobile sim got both networks, including Vodafone LTE in the bigger towns.

iOS Settings app. Had Enable 4g for Vodafone and Enable LTE for Spark.

At the Queenstown waterfront, Spark LTE clocked at 41/18.

In central Auckland, got over 24 on Vodafone 3G.

[kiwisteve]

Quite poor actually !!
I have done much better on Vodafone in Wellington with NZ supplied hardware

http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/a/1177996449

[wco81]

Well I only had Vodafone 3G when I was in Wellington.

[Skinny Direct]

Use Skinny Direct, it's a no brainer

Skinny Direct is accessible via the Skinny Direct website and app. Customers sign up online, bring their own device, and can choose to bring their existing number. There are no top-ups, no prepaid balances, no vouchers and no standard rates. Customers benefit from easy ‘one-click’ purchase functionality and pay by credit card.

Skinny Direct offer two Combo packages. Each package includes unlimited NZ calling and unlimited NZ texts.

The $30 combo is for 3GB of data and the $50 combo is for 6GB of data. It's the best deal in NZ.

www.skinnydirect.co.nz/