As part of our regional investment program, and continuing to adjust to heightened Covid health and safety requirements, we finalised a whopping 32 cell site improvements in November to bring better mobile and wireless broadband coverage to customers.

This included seven new Vodafone owned sites, eight new Rural Connectivity Group (RCG) sites, and 17 upgrades of existing Vodafone sites.

Working on 32 sites is a huge achievement for our team and we're pleased so much work could be done to increase connectivity. As you'll see from the list below, the Bay of Plenty was a main focus - and one that's reaping rewards for Vodafone customers as independent testing shows we now offer the best mobile network in the region, according to the global leader in mobile benchmarking, umlaut.

Thaigan Govender, Head of Mobile Access Networks, said that he is incredibly proud of his teams hard work this year and hopes Kiwis will make use of these improvements as they travel across Aotearoa this summer.

“2021 was a hard year for everyone. The rise of Delta threw the need for connection into sharper focus and we expect our networks will see record mobile traffic across the country this summer as Kiwis jump at the chance to travel freely once again. While using this improved connectivity, we implore everyone to stay safe this holiday season and hope everyone gets to enjoy some time off with their friends and whānau - or can stay connected remotely with loved ones overseas.”

The 7 new Vodafone mobile cell sites are in:

• Omokoroa North East, Bay of Plenty
• Whakatane South, Bay of Plenty
• Ocean Shores, Bay of Plenty
• Christchurch Convention Centre, Canterbury
• Whanganui Springvale, Manawatu-Wanganui
• Marton North, Manawatu-Wanganui
• Gropers Bush, Southland

The 17 upgraded sites are in:

• Sylvia Park, Auckland
• Kaimai Summit, Bay of Plenty
• Kaimai Middle, Bay of Plenty
• Pyes Pa, Bay of Plenty
• Pukehina, Bay of Plenty
• Tauranga Docks, Bay of Plenty
• Kate Valley, Canterbury
• Kaikoura, Canterbury
• Whakapapa Ski Field Capacity, Manawatu-Wanganui
• Blenheim Central, Marlborough
• Strathern, Southland
• Dinsdale South, Waikato
• Hamilton Central, Waikato
• Alma Street, Waikato
• Hood Street, Waikato
• Waihi, Waikato
• Whangamata South, Waikato

The 8 RCG sites are in:

• Whakatau, Bay of Plenty
• Taneatua, Bay of Plenty
• Pouawa North, Gisborne
• Cable Bay, Nelson
• Urquharts Bay, Northland
• Wairau Bridge, Tasman
• Neils Beach, West Coast
• Seddonville, West Coast

To check out mobile coverage in your area please visit https://www.vodafone.co.nz/network/coverage/