Vodafone says it will start moving PSTN customers to VoIP

Vodafone says it will start moving PSTN customers to a voice over IP service later this month.

The Dominion Post reports Vodafone will move customers with VDSL connections first. Those on the Vodafone FibreX cable network and customers with older copper connections will move next year.

Vodafone consumer director Matt Williams says the move is a response to Spark's planned PSTN shut down. In April Spark said it will close the old telephone network by 2022. Vodafone buys PSTN services from Spark.

No more languishing

Williams says the early change over is: "So our customers can take advantage of the benefits of this technology as it evolves versus languishing on an outdated network.

Vodafone customers with UFB fibre connections already have VoIP calling. Until now FibreX customers have used copper lines for traditional phone calls.

The company says it will send customers detailed information and provide support before the upgrades start. For most the change will mean no more than unplugging existing phones from the wall and plugging them into a broadband modem or router.

There may be issues for people with alarm systems that use copper phone connections.

Vodafone's move to VoIP is a long way ahead of necessity. While Spark said it would close its PSTN service, that's a five year process. It means replacing hundreds of telephone exchanges and network nodes with three new nodes.

New business plans

Vodafone will offer business users new all-in-one packages that includes voice calling and internet. The Office Net Unlimited plan is for VDSL users, Office Net Unlimited+ is the fibre version. Both plans cost $100 a month but require customers to sign for a 24-month term. As the name suggests, the plans include unlimited voice calls.

Office Net and Office Net+ cost $110. They include 200GB of data and 500 minutes for calls to anywhere in the world.

Chorus upgrades, extends school broadband

Chorus is working on a pilot programme with Network for Learning that extends a school’s internet service into student’s homes. The pair are also upgrading school broadband services.

A pilot internet extension at the Haeata Community Campus in Christchurch extends the schools network so it reaches student homes in one of the most deprived areas of the city. The service is free.

The WiFi network lets students to log-in from home using a school-provided device. They get unlimited, safe internet access.

At present it only covers an area near the school, but it will eventually extend across the catchment area. Chorus CEO Kate McKenzie says this will bridge the digital divide that sees some students unable to access the internet from home.

Fibre to the classroom:

Chorus and N4L are also working to deliver gigabit broadband direct to every classroom.

At present most schools have a single shared connection distributed using WiFi access points. This will give each student greater data capacity and speed. It will make it more practical to use bandwidth hungry learning technologies such as high quality video.

A trial will take place in ten schools in the Far North and in parts of rural Gisborne. It’s significant these are in a more remote part of the country.

N4L CEO Greg Woolley says: “Removing speed constraints and simplifying technology in schools, especially for those in rural and isolated areas with little or no ready access to technical support, is an important step along the journey to barrier-free access.

Spark buys Digital Island

Spark says it will buy Digital Island, a small Auckland-based business telco. It says Digital Island will remain a stand-alone business and will report to Spark's Ventures and Wholesale unit.

The two companies have worked together for a decade. Digital Island resells data, mobile and cloud products and services that it buys wholesale from Spark.

While the acquisition is small, it is part of a long-term trend of industry consolidation. At Spark's recent AGM, managing director Simon Moutter said his company would bar active in mergers and acquisitions.

Spark Ventures & Wholesale CEO Ed Hyde said the acquisition was a tactical investment to improve his company's offering to SMEs.

Spark outlines IoT plans

Spark says trials of its LTE Cat-M1 Internet-of-Things network will start this month. The company says the commercial network, covering 95 percent of New Zealand, will open for business early next year.

There will be two networks; M1 and LoRaWAN. Spark says a dual network approach is consistent with what is happening overseas.

The company is testing LaRaWAN and expects to announce more about this network soon.

Computerworld NZ reports comments by Spark’s general manager for IoT, Michael Stribling who says his company see different uses for different IoT networks emerging. He says: “It makes sense to provide multiple networks to answer the multiple needs of New Zealand organisations.”

Meanwhile, Vodafone published its fifth annual Internet of Things Barometer Report which stated that 74 percent of companies globally agree that digital transformation is impossible without IoT.

And Invercargill makes 25... Spark's latest 4.5G sites

Sparks aggressive 4.5G roll out continues with three new sites in Invercargill. The towers are at Heidelberg, Waikiwi and central Invercargill. While there are no commercial devices able to make use of all 4.5G features at the moment, many modern handsets can get higher performance from the new towers.

Another Hawaiki milestone as ships roll

Hawaiki Submarine Cable says marine operations have begun signalling the start of laying the western Pacific end of the 15,000-km trans-Pacific cable. The cable will link Australia and New Zealand to the west coast of the US with links to Hawaii and American Samoa. There are options to further extend its reach to Pacific islands.

The company says that the two ends of the cable should meet near Tokelau in March next year. Hawaiki says the cable should be ready for service in June.

Countdown offers proximity shopping

Countdown's Click & Collect app tells customers their online grocery order is ready for collection. Then lets store workers know the customer is on their way to pick-up.

The app uses GPS to create a 400m geo-fence around a Countdown store. When the customer gets close to the store, staff are alerted. A message is sent to the customer letting them know store workers are getting their order ready. When the customer arrives, the order is ready for collection.