4G is the fourth generation of mobile network technology, and was introduced as a new unified standard to improve on 2G and 3G.

We introduced 4G to New Zealand way back in February 2013, following our tradition of bringing new and advanced technology to market first. That's over 13 years ago now.

4G was first used for data with much faster data speeds compared to 3G of the time, while 2G and 3G were used for voice calls. 4G evolved quickly to include voice as well, using technologies like VoLTE and HD Voice.

Now in 2026, 4G is a familiar and well established technology and it continues to be an important part of our mobile network.

If you've bought yourself a new mobile phone during the last six years, it is more than likely 4G capable.

The first 4G phones were introduced way back in 2012, and 4G phones became quite common by 2015.

Our 4G network uses frequencies at 700MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz, and 2600MHz, varied by location.
The 700MHz frequency offers the best reception indoors and it reaches further, meaning that it offers an advantage in urban areas, and in rural areas. By contrast the 2600MHz is able to deliver more data.

Remember that most new phones will also support 4.5G and 5G, giving you even faster speeds and connectivity. It's this speed and connectivity that gives you a better mobile experience.

Our 4G network may give you a stronger signal and coverage now, as we have expanded our already strong coverage by "spectrum refarming",
as we switched off 2G and 3G.

To learn about our coverage in difficult areas, see our Satellite to Mobile service.

You can easily check our mobile coverage maps to see where our 4G network reaches, and you can check 5G coverage, and Satellite to mobile coverage too.

Did you know that you can help us improve our mobile service?
You can do this by identifying areas where you've experienced poor coverage, by using our One Pin.

• 2G is known as 2nd generation and was built in the early 1990s. This is our original GSM network, which handles voice calls and text messages. 2G is no longer in use.
• 3G is known as 3rd generation. 3G referred to our fast mobile network for mobile calls, mobile data, video calls and mobile TV. We brought the first 3G network to New Zealand in August 2005, years before Telecom moved away from CDMA. After serving New Zealanders very well, our 3G network has been switched off.
• 4G: Known as 4th generation or LTE, 4G is a high speed data network for mobile phones and devices. Compared to 3G it provided almost instantaneous web page loading, faster photo viewing and video streaming without the wait. One NZ launched NZ's first 4G network in Auckland in February 2013.
• 4G Extended - 700MHz: 4G Extended uses the 700MHz frequency of the 4G spectrum which is typically used in rural areas. 4G Extended complements our 4G network on the 900MHz, 1800MHz, and 2600MHz frequencies.
• 5G: Known as the 5th generation of mobile network technology and, of course, 5G is the successor to 4G technology. Just like 4G, 5G uses MIMO (Multiple In, Multiple Out) antennas to deliver faster speeds and efficiency. In New Zealand, 5G uses Band n78 in the 3500MHz range, and this band is probably the most commonly used 5G Band across the world.
• Band 3 is a 4G standard that uses the 1800MHz frequency.
• Band 7 is a 4G standard that uses the 2600MHz frequency.
• Band 8 is a 4G standard that uses the 900MHz frequency.
• Band 28 is a 4G standard that uses the 700MHz frequency, and is good for signal indoors and long reach in rural areas.
• CAT 6 LTE is a technology capable of delivering speeds up to 301.5 Mbit/s by using multiple aerials.
• Carrier Aggregation combines separate radio bands to boost speed and capacity. One NZ launched dual-band 4G in May 2014 and followed with tri-band Carrier Aggregation in August 2014. Carrier aggregation is also used with 5G bands.
• D2C is Direct to Cell, which is Satellite to mobile technology, which enables communication right across New Zealand for certain mobile phones. One NZ is still the only company to offer a Satellite service in New Zealand.
• Dual Carrier or DC-HSPA: This technology combined two 3G channels together to provide a faster data session. This principle was then used in 4G where it is known as Carrier Aggregation.
• Fibre optic means Fibre broadband, which is used by mobile networks for what is called 'backhaul'. Called fibre optic because of the fibre strands used to carry signals using light. Fibre is used to connect 5G cell towers to the rest of a network, providing the all speed and reliability that 5G needs.
• Gigabit is a unit of digital data, and is most often used to talk about broadband speeds. Gbps means a speed capability for Broadband at 1,000Mbps (or 1Gbps), and is a theoretical maximum. See Fibre Max to learn more.
• LTE is a standard for high-speed wireless communication and it stands for Long Term Evolution. It can provide significantly higher data transfer rates than older technologies (with speeds up to 300Mbps download and 75Mbps upload) . LTE also offers reduced latency during data transfer and its capacity can be scaled up to meet future bandwidth demands.
• Megabit is a single unit of digital data. It's most often used to show speed rating for Broadband, where it is shown as Mbps, noting the lowercase "b". This can easily be confused with Megabyte, which uses the same four letters, but is shown with a capital B instead.
• Millimetre wave: This can also be shown as mmWave or mmW. Millimetre wave is a part of the radio spectrum from 30 gigahertz to 300 gigahertz, and it uses a very short wavelength. Millimetre wave will be used by 5G technology. 5G is not limited to using just mmWave; 5G can also use low band frequencies and sub-6GHz frequencies.
• No contract. No contract mobile plan is usually used to describe an "Open Term" plan, or Pay Monthly plan that doesn't have a set contract period. Our Pay Monthly plans can be purchased as Open Term plans, giving you the flexibility of a month to month bill.
• SMS: SMS stands for Short Message Service, which is most commonly called 'TXT' or a 'Text message'.
• Sure Signal: This is a device that boosts indoor 3G mobile signal. It was a great solution for its time, but is no longer available to use. Instead, One NZ supports WiFi calling to solve that 'low bars' issue.
• VoLTE: stands for Voice over Long Term Evolution. VoLTE allows voice calls to be carried across a 4G data network instead of 3G or 2G. One NZ first trialled VoLTE technology in early 2015. One NZ now supports VoLTE, and was the first NZ carrier to launch VoLTE, on June 6, 2019.
• U900: This was for 3G on the 900MHz frequency, used mostly for rural and marine areas, where there's a greater distance between cell sites. It also provided better indoor 3G coverage.
• U2100: This was used for 3G on the 2100MHz frequency. U2100 was used more commonly in urban areas, where cell sites typically had more traffic to manage.
• UFB: stands for Ultra Fast Broadband. UFB is a New Zealand government initiative to deliver fast broadband internet access, using fibre, to 75% of the population over a 10-year period. The aim is a minimum speed of 100 Mbps downloading and 50 Mbps uploading.