2degrees plans to shut down 2G network in March 2018

2degrees says it will close its 2G mobile network in March 2018.

Switching off 2G means 2degrees can reallocate spectrum to where it is more useful.

The change will affect a small number of mobile users. 2degrees plans to move them to the company’s 4G network.

2degrees says it hasn’t sold 2G phone hardware since 2015. It spent the last year encouraging customers to upgrade. Those who have yet to move still have six months to prepare. 2degrees says it will contact its 2G customers in coming months to help prepare them for the change.

Old 2G devices need work

There are machine-to-machine and embedded devices on the 2degrees 2G network. The company says it will work with customers to help them upgrade.

Many overseas phone companies have already closed their 2G networks. Telstra made the move last year. Optus switched its off in April of this year. Vodafone Australia says it plans to close its 2G network in March. Vodafone New Zealand has yet to announce its plans.

Enable completes Rangiora fibre roll-out

Christchurch fibre company Enable has completed its Rangiora fibre roll-out. It added over 7000 homes and businesses in the town to its network.

The company says about a quarter of homes and businesses in the town have already connected to fibre. Enable now has close to 55,000 fibre customers in the Christchurch area. It is connecting around 100 customers a day.

Enable says it is now about 85 percent of the way through its build. When finished its network will reach 180,000 homes and businesses. The remaining areas are in Waimakariri. The company says it will complete the Kaiapoi network by the end of 2017 and Woodend early next year.

One of the benefits of fibre is that Rangiora New Life School can now offer students a great range of subjects. This includes using streaming video to connect an NCEA Level 2 French student to a teacher in Southland. There's a similar arrangement for a student taking Te Reo.

Enable in digital business push

Enable and the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce want local businesses to embrace digital.

Chief executive Steve Fuller says the two are working together. Their aim is to break down outdated ideas that some businesses don’t need to think about the digital world. He says: “We want to help all Christchurch businesses maximise their potential and grow.”

Fuller says businesses can connect to fibre, but to get a competitive advantage they need to find the best way to use it. The benefits are huge. Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment research says more digital engagement could lift GDP by $34 billion.

Huawei launches affordable Te Reo Māori mobile

Huawei sys its Y5 2017 and Y7 are the first affordable mobile handsets with Māori language support. While there are other phones with Māori as a standard language option, they tend to be high-end models. The Y5 2017 costs $200 and the Y7 is $300. Both are Android models. The have many features, including high resolution cameras, found on more expensive alternatives. The Huawei Māori language phones are a Vodafone exclusive.

Vodafone Change Accelerator

The Vodafone Foundation has picked five organisations to take part in its Change Accelerator programme. The programme aims to help excluded and disadvantaged young people. It uses technology developed by Vodafone’s Xone laboratory.

Each organisation on the programme gets a $15,000 grant to cover their expenses during the six-week programme based at Vodafone’s Christchurch Innov8 centre. At the end of the programme the Vodafone Foundation will invite them to apply for Foundation’s Innovation Fund.

Among the organisations are Ngati Porou Hauora, a health provider from the East Cape. It has an app that offers fly-buys-like incentives. This will encourage parents into regular contact with health, education and childcare services.

Taumaranui’s Thrive Trust has a “Tiny House” microbusiness incubator that aims to address housing issues.

The Bay of Plenty’s Sexual Assault Services is developing an app for young people who feel at risk. It sends an alert and geo-tagged location message to a trusted network of family and friends.

Auckland’s Ngā Rangatahi Toa, offers a programme for excluded students. Central Otago’s Sticks n Stones works to stop bullying and plans to offer rural young people support.

Google pays US$1 billion for HTC phone IP and staff

Google paid phone maker HTC US$1.1 billion. In return, it gets the team that developed the Pixel phone and a non-exclusive intellectual property licence.

The deal does not include equity in HTC. It expands Google’s phone business and gives the Taiwanese phone maker a financial lifeline.

HTC was an early smartphone leader, but has fallen behind brands like Apple and Samsung. Its recent financial problems have put the Google Pixel phones it makes for the search company at risk.

Google and HTC released two Pixel phones last year and new models are due next month.

Vodafone VMWare

Vodafone NZ's parent has inked a software licensing agreement with VMware. The company says it will apply in New Zealand. Vodafone already offers some VMWare products; the deal extends that. It also means the global company will use VMWare's vCloud and software-defined networking.