Following significant investment in the Manawatū and Whanganui region, as the first of a nationwide program of mobile network upgrades, independent testing conducted by the global leader in mobile benchmarking umlaut shows Vodafone is the leading mobile provider in Manawatū for voice calls and data performance, outperforming both Spark and 2degrees.

Vodafone scored 713 points out of 1000 in the overall mobile network score for the Central North Island region, compared to 2degrees only achieving 654 points and Spark further behind on just 500.

Furthermore, the Vodafone network is more than three times faster than any other mobile operator in the Manawatū region, meaning our customers get the fastest mobile downloads.
Umlaut measurements show our average download speeds of 196 Mbps across Manawatū, faster than Spark offering 52 Mbps and 2degrees with just 41 Mbps average.

Thaigan Govender, Head of Mobile Access Networks, Vodafone NZ, says: “Our customers in the Manawatū region should notice a massive uplift in terms of the speeds and quality of calls since we invested millions of dollars into our digital infrastructure in the region over the past year.

“We now offer mobile customers the best network in terms of data performance and voice calls, the fastest downloads, and the largest 5G footprint by far. Our own calculations show we have the largest 5G mobile network in Aotearoa, and it’s great to see umlaut testing shows that our 5G network is available in almost 50% of where people live and work the Manawatū region!”

Umlaut drivetests show that Vodafone customers have a faster call setup time in the Manawatū region, averaging 3 seconds to connect to a voice call compared with 2degrees taking 6.6 seconds and Spark taking 4.6 seconds.

Vodafone also provides customers with clearer calls in the region, with voice calling speech quality scores of 3.4 out of 5, better than Spark and 2degrees both with 3.1 out of 5.

“Manawatū is the first region where we’ve completed mobile network upgrades, but we’re currently upgrading our digital infrastructure in parts of the Bay of Plenty, Taranaki and Invercargill, and we’ll eventually work our way around all of the country.

"We’re hoping to achieve similar results in other parts of Aotearoa NZ to ensure we offer remarkable technology solutions to help Kiwi businesses and consumers thrive. It’s proving even more important now, during the global pandemic, as New Zealanders turn to mobile technology to continue to work, live and play remotely.”

Mobile network results in the region of Manawatū are based on an audit report conducted by independent third-party umlaut based on drive test data collected in August 2021.

Full details can be found at: https://www.umlaut.com/uploads/documents/Reports-Certificates/2021_umlaut_new_zealand_manawatu_AuditReport.pdf

Vodafone would later become One NZ, being acquired by local owners.

5G is live in parts of the Manawatū with a 5G plan and a 5G phone from One NZ.
Visit https://one.nz/5G/ to learn more about 5G.