Vodafone and Compass have signed a wholesaling deal that will allow Compass to start offering mobile phones services to New Zealanders, using Vodafone's network.

Compass is now New Zealands' newest mobile phone company, and will begin signing up customers in October.

"We're delighted to announce a partnership with Compass, as it means more business for us and more choice for Kiwis," says Vodafone CEO Russell Stanners.

"This is a great way for us to make the most of the investment we have made in our new 3G network. This network brought with it enormous additional capacity, and reselling this capacity through Compass and others is great for Vodafone, for our resellers and for New Zealanders who want more choice," says Russell Stanners.

"Vodafone offers us access to the best network in New Zealand, which will allow our customers to do things they can’t on other networks," says Compass CEO Karim Hussona.

"That includes being able to do video calling and roaming easily to more than 170 countries without having to use a special phone or phone number. We can also access the widest choice of phones, because most countries in the world use GSM, so most phones are built for this network.

"In conjunction with Wired Country, New Zealand’s leading fixed-wireless broadband network, we'll now be able to offer businesses a seamless wireless voice and broadband network."