Telecom Mobile operates 3G cellular networks at 850 and 2100MHz, with 3G data supported in both bands. As of 31 December 2010, Telecom had 2,192,000 mobile subscribers, 1,010,000 of which were on the XT network. Telecom also operates a legacy CDMA network which is not considered in this analysis.

As at 1 February 2011, Telecom was licensed for 1119 towers in the 850MHz band and 327 in the 2100 band. In most cases both bands are utilized from the same tower – the total number of towers operated being 1132. In 850MHz, towers have either 5,10, or 15MHz of spectrum licensed. At 2100MHz, all towers are licensed for 15MHz channels. Telecom uses Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), which requires a minimum channel sizes of 5MHz, so it is likely that in most cases Telecom are operating three 5MHz cells per band per tower.

Telecom built their network in conjunction with Alcatel-Lucent, so it is assumed that Alcatel’s “9000 Series Macro Node B” base station is utilized. The network is HSPA+ enabled, with each cell will supporting aggregate downloads of 21mbps and uploads of 5mbps.

The map below shows the location of all 850MHz and 2.1GHz WCDMA licenses associated with Telecom. Red dots indicate towers with only 850MHz. Green dots indicate dual carrier towers. Blue dots indicate towers with only 2.1GHz

[iframe http://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?viz=MAP&q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2%2C+col3%2C+col4%2C+col5+from+432982+&h=false&lat=-37.02558034854757&lng=174.96002197265625&z=10&t=1&l=col2 100% 400]

The table below shows the license numbers, centre frequencies, bandwidth/modulation, and location names of all of the 850MHz and 2.1GHz WCDMA licenses associated with Telecom.

[iframe http://www.telco2.co.nz/telecom-licenses.html 100% 400]