Following significant investments in Vodafone NZ’s mobile network, as part of an ongoing nationwide program of upgrades and widespread deployment of 5G, independent testing shows Vodafone offers customers the best mobile network across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Vodafone’s network scored the highest overall plus for data and voice call quality in an independent certification report conducted by the global leader in mobile benchmarking umlaut, now part of Accenture, in March 2022. Vodafone's mobile network outperformed both Spark and 2degrees.

Thaigan Govender, Head of Mobile Access Networks, Vodafone NZ, says: “We want to offer Vodafone customers the very best mobile experience possible. That’s why we were first operator to build a 5G mobile network way back in December 2019, and we now offer 5G in almost 50 towns across the motu.

“This independent certification saw mobile network testers drive 6,700 kms around New Zealand to put our performance to the test, and shows Vodafone offers mobile customers the best network in terms of overall performance, data and voice calls. It is further rounded off with six months of crowd-source data from smartphones to capture a 24/7 view of customer experience across more than 97.6% of New Zealand’s populated areas.

“Vodafone’s network performed considerably better in major cities than any other operator, recording much higher mobile download speeds - with at least 385Mbps for the fastest 10% of the users.

“While many people are moving to online communications, voice calls are still incredibly important particularly for business customers - and our mobile voice performance was considerably better than any of the other operators.”

The umlaut certification report, which was conducted using a Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G device, shows:

• Vodafone has the best mobile network across New Zealand, scoring 797 points out of 1000 overall, compared to 2degrees achieving 760 points and Spark on 751.

• The Vodafone network scores the highest on data performance in major cities, towns and roads, so Vodafone customers get the fastest mobile downloads.

• In major cities, Vodafone customers get the best browsing and YouTube streaming experience. Tests have shown that in major cities, 10% of the users experience speeds of greater than 385Mbps vs 185Mbps for Spark and 99Mbps for 2degrees.

• Vodafone provides customers the best voice experience, with a voice quality rating 240 out of 300 (80%), compared with Spark and 2degrees both scoring 201. Vodafone is a significant leader in Voice Call Clarity as well as Call setup time.

Source: umlaut certification report

“In early 2021, we set out plans to invest heavily in our mobile network to improve coverage and capacity for Vodafone customers, meaning better quality mobile browsing and fewer dropped calls,” explains Thaigan.

“We’ve finished upgrades in Manawatū and Bay of Plenty where we also scored top marks in terms of network performance following independent testing. We’re currently upgrading our digital infrastructure in parts of the Waikato, Taranaki and Southland, and we’ll eventually work our way around all of the country, because we understand how important remarkable connectivity is for our customers.”

The drive testing route was independently selected by umlaut through strict selection criterion to ensure at least 60% of the population is represented. All mobile operators were notified of the certification window, but none were aware of the route the testers would take around New Zealand.

The umlaut benchmarking methodology is the de-facto industry standard today. It is applied in more than 120 countries measuring over 200 mobile networks worldwide.

The full report is available on the umlaut website.

For more information about Vodafone services, please visit www.vodafone.co.nz/5G - and to check whether 5G is available at a certain address, head to www.vodafone.co.nz/coverage