As part of its regional investment program, Vodafone finalised 23 cellsite improvements in August including completing three new sites, helping build two Rural Connectivity Group (RCG) new sites, and upgrading 18 existing Vodafone sites.

Most of these upgrades were in the Manawatū-Whanganui and Bay of Plenty regions as expected and aimed to strengthen 4G and/or extend 5G coverage for Vodafone customers.

Thaigan Govender, Head of Mobile Access Networks says the need for great connectivity is never more apparent than when the country faces shifting alert levels, and the team ensured they strictly followed all Covid-19 guidelines to do this work safely.

"Being able to communicate with our friends and family makes people feel good, bringing them comfort even if they can't meet face to face, so we’re been working hard to continue our upgrade plans while navigating lockdown conditions. This means carrying out essential work only, and following all health and safety guidelines.

“We’ve now finished upgrading coverage in the Manawatū-Whanganui region, so we commissioned global leader in mobile benchmarking umlaut to complete some independent tests in August. Their report shows Vodafone is now the leading mobile provider in Manawatū for voice calls and data performance, outperforming both Spark and 2degrees.

“We’ll continue with this same approach as we work our way around the rest of New Zealand and continue to improve coverage for Vodafone customers.”

The three newly built Vodafone sites are:

• Shannon, Manawatū-Whanganui
• Eltham, Taranaki
• Bulls, Palmerston North

The 18 Vodafone upgraded sites are:

• Commercial Bay, Auckland
• Narrow Neck, Auckland
• Waihi Beach, Bay of Plenty
• Rotorua, Bay of Plenty
• Ngongotaha, Bay of Plenty
• Okere Falls, Bay of Plenty
• Tauranga Bridge, Bay of Plenty
• Papamoa Beach, Bay of Plenty
• Papamoa South, Bay of Plenty
• Havelock North, Hawkes Bay
• Onekawa North, Hawkes Bay
• Whanganui East, Manawatū-Whanganui
• Tokomaru, Manawatū-Whanganui
• Palmerston North, Manawatū-Whanganui
• Bunnythorpe, Manawatū-Whanganui
• Lumsden Central, Southland
• Whangamata, Waikato
• Pauanui Township, Waikato

The two new RCG sites include:

• Summit Road, Auckland
• Leeston North, Canterbury

For more information and to check the coverage footprint in your area, please visit www.vodafone.co.nz/coverage