More Vodafone customers across New Zealand are benefiting from greater 4G connectivity, following the completion of 121 cell site upgrades and 22 new cell site builds since January this year. Vodafone says it is confident in its mobile network that it is providing a money-back network guarantee. If any new customer on a monthly plan is not completely happy within the first 30 days, they can cancel their plan and get their money back, the company says in a statement. “We’ve been relentless with our upgrade schedule this year,” says Tony Baird, technology director, Vodafone New Zealand, on the company’s $14 million investment. These 4G upgrades ensure rural New Zealanders experience the same speed and benefits as those living and working in more urban areas, he states. “As evidence of this, 80 of the cell site upgrades offer Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI) Services and 15 new cell-sites are built under the RBI Initiative – helping bring faster internet speeds to more and more rural New Zealanders every day.” The program has seen 4G coverage across the country increase to over 85 per cent from approximately 74 per cent in February this year. Speeds on Vodafone’s 4G network are up to 10 times faster than 3G, allowing customers to stream, download, upload, browse and game faster than ever before. The company’s 4G network carries around 350 terabytes of data each month; a 100 per cent year-on-year increase. Vodafone says data streaming now makes up more than 35 per cent of traffic on the mobile network and areas like Southland, West Coast, Canterbury, Tasman and Northland have fully embraced the speed of 4G. For example, during the past year, data use in Southland has increased by more than 170 per cent since the arrival of 4G. Send news tips and comments to divina_paredes@idg.co.nz Follow Divina Paredes on Twitter: @divinap Follow CIO New Zealand on Twitter:@cio_nz Sign up for CIO newsletters for regular updates on CIO news, views and events. Join us on Facebook. Related content news Emirates NBD drives sustainability goals with Microsoft partnership By Andrea Benito Dec 10, 2023 2 mins CIO news COP28: How Du and Ericsson's partnership is supporting UAE Net Zero Strategy By Andrea Benito Dec 10, 2023 3 mins CIO Green IT brandpost Sponsored by Freshworks When your AI chatbots mess up AI ‘hallucinations’ present significant business risks, but new types of guardrails can keep them from doing serious damage By Paul Gillin Dec 08, 2023 4 mins Generative AI brandpost Sponsored by Dell New research: How IT leaders drive business benefits by accelerating device refresh strategies Security leaders have particular concerns that older devices are more vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. By Laura McEwan Dec 08, 2023 3 mins Infrastructure Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe