2degrees 5G Is Here!

2degrees is proud to announce its 5G network is officially launched, and ready to use!

The 2degrees 5G network is available to customers in the central areas of Auckland and Wellington, and in limited areas of Christchurch. The 2degrees 5G network is being built in a contiguous manner, meaning more suburbs in these three cities will have sites coming online week-by-week as 2022 continues.

2degrees Chief Technology Officer Martin Sharrock says, “At 2degrees we are Fighting for Fair to make New Zealand a better place to live, and our focus has always been on ensuring Kiwis have choice by delivering high quality, award winning products and services. That’s why we’ve spent in excess of $1b on our network, including our ongoing plan to replace every single site in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch with brand-new, cutting-edge equipment from Ericsson. We are designing and building a world class 5G network for the future, but also enhancing our 4G network alongside it."

The deployment of 2degrees’ 5G network comes at a time when customers are poised and ready to harness 5G, whether that’s a business looking to achieve a step change in their systems and processes which require greater connectivity, or individual customers ready to experience faster download speeds and lower latency.

“We’ve followed our own unique strategy when designing and building the 2degrees 5G network. We want to make sure 5G is available where it is needed most, and we are working to cover whole cities for a contiguous experience. The innovative equipment and software we are using will allow us to flexibly change how the network uses 4G and 5G technology together over time. As 5G devices and services mature we can tune the network to how Kiwis want to use it," says Sharrock.

Over the past few months the 2degrees 5G network has been rigorously tested and optimised. Network performance has also been tested on numerous Samsung, Oppo and Apple mobile devices. The below Samsung and Oppo devices are 2degrees 5G enabled for launch.

Further Samsung, Oppo and Apple devices will be enabled for 2degrees 5G soon, along with a wireless plug-and-play 5G home broadband modem.

Customers wanting to access the 2degrees 5G network need to have a 5G capable phone with its software updated to enable 2degrees 5G. They also need to be in a 2degrees 5G coverage area.

Emilio Romeo, Head of Ericsson Australia and New Zealand, says Ericsson is providing the expertise for the next step in its partnership with 2degrees.

“Our team has been working closely with 2degrees to bring Ericsson’s world-leading technology to New Zealand. Kiwis are ready to harness the power of enhanced, reliable connectivity that 5G technology brings, and combined with the upgrade to the existing 3G and 4G radio access network (RAN) technology, 2degrees customers across New Zealand can benefit from Ericsson’s best-in-class, energy-efficient infrastructure.”

2degrees is the only New Zealand telco to partner with Ericsson for its radio access network.

The 2degrees 5G build and 3G and 4G upgrade is a multi-year project involving teams right across the organisation says Sharrock.

"This is the start of a new journey for 2degrees and our customers. 5G is more efficient, more flexible, provides much more capacity and is much faster. 5G is the platform to enable a new generation of services which require more speed, lower latency, higher reliability, and continued security. 2degrees is continuing to invest to enhance our world class network."

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