Downloading at speed with 3G

For all the usefulness of Mobile JetStream and the Vodafone equivalent, they pale in comparison with so-called 3G services. Telecom's, called T3G, has been running since late last year; Vodafone's is yet to see the light of day.

T3G is several times faster than Mobile JetStream. Peak download speed is 2Mbit/s, more than 10 times Mobile JetStreams maximum 153kbit/s.

At 2Mbit/s, it's more than a match for most fixed broadband services, yet this is one you can take with you within the confines of its coverage area.

It's fast enough to watch streaming video without the irritation of long download times.

The extent of coverage can be seen on the Telecom website.

The network is initially being put in place in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and at Dunedin airport, and the holiday spots of Coromandel, Taupo, Queenstown and Wanaka.

Within the next couple of months, about 300 of Telecom's 1000 or so 027 cellphone sites will be T3G-equipped, says mobile services general manager Kevin Kenrick.

If you wander outside a T3G coverage area, not all is not lost; your connection will be maintained, but at Mobile JetStream speed.

T3G customers can also access Telecom's network of Wi-Fi hotspots as part of the package. Scores of these internet access points, which use wireless network capabilities that are standard in most new notebook computers, are being installed in cafes and hotels the length of the country.

Equipping a notebook computer for T3G is easy. Once the Aircard software is installed, it's a matter of slotting the wireless modem into a PC card slot, letting the system recognise the new hardware and firing up the connection.

The modem has a more robust antenna than the GTRAN card used to access Mobile JetStream, and a green light indicates a connection has been established.

The Aircard software has a call log showing the duration of connected sessions and a running total of data sent and received.

Vodafone has its own 3G plans, using different technology from Telecom and operating at a somewhat slower speed.

The company said last year that the intention was to launch the network by the middle of this year in the main population centres.

"Where we go from there will be dictated by a number of factors, including customer demand and the services we need to roll out," technology director Jeni Mundy told trade publication Computerworld.

Vodafone's network will have a theoretical maximum speed of 384kbit/s and should offer real speeds of 150kbit/s to 200kbit/s.