Commerce Commission report shows fibre, copper delivered in lockdown
May 2020Despite unprecedented demand, New Zealand’s fibre and copper broadband networks performed well during the Covid–19 lockdown.
Spectrum allocated as early access 5G auction canned
May 2020Government has directly allocated 160MHz of the 3.5GHz C-band originally set aside for this year’s early access 5G spectrum auction. The move aims ...
Microsoft tags Spark as it aims for local cloud data centre
May 2020Microsoft says it plans to build a New Zealand data centre region. It says this will be a step towards delivering “enterprise grade cloud services ...
Rural broadband funding boost fails to excite farmers, users
May 2020Government has set aside $15 million to improve rural broadband. A statement issued by Communications Minister Kris Faafoi and Infrastructure Minis...
Network build to resume as lockdown loosens
April 2020Chorus and the other fibre wholesalers are preparing to resume network building and adding connections when lockdown restrictions are eased from Tu...
Cell towers attacked as 5G conspiracy gathers momentum
April 2020Cell phone towers at Manurewa, Porirua and near Kaitaia have been damaged by attackers convinced 5G cellular technology is behind the Covid–19 epid...
Chorus moves to bridge digital divide
April 2020Chorus is offering to waive wholesale broadband charges for up to 50,000 homes that do not have network access. The move aims to help students now ...
We can serve business better
March 2020Consumer mobile telco 2degrees is pushing into the business market with fibre broadband. It’s also eyeing up the Internet of Things – Heather Wrig...
From atrocious speeds to 100Mbps heaven
March 2020Kerikeri recently got fibre broadband and one data-hungry business, Aerial Vision, has been transformed as a result. Another, 'Flashpackers' Hone H...
WAN platform play moves complexity behind the curtain
March 2020Network architectures and carrier strategies are evolving towards a platform play model. Research company IDC’s Hugh Ujhazy tells Bill Bennett the ...
Hyprefibre pioneers shift terabytes in minutes
March 2020Hyperfibre is the next generation of Ultra-Fast Broadband. It moves data much faster than the current top-line gigabit per second (1Gbps) service.
Keep it legal and still download video riches
March 2020There is a treasure-house of legal movies and television available to New Zealanders. Mauricio Frietas, tech website Geekzone’s creator, has compil...
Budding parents broadband is your new best friend
March 2020Burning 2am new parent question? Ask Dr Google. Need help timing contractions? There’s an app for that. Nick Devoy negotiates the new-baby world wi...
Your fibre line goes both ways
March 2020Much of, if not all, the attention fast broadband gets concerns users consuming data.
SamKnows wants to know more
March 2020When consumers have a greater handle on broadband performance they can make better choices. The Commerce Commission wants this data so it can check...
A look behind the Optical Network Terminal
March 2020Everyone connected to the fibre network has this white plastic box terminal. Bill Bennett unravels its mysteries and talks about the capabilities o...
Working from home: the network is ready
March 2020Investments made to prepare for last year’s Rugby World Cup mean the fibre broadband network is able to cope with the demands of people working fro...
Voice volumes surge as New Zealand enters Covid–19 lockdown
March 2020New Zealand voice networks recorded the highest call volumes in history this week. There was a peak on Tuesday following Prime Minister Jacinda Ard...
Telcos remove data caps, batten down for a storm
March 2020New Zealand’s telcos have temporarily removed data caps on broadband plans. Meanwhile they are either preparing or have started rejigging operation...
Fibre overtakes copper
March 2020The Commerce Commission’s Annual Telecommunications Monitoring Report says fibre overtook copper as New Zealand’s connection technology in the year...
Commerce Commission clarifies fibre unbundling
March 2020A draft guidance document from the Commerce Commission explains how the telecommunications regulator views fibre unbundling.
Chorus half year result points to post rollout future
February 2020Despite relatively flat revenue, earnings growth for the first half of 2020 underpinned a strong result for Chorus.
Strong mobile growth drives Spark revenue up 4 percent
February 2020Spark reported a 4 percent increase in revenue to $1.82 billion for the first half of its 2020 reporting year. It is Spark’s strongest first half r...
Commerce Commission fines Vocus subsidiaries, raps Vodafone
February 2020Three Vocus subsidiaries: CallPlus, Flip and Orcon have been fined $121,500 for sending false invoices to customers.
UK resists US pressure to ban Huawei 5G
January 2020American pressure failed to halt Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications equipment company, from taking part in the UK’s 5G network. While the move ...
Fibre uptake hits 56 percent, streaming surges
January 2020Chorus reports 56 percent of homes and businesses able to connect to the fibre network have now taken up the option. The network company added more...
Government buys time with short-term 5G spectrum auction
January 2020March will see an auction for 16 5G spectrum blocks in the 3.5GHz band. Spectrum auctions are usually for 20-year licences. In this round the licen...
Vodafone flips 5G switch in four cities
December 2019Vodafone switched on 5G operations on 100 cell towers in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown. The company says New Zealand is the 22n...
Chief science advisor calms 5G fears
December 2019A handful of anti-5G protesters picketed Spark's Auckland head office on Thursday. They claim the technology is not safe and is being rolled out wi...
Job done: Chorus completes UFB1 rollout
November 2019Chorus connected the last segment of fibre in the first stage of its UFB roll-out earlier this week. The company says it completed the network on t...
Hyperfibre cranks Chorus broadband through gigabit barrier
November 2019New Zealand is set to join the select band of countries with fibre networks running at speeds beyond a gigabit. Chorus says it aims to offer two an...
A LIGHT TOUCH: GENTLY CHANGING CHORUS’ CULTURE
November 2019After three years, Chorus CEO Kate McKenzie is stepping down. She spoke to Bill Bennett about her job shepherding Chorus through its change from ne...
MAKING DIGITAL CHANGE WORTH IT
November 2019Spark’s new digital consultancy, Leaven, is all about making companies’ move to the cloud smooth – and realising early benefits, writes Heather Wright
AT HOME ON THE EDGE
November 2019Edge cloud may be a new buzz phrase for many readers. It involves moving data stored in the cloud closer to home. This has many benefits for users....
FROM DEVELOPING GAMES IN THE GARAGE TO THE WORLD
November 2019Fast fibre is giving Kiwi developers a place in the multi-billion dollar global games industry. It's also a green export. Scott Bartley reports
THE DOWNLOAD’S GUIDE TO REAL VIRTUAL REALITY
November 2019Neither the tempting nor terrifying VR futures painted by Hollywood are likely, writes Scott Bartley. However, coming developments promise to be qu...
EARTHLIGHT SAW THE LIGHT FIRST
November 2019It’s likely Earthlight Communications was New Zealand’s first Internet Service Provider (ISP). The Dunedin-based business started with just two mod...
RUGBY WORLD CUP 2019 PROVES A DIGITAL TURNING POINT
November 2019More than sporting records were broken during the Rugby World Cup 2019. Spark Sport’s groundbreaking streaming coverage of the event meant more dat...
WORLD FIRST FOR REMOTEST BROADBAND USERS
November 2019The Rural Connectivity Group aims to see those in even the remotest corners of New Zealand enjoy a quality broadband service for work and play. Sar...
MORE FICTION THAN SCIENCE
November 2019Science fiction doesn’t do a great job of predicting the future. When it comes to telecommunications, Bill Bennett says it does worse
Fibre uptake passes 60 percent mark in 10 cities
November 2019The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's latest Quarterly Connectivity Report shows 10 cities now have fibre uptake rates of greater t...
Rugby World Cup sets streaming records
November 2019Spark Sport says it served up over six million hours of streaming video during the Rugby World Cup tournament.
Chorus mulls network investment, warns on regulation
November 2019New reports from the Chorus annual meeting in Wellington say the company is keeping a watch on mobile network developments as carriers prepare 5G r...
NZ Fibre adoption rate among world's highest
October 2019New Zealanders are twice as likely to use fibre as the rest of the world and more than four times as likely as Australians.
Sky TV takes NZ Rugby rights through to 2025
October 2019Sky TV topped off another busy week for local sport broadcast rights by securing rights to broadcast all SANZAAR matches until 2025.
Rousselot to head Chorus as focus moves from build
October 2019Chorus has appointed former Telstra and NBN Co executive JB Rousselot as CEO. He will take over from Kate McKenzie on November 20. McKenzie will st...
Southern Cross pushes play on Next cable build
October 2019With shareholder agreements and regulatory permits in place, Southern Cross says its US$300 million Next submarine cable linking New Zealand, Austr...
Rugby World Cup streaming wobbled then stabilised
September 2019Spark Sport’s Rugby World Cup streaming got off to a sound start on the tournament’s opening night with 60,000 viewers watching Japan beat Russia.
Broadband Compare: Three in four pay for streaming services
September 2019A Broadband Compare survey found 75 percent of New Zealanders who use streaming services pay for at least one of the services.
Vodafone adds 100 NZ agents in service reboot
September 2019Vodafone says it is spending $10 million on a team of New Zealand-based ‘X Squad’ customer service agents after admitting past failings in customer...
Vodafone revives MVNO scene with Australian signing
September 2019Australian mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Kogan Mobile has launched in New Zealand. The service will use the Vodafone network and has been ...
Chorus CEO Kate McKenzie to step down
August 2019Kate McKenzie says she will leave Chorus at the end of the year after three years as CEO and managing director. She says she doesn't plan to take a...
Profit up as Spark cost-cutting delivers results
August 2019Spark saw annual profit rise 12 percent in the year to June 30. Much of the gain came from the Quantum, the company’s sometimes brutal cost-cutting...
Huawei threatens to leave New Zealand
August 2019A letter written by Huawei New Zealand managing director Yanek Fan to the Government Communications Security Bureau suggests the company will pull ...
Faulty wiring sparks wireless connection recall
August 2019Spark faces a bill of more than $1 million as it asks fixed wireless home phone customers to return their power back-up hardware. The company went ...
Vodafone to offer 120 5G sites by Christmas
August 2019Vodafone says it will launch a 5G mobile network in December with as many as 120 sites ready on day one. It will be the nation’s first practical pu...
Sky TV offers 12 channels of streaming sports
July 2019Sky TV has rebooted its streaming sports service with a new Sky Sport Now app offering 12 dedicated sports channels. The new app will replace Sky’s...
Fibre now half of Chorus connections
July 2019Chorus reports that half of all its broadband connections now use fibre. The company added 43,000 fibre connections during the quarter, taking it t...
Commerce Commission greenlights Infratil Vodafone deal
July 2019The Commerce Commission has given Infratil the go ahead to acquire a 50 percent stake in Vodafone.
Government names five cyber security priorities
July 2019The Government updated its cyber security strategy singling out five areas for priority attention. In the recent budget the Government earmarked $8...
TURNING SPARK INTO A COMPANY WORTH COPYING
July 2019After seven years reshaping and re-branding Spark to thrive in a flatter, more competitive telecommunications market, managing director Simon Moutt...
THE END OF THE WI-FI BOTTLENECK
July 2019Wi-Fi 6 is set to make home – and work – use of Wi-Fi a fast, sweet experience, writes Scott Bartley. We will need it too with device numbers rocke...
A TALE OF TWO SERVICES PROVIDERS – GISBORNE.NET AND WIZWIRELESS
July 2019Two small service providers – one from the Wairarapa, the other from Gisborne – tell Johanna Egar how they are bringing broadband internet to rural...
CRAWLING THE WEB FOR THAT NEIGHBOURLY VIBE
July 2019It wasn’t the sort of story you’d expect to emerge from Brooklyn, the middle-class Wellington suburb perched high above the capital, writes Peter G...
PAPERLESS NCEA EXAMS COMING TO A SCHOOL NEAR YOU
July 2019NZQA is concerned about both sides of the digital divide as it allows more exams to be taken online, reports Sarah Putt. Lower decile schools, whos...
DO WE REALLY NEED 8K TELEVISION?
July 20198K televisions are already available, but how necessary are they, asks Hadyn Green? What benefits do such super-high resolution televisions bring?
IN WHOM WE TRUST
July 2019Customers will soon buy their internet services from ‘trusted brands’ rather than traditional telcos, reports Heather Wright. Devoli aims to be the...
IMAGINING THE FUTURE
July 2019Super-fast broadband running at speeds of 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) is coming soon. Nielsen’s Law predicted this and New Zealanders are on trac...
DIAL TONE REQUIEM
July 2019Elderly folk were not keen on fibre when it was first introduced. It turns out they didn’t like the lack of a dial tone. They complained that they ...
Vocus NZ back on the block
June 2019Last week Australian power company AGL Energy walked away from buying Vocus Group. This week The Australian newspaper reports AGL Energy could make...
Back to square one for Vocus as AGL pulls bid
June 2019Australian energy company AGL withdrew its A$3 billion takeover offer for Vocus. That makes it the second potential buy to walk away from the busin...
Stephen Gale: “Fibre plans perform the best”
June 2019Most New Zealanders can reliably stream high definition video most of the time according to the Commerce Commission’s second new style broadband mo...
EQT deal off, yet Vocus may still be in play
June 2019The Swedish private equity company EQT has withdrawn its bid for Vocus Group. The move came after Vocus opened its books to the potential buyer as ...
Commerce Commission looks set to tick Vodafone takeover
May 2019A Statement of Preliminary Issues released by the Commerce Commission suggests it is unlikely to object to the proposed acquisition of 50 percent o...
Commerce Commission paves way for fibre regulation
May 2019A paper released this week by the Commerce Commission lays out the organisation’s vision of how fibre networks will be regulated in the future. It’...
Infratil buys Vodafone for $3.4 billion
May 2019Vodafone Group has sold Vodafone New Zealand to Infratil and Brookfield Asset Management. For now the deal is conditional. Approval is needed from ...
Chorus fronts on UFB worker exploitation
April 2019An external review by MartinJenkins, a consulting firm, found shortcomings in Chorus subcontracting. Subcontractors build the company’s UFB fibre n...
Jolie Hodson to replace Simon Moutter at Spark
April 2019Spark New Zealand managing director Simon Moutter is retiring. From 30 June Jolie Hodson will lead the business. She is currently the company’s cus...
VIRTUAL INSANITY
March 2019Like most years, the 2016 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona devoted an exhibition hall to phone makers.
GETTING READY FOR 10GBPS FIBRE – WORLD’S FASTEST HOME BROADBAND
March 2019Chorus is testing a residential 10Gbps fibre service. It’s the fastest home broadband available anywhere in the world.
BEYOND THE BASEMENT GAME
March 2019Esports is big and getting bigger. Can it challenge traditional sports in New Zealand? Scott Bartley finds out what is happening in the surprising ...
UNTANGLING FIBRE UNBUNDLING
March 2019From January, service providers will be able to buy unbundled fibre, writes Bill Bennett. What does this mean? How might unbundling change the way ...
MOVE TO ONLINE TV SIGNALS BIG CHANGES IN BROADCASTING
March 2019Fibre is taking over from conventional television delivery, and Freeview is now pushing this move with a new streaming service. Sarah Putt reports
KNOWING WHICH WAY THE WIND IS BLOWING
March 2019Inspire Net’s CEO and founder, James Watts, combines a vision of where the internet is going with a robust can-do attitude. He talks about the comp...
CREATING GOOD HEADACHES
March 2019Asia-Pacific’s only regional internet service provider (ISP) MyRepublic is growing fast and creating a few benign headaches along the way as it hel...
FULL BROADBAND COVERAGE IS COMING – AND RURAL SERVICE CHOICE
March 2019Rural New Zealanders will get a choice of mobile network provider once the fibre-and-wireless broadband network covers the country. Better services...
LIVE RWC – IT’S A GAMBLE
March 2019The Rugby World Cup is coming soon, but how well will Spark deliver the iconic Big Event. Hadyn Green considers the challenges facing the telco as ...
RE:MOBILE – BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO OLD PHONES
March 2019Banishing plastics is just the beginning with recycling, writes Holly Cushen. Mobile phones are valuable and ripe for proper recycling. This is fin...
Vocus, Vodafone oppose Chorus fibre unbundle fee proposal
March 2019Vocus and Vodafone, the two telcos partnering to unbundle UFB fibre, were quick to register opposition to Chorus’ unbundled fibre pricing.
Telcos pressure Facebook, Google, Twitter over content
March 2019Spark, Vodafone and 2degrees want Facebook, Twitter and Google to take more responsibility for content posted on their sites. The leaders of New Ze...
Spark Sport kicks off as beta
March 2019Spark's streaming sport service started operation on Thursday, just in time for this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.
Chorus network connections hit 100Mbps average
March 2019Chorus says the average connection speed across its network has now passed 100Mbps. This is ten times the average connection speed eight years ago.
Faafoi names early 2020 for 5G spectrum auction
March 2019Communications Minister Kris Faafoi says the government aims to auction the first 5G mobile spectrum in early 2020.
Spark Sport kicks off at $20 a month
February 2019Spark revealed the company's Spark Sport service will launch early next month. Customers signing for the service will get a one month free trial. A...
Chorus tests gigabit wireless street-to-home link
February 2019Chorus is testing Nokia's WPON. It's a wireless technology that connects the fibre network in a street to a home or business when a direct physical...
Vocus, Vodafone demonstrate unbundled fibre, talk innovation
February 2019On Thursday Vocus and Vodafone used a virtual reality set-up in a Parnell home to demonstrate what an unbundled fibre connection might look like. T...
Mid-March start for Chorus 10Gbps trial
February 2019Next month a group of New Zealanders will test the world's fastest fibre broadband experience. From mid-March, 30 volunteers will get early access ...
Online safeguards scarce despite widespread security fears
February 2019InternetNZ research shows 94 percent of New Zealanders are concerned about the security of their personal data. Yet despite the high level of fear,...
Huawei hunts for 5G workaround
January 2019An offer to pay for a cybersecurity evaluation centre controlled by the GCSB is Huawei's latest proposal as it seeks to win its way back into the l...
Freeview to offer TV streaming device
December 2018Freeview has launched a low-cost streaming device that gives consumers television content without the need for a UHF aerial or satellite dish. The ...
Chorus calls for network integrity in fibre unbundling plan
December 2018Chorus has published a document showing how it will approach fibre unbundling.
GCSB blocks Huawei from 5G networks
November 2018New Zealand is the latest western country to exclude Huawei from supplying key hardware for strategic telecommunications networks. It follows simil...
Dense Air buys spectrum plans wholesale cellular network
November 2018London-based Dense Air has purchased spectrum from Blue Reach and Cayman Wireless.
Chorus fibre connections hit half million
November 2018Chorus says it now has 500,000 Ultra-Fast Broadband connections on its network. The wholesale network company also announced plans to cut wholesale...
Hockey latest signing for Spark Sport as streaming partner named
November 2018Hockey has joined the Rugby World Cup, English Premier League Football and Formula One racing at Spark Sport. The telco has picked up all rights fo...
Government mulls Huawei 5G ban
November 2018Communications Minister Kris Faafoi says he has “not ruled out” banning Huawei from building 5G networks.
The consolidation that wasn't
November 2018New Zealand reset the telco sector's regulatory foundations with the 2011 Telecommunications Amendment Bill. The move saw Telecom NZ become Spark a...
CREATING ‘BEAUTIFUL INTERFACES’ USING AUTOMATION
November 2018Enabling virtual internet providers is fast becoming Devoli’s core business. Sarah Putt checks out the company working with new fixed-line market n...
A HEALTHY OUTCOME OR NOT?
November 2018Health was one of three priority areas selected for the initial roll-out of Ultra-Fast Broadband and the Rural Broadband Initiative. So, has connec...
FOLLOWING THE 5G MONEY TRAIL
November 2018Everyone wants 5G mobile technology, says IDC associate vice-president Hugh Ujhazy. It means you’ll be able to watch 4K videos while on the move. Y...
DO WE REALLY NEED POTS WHEN WE’RE NOT EVEN COOKING?
November 2018Holly Cushen is a senior communications advisor for Chorus. She has worked in telecommunications for 10 years and thinks the industry loves its acr...
Playing your own game
November 2018Winning new business is important to new Vodafone CEO Jason Paris, but it’s not his only focus. He talks to Bill Bennett about Vodafone giving Kiwi...
Rainbow Art
November 2018Since 2010 Chorus has run an art programme using its cabinets as canvases to discourage graffiti and brighten up the environment. These otherwise d...
VOIP – ACCESSORIES
November 2018The landline isn’t quite dead yet, although it may be heading for the intensive care unit. Yet many homes and certainly most businesses still have ...
VOIP – WHAT IS IT?
November 2018Voice over IP is becoming the standard for how all voice calls are delivered, including landline calls. However, VoIP is still not well understood....
UFB price cap reset as government tables Telecommunications Bill changes
October 2018Telcos will pay $46 for a wholesale 100/20 fibre connection from next July. The new regulated price for a UFB anchor service was confirmed this wee...
Media firms may hook up with ISPs - Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi
October 2018At Stuff Tom Pullar-Strecker reports on an interview with newly-appointed Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi who says more media firms could team wi...
Fibre passes copper in Chorus’ record September quarter
October 2018Chorus installed 50,000 new fibre connections in the September quarter. That is a new record for the number of connections in a quarter. During the...
Hughes says InternetNZ could handle CTO role
October 2018Green technology spokesman Gareth Hughes told New Zealand Herald reporter Chris Keall InternetNZ could handle the national CTO role. The position i...
Spark doubles down on IoT networks
September 2018Spark has switched on its second Internet of Things network. The new network uses LTE Cat-M1 technology, effectively a form of 4G mobile, to provid...
UFB uptake hits 44 percent as stage one build nears completion
September 2018Ultra-Fast Broadband uptake is now 44 percent across the nation. In Waiuku, Tauranga, Nelson, Hamilton, Dunedin, Whangarei and Blenheim uptake is n...
Domain Name Commission wins DomainTools injunction
September 2018New Zealand’s Domain Name Commission has won a preliminary injunction against a US company that scrapes registration data potentially breaching the...
Chorus fibre connections peak as Rugby World Cup looms
September 2018Chorus says it made a record number of fibre connections in August. During the month more than 16,700 new connections were installed. The company p...
Chorus reports steady ebitda, growth from 2020
August 2018Chorus reported a net after tax profit of $85 million for the 2018 financial year. That’s down 24 percent on last year’s $113 million. The company ...
Quantum effect hurts Spark profit
August 2018Spark’s efforts to cut staff cost may help the company’s long-term profitability, but investors face short-term pain. On Wednesday the company post...
Spark kicks off sports division with Premier League Football rights win
August 2018Spark has won the rights to the English Premier League. It will have New Zealand exclusive rights to the football competition from the start of the...
Spark confirms 2020 start date for 5G
August 2018Spark says it is on track to begin rolling out a 5G mobile network in 2020. Services will go live during that year. This confirms the date the comp...
New Zealand’s 4K TV era begins as Kordia demos on Freeview
August 2018Kordia has begun broadcasting demonstration 4K Ultra High Definition TV on its own Freeview channel. The first official broadcast was on Wednesday ...
Vodafone offers fixed wireless as fibre interim
July 2018Vodafone is offering a fixed wireless broadband service to customers waiting for a fibre connection. Customers signing for the Ultimate Home Fibre ...
Net traffic spikes as Fortnite update lands
July 2018A software update to Fortnite, a popular computer fighting game, saw traffic on the Chorus network jump 20 percent overnight. The traffic spiked la...
Regulator wants to keep mobile roaming powers as new carrier looms
July 2018The Commerce Commission wants to continue regulating mobile roaming. It said so in a paper written for the regular five yearly review of the Commis...
Commerce Commission reveals broadband speed test plan
July 2018A new paper from the Commerce Commission explains the thinking behind its broadband performance testing programme. It talks about the move to SamKn...
4K TV
July 2018Images emblazoned on blades of grass and much more – a revolution in television is coming, writes Haydn Green
Online harm now affects 10 percent of all Kiwis
June 2018Facebook messages at centre of Christchurch teen’s death, Napier’s mayor abused – these represent just a couple of the many thousands of ‘toxic’ on...
ONLY CONNECT – BEYOND MOVIES AND GAMING
June 2018Have you streamed the entire Netflix back catalogue or shot every Xbox Live baddie in sight? Are you wondering what else your fast broadband connec...
Colouring the city with grumpy cats, Piggy Stardust, moas and more
June 2018Since Chorus established its art programme, artists throughout the country have been painting its telecommunications cabinets in a bid to prevent v...
RUGBY RIGHTS BATTLE FIRST SKIRMISH IN LOOMING FIBRE BROADCAST STRUGGLE
June 2018Sky won’t be too rattled about losing the Rugby World Cup (RWC) rights to Spark and TVNZ.
When you want a faster car and you get a Ferrari
June 2018Napier ISP Now, is providing telco-style network services – based on SDN (software defined network) technology – to Hawkes Bay’s five councils, wri...
SMART SPEAKERS – SO MUCH MORE THAN GOOD SOUND
June 2018They can be the heart of your budding smart home and your willing digital assistant, writes Scott Bartley. However, there is a sting in the tail wi...
SPARK TALKS RUGBY WORLD CUP 2019
June 2018Along with TVNZ, Spark has won the rights to broadcast next year’s Rugby World Cup. The showcase series of games could be a catalyst for change in ...
A little strategic thought goes a long way
June 2018Smaller ISPs struggle nowadays if they stick with offering a vanilla service. To succeed they need to add value. Two local ISPs show how they did j...
Trustpower
June 2018New Zealand’s next largest broadband service provider after Spark, Vodafone and Vocus is not a traditional telco. Bay of Plenty-based Trustpower st...
Curran: Rugby World Cup will test networks
June 2018Speaking at the Tuanz Rural Connectivity Symposium, Communications Minister Clare Curran said next year’s Rugby World Cup will test the nation’s ne...
Dunedin fibre build finishes nearly two years early
June 2018Chorus says it has completed Dunedin’s fibre network nearly two years ahead of schedule. It has also completed the first phase of the Ultra-Fast Br...
Paris to Vodafone as Stanners steps down
June 2018Russell Stanners will step down as Vodafone CEO at the end of October. He will replaced by Jason Paris who, until late last year, headed Spark New ...
Vocus, Vodafone promise fibre unbundling
June 2018Vocus Group and Vodafone say they will form a joint venture to unbundle UFB fibre services. There were few specifics, but at a press conference CEO...
2degrees sees profit lift 33 percent
June 20182degrees followed its 2016 maiden profit with a 33 percent lift in the year ended December 31. The telco saw revenue grow faster than costs. Net pr...
Chorus tests Nokia optical wholesale QoS
May 2018Chorus has begun testing Nokia’s optical wavelength service assurance and commissioning technology for layer 1 networks. The technology means Choru...
Broadband bundles bolster Trustpower result
May 2018Trustpower’s latest financial result shows the company’s mix of electricity, gas, broadband and consumer electronics pays off.
Brickbats, Bouquets for Telecommunications Amendment Bill
May 2018After 257 written submissions and 31 personal submitters the parliamentary select committee overseeing the Telecommunications Amendments Bill relea...
Commerce Commission seeks telco regulation fund help
May 2018The Commerce Commission has asked the telecommunications industry how to fund the $12 million it estimates it will cost to fund new fibre regulatio...
Vocus to keep NZ business
April 2018Melbourne-based telco Vocus failed to find a buyer willing to pay the asking price for its New Zealand business. Unofficially the company was said ...
Commerce Commission charges Vodafone over FibreX misleading
April 2018Vodafone’s decision to rebrand its hybrid fibre-coaxial network as FibreX has landed it with 27 charges under the Fair Trading Act. The move follow...
Spark to stream Rugby World Cup
April 2018Spark and TVNZ have won the rights to broadcast the 2019 Rugby World Cup. While some games will be shown on free-to-air old school television, fans...
Mobile in the frame as CommComm issues snapshot report
April 2018This week saw the Commerce Commission release its market development snapshot report. It's a compact, state-of-the-industry report. It looks back a...
Vodafone listing on back burner
April 2018Writing at Business Day, Tom Pullar-Strecker reports that Vodafone chief executive Russell Stanners has “dialled-back” expectations the company mig...
The art of the ISP roll-up
April 2018The CEO of Voyager is taking the company on a second journey as it consolidates and takes advantage of industry changes. Rob O’Neill reports on how...
Amazon threat inspires retailers to lift game
April 2018Online grocery shopping, an Airbnb tyre service and trolleys that use artificial intelligence – Amazon is having an effect on local retailers, writ...
Broadband Compare
April 2018For many consumers the prospect of a broadband connection raises seemingly unanswerable questions.
Closing Taranaki digital divide PrimoWireless mixes fibre and wireless
April 2018Fibre is making Taranaki’s rural wireless internet service run much better. It can reach deeper into rural areas it couldn’t get to before.
Fibre and wireless – driving the future together
April 2018Fibre and wireless are often seen as rival technologies, but they are proving complementary. May Taylor reports that while 5G will likely be the un...
Beyond the utility
April 2018When all the UFB fibre has been laid, Chorus’ CEO aims to use it to leverage Internet of Things apps and artificial intelligence, as well as run Ne...
The best way to network your home
April 2018There are some simple things you can do, and, while some of the more complicated suggestions may sound a bit techie, they’re not that hard, writes ...
Networking in the cloud – coming to you sometime soon
April 2018Software Defined Networks are being described as cloud computing for networks. The promise is SDN will shake up the telecoms world and usher in new...
Why don’t you have fibre yet?
April 2018I have gigabit fibre at home. It’s brilliant. I can download content at incredible speeds. We can watch 4k Netflix while fiddling on our phones. Th...
Sensing water
April 2018Tussock Innovation’s IoT technology promises to keep our water clean and us dry. Heather Wright describes how Waterwatch could mean the end of dirt...
The Secret of the Red Box
April 2018All the streaming services, from Netflix to Google to Facebook, come out of red server boxes. Hadyn Green describes how streaming works – and where...
Commerce Commission intensifies mobile investigation
March 2018This week the Commerce Commission widened the scope of its mobile market investigation. It will now include 5G, looking at deployment and spectrum ...
First NZ 5G trial networks emerge
March 2018On Monday Spark held a public demonstration of 5G mobile technology outside Parliament in Wellington. Vodafone plans an Auckland demonstration even...
Spark shuffles leadership
March 2018Spark announced it is shuffling its leadership ranks in a release to the financial markets. The company says the move is part of a broader business...
IDC: Telecom sector profitless growth, but optimism
March 2018In its state of New Zealand broadband report, IDC says the market is growing but profit is hard to find. IDC questions the sector’s sustainability ...
Chorus first half profit falls in line with expectations
March 2018While Chorus saw a year-on-year fall in earnings and revenue for the half year to December 31, the company is tracking close to the top of its guid...
Spark warns on forecast, Vocus winning broadband share
February 2018Spark saw net earnings fall 3.4 in the six months to December 31and indicated it may miss its full year forecast, despite a revenue increase of 1.6...
CTO search continues
February 2018None of the more than 60 people who applied to become New Zealand’s first chief technology officer managed to convince the appointment panel.
Telecomms prices drop six percent 2017
February 2018Consumer Price Index data from Statistics New Zealand shows the real cost of telecommunications services dropped 6.3 percent in 2017.
Black mark for Vodafone and Spark in Consumer survey
February 2018Consumer says when it comes to customer satisfaction Vodafone rates bottom in both mobile and broadband.
Slingshot cuts unlimited gigabit plan price
January 2018Slingshot has dropped the price of its fastest unlimited data fibre broadband plan to a shade under $100. The Gigantic fibre plan is $99.95 a month...
Chorus network hits 1.33 Terabits per second
January 2018Chorus’ network hit its 2017 peak at 9.25pm on December 10. The broadband network was delivering 1.328 Terabits per second.
Spark switching on IoT network this month
December 2017Spark says its LoRaWan network will be operating in four centres by Christmas. The network goes live first in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch an...
Story of a growing family
December 20175G is a whole family of technologies that promises to support everything from remote surgery to virtual reality, to smart cars, factories and more....
Testing for speed the home-grown way
December 2017Internet speed testing is a controversial business. TrueNet tells Heather Wright how it uses home-grown software and tight-lipped probes to ensure ...
What comes after Netflix?
December 2017Netflix changed people’s broadband use quickly, but not everyone is a fan. Elly Strang looks at Chorus’ research into our broadband habits and turn...
The Big Snatch: Television up for grabs
December 2017The game is on as broadcasters and tech rivals battle for content and eyeballs, writes Scott Bartley. And, while snatching rugby rights gives playe...
Collaboration lessons and curious
December 2017Getting telecommunications restored after the Kaikoura earthquake called for a big co-operative effort between the telcos. Heather Wright tells how...
"We invented competition in New Zealand"
December 2017Seven years ago, 2degrees launched. It started as a mobile-only carrier. There were cellular towers in just four centres, but even then the company...
Free riders and the threat to net neutrality
December 2017Net neutrality has been controversial for years in the US. It is rarely out of the news there. Until now it hasn’t been an issue in New Zealand. Ye...
Internet of dull and dirty things
December 2017The experts promise a shiny new world. The reality, however, is less glamorous but more useful than you might think, writes Bill Bennett
Sky TV picks web blocking fight with service providers
December 2017Sky TV has launched legal action in a bid to force internet service providers to block access to certain streaming and video download websites. As ...
Spark, TVNZ to bid for Rugby World Cup rights
November 2017Writing at Fairfax's BusinessDay site, Tom Pullar-Strecker reports on a joint Spark-TVNZ bid for the broadcasting rights for the next Rugby World C...
Orcon to shift call centre home from Manila
November 2017Orcon says it will close its Manila call centre and open a new one at the company's office on Auckland's North Shore. The company says the new call...
Vodafone fast-tracks PSTN to VoIP move
November 2017Vodafone says it will start moving PSTN customers to a voice over IP service later this month.
Chorus upgrades, extends school broadband
November 2017Chorus is working on a pilot programme with Network for Learning that extends a school’s internet service into student’s homes. The pair are also u...
Chorus CEO says active presence delivering results
November 2017Computerworld New Zealand reports that Chorus says it has become an 'active wholesaler' to stem the loss of customers to rival networks.
Vocus NZ business for sale
October 2017Vocus plans to sell its New Zealand business by June 2018. The local operation includes broadband, fixed-line, mobile and energy. The brands includ...
Vodafone TV gets fibre-only reboot
October 2017Vodafone has rebooted its online TV service. The new version uses a puck-sized box packaged with a remote control to connect customers to the cloud...
Commerce Commission green lights mobile market study
October 2017The Commerce Commission has given a green light to the mobile market study.
Vodafone’s global brand make-over
October 2017Vodafone has a new speech-mark logo and a new slogan. The bright red colour stays, although there will be less of it. From today the white on red w...
Nokia phones return at Spark
October 2017Nokia phones are back. Spark has exclusive New Zealand rights to a range of new Nokia-branded mobile phones made under licence by HMD Global.
Hawaiki submarine cable ready to roll
September 2017Hawaiki says it is on track to begin laying its submarine cable in October. The cable will link New Zealand and Australia with the US mainland via ...
Spark says new EPC node helps it meet mobile data demand
September 2017Spark New Zealand has added a third Evolved Packet Core node to its mobile network. It says this will enable more capacity and greater resilience.
2degrees to close 2G network
September 20172degrees says it will close its 2G mobile network in March 2018.
Vodafone Change Accelerator
September 2017The Vodafone Foundation has picked five organisations to take part in its Change Accelerator programme. The programme aims to help excluded and dis...
Vodafone email shutdown angst
September 2017Last Friday Vodafone said it would close its email service. The service is still used by more than 200,000 customers.
Vodafone world first 400Gbps fibre upgrade
September 2017Vodafone says its new 400Gbps per wavelength optical system is a world first. The company worked with CIena to build the system to carry live traff...
Telcos named, shamed in ComCom consumer report
September 2017There was slap on the wrist for Vodafone and Spark in The Commerce Commission's annual consumer issues report. For the second year in a row the tel...
2degrees, Spark play mobile data leapfrog
September 20172degrees sweetened its mobile data plans for a second time in a fortnight after Spark responded to its earlier move. On Monday, 2degrees announced ...
Fast broadband for everyone as RBI, UFB get cash injection
September 2017There was a surprise bonus when Prime Minister Bill English joined Communications Minister Simon Bridges to announce the RBI2 contracts on Wednesda...
Spark’s Paris warns small business not online as Amazon looms
September 2017Jason Paris, who heads Spark's Home, Mobile and Business division says New Zealand small businesses are not adapting fast enough to the online world.
Chorus annual profit climbs 24%
September 2017Chorus reported an annual profit up 24 percent on the year earlier. Net profit climbed to $113 million up from $91 million in 2016. Revenue grew th...
New Zealanders top for buying online services
August 2017Analyst firm IDC says New Zealanders are now among the world’s keenest buyers of paid online services. Some 22 percent of consumers here say servic...
Faster UFB connections as consent rules change
August 2017Utilities Disputes Limited will manage disputes when people living in shared driveways or apartment buildings want access to new networks like the ...
Thousands of rural New Zealanders to get VDSL after Chorus upgrade
August 2017Chorus spent $7 million upgrading 125 rural cabinets to VDSL technology. The company says this could mean improved broadband for 10,000 rural custo...
Commerce Commission warns telcos
August 2017This week the Commerce Commission delivered on last month’s promise to deal with dubious practices in the telecommunications sector. It sent warnin...
Southern Cross Next cable takes the fast route to the USA
August 2017Southern Cross says its recent seabed survey found a faster route for its Next cable project which will connect Auckland and Sydney to Los Angeles.
Telecommunications Act gets an update
August 2017Earlier this week Communications Minister Simon Bridges introduced The Telecommunications Amendment Bill to Parliament. The bill sets out to update...
Chorus backhaul starts with 2degrees
August 20172degrees has signed a multi-year backhaul contract with Chorus. The deal replaces a mix of services from providers including Spark and Vocus.
Mobile market to face Commerce Commission probe next year
August 2017Communications Minister Simon Bridges wants the Commerce Commission to investigate the mobile market.
Crown Fibre Holdings now government infrastructure vehicle
July 2017The Crown Fibre Holdings model used to build New Zealand's fibre network is being extended to give councils a way to build other essential infrastr...
New Zealanders naïve on wi-fi safety: Symantec
July 2017Two-out-of-three New Zealanders think their personal data is safe when they use public wi-fi hotspots. Roughly the same number use hotspots regardl...
Fibre build good for rural health professionals
July 2017Health is one area where rural broadband can change lives, even save lives. Broadband gives health professionals and patients fast access to resour...
Internet of Competitive Things
July 2017You can’t move in this country this week without someone talking about the Internet of Things. Last Thursday Communications Minister Simon Bridges ...
Vodafone adds ten to accelerator programme
July 2017Ten new start-ups have joined Vodafone's xone accelerator programme. Xone is a six-month accelerator programme that runs out of Vodafone's South Is...
Sky, Vodafone no longer an item, just good friends
June 2017Sky and Vodafone have formally abandoned plans to merge. The two issued a terse statement making this clear to the New Zealand Stock Exchange on M...
TVNZ to livestream all programmes
June 2017Television New Zealand has bowed to the inevitable. From Monday, the state-owned broadcaster will livestream channels 1 and 2.
Spark gives Queenstown nations' fastest mobile network
June 2017Spark fired up five cellular towers to give Queenstown the fastest mobile data speeds in the country. The company says users have managed 400Mbps d...
Telcos not banking broadband price cuts
June 2017The Commerce Commission says almost all the recent cut in the regulated wholesale broadband price ended up in customers' pockets.
Fibre build on home stretch
June 2017Communications Minister Simon Bridges says the first phase of the government's Ultra-Fast Broadband programme is three-quarters complete. The proje...
Early finish for Enable fibre build
June 2017Enable Networks says it expects to finish its fibre build by the end of next year. That's a year ahead of schedule.
New Zealand climbs Akamai broadband speed table as fibre uptake soars
June 2017Akamai’s latest State of the Internet report clocks New Zealand’s average connection speed at 14.7Mbps. That’s up from 12.9Mbps in the previous qua...
Vocus bid means Orcon could have six owners in four years
June 2017On Tuesday Vocus told the ASX it had a $2.1 billion bid from US private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. According to the Australian F...
Rocket Lab: We have lift-off
June 2017Communications Minister Simon Bridges says a successful test launch from the Rocket Lab site on the Mahia Peninsula could signal the start of a New...
Licenced to surf
June 2017School students can learn the skills needed to stay safe online by taking the Digital Licence interactive online quiz.
Telecommunications Act updated for fibre era
June 2017Communications Minister Simon Bridges has announced the government's reforms to the Telecommunications Act. As expected the changes are in line wit...
Are everday PCs up to gigabit fibre
May 2017It’s powerful, which means your PC and associated equipment might not be up to the job
Beginner's guide to UFB2
May 2017On January 26, the government said 150 more areas will get Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB)
Driverless Cars
May 2017Nationwide UFB, a data centre network and 5G driverless cars are a billion-dollar investment
Back to the edge
May 2017In the opening years of this century an online bookseller realised it could make money selling its internally developed virtual server technology t...
Call for truth in broadband advertising
May 2017James Young-Drew, a solicitor with Wigley and Company, says broadband speed transparency is an important legal compliance issue
Is the 5G dream just a fanciful hope?
May 2017Wireless carriers and vendors say 5G can oust fibre broadband. Internet consultant Benoît Felten disagrees
Look after your Wi-Fi
May 2017You use it much more than you think – and your router is the workhorse it rides on. Yours may need putting out to grass
The battle for value
May 2017Consumers are enjoying the best telco services ever for the lowest prices.
Virtual Reality for everyone
May 2017The long talked about technology could be on the horizon if the stars align. They are nudging closer
'What's not to like?'
May 2017Network for Learning, the free, uncapped, fast schools’ internet service, overdelivers.
Vocus fibre users downloading 430GB a month, one terabyte looms
May 2017Vocus fibre broadband customers with unlimited data plans download an average of 430GB a month. The average for all fibre customers is 425GB.
2degrees profitable as sales climb
May 2017After seven years in business 2degrees is in the black. The company reports a profit of $13.4 million for the 2016 financial year which ended in De...
Commerce Commission: Broadband, mobile consumers getting better value
May 2017Consumers now get better value for money from telecommunications services. That's the headline message in the latest Commerce Commission annual tel...
Everyone gets fast broadband by 2025
May 2017Communications minister Simon Bridges says by 2025 99 percent of New Zealanders will be able to download at 50 megabits per second
Ministry for the Future
May 2017Local technology organisations want a Ministry for the Future after this year's election.
Future proof with Batman-style routers
December 2016Here’s the nitty-gritty your grumpy-customer-with-the-slow-router needs to know. Haydn Green describes what the newest routers can do – and what st...
Let the games begin – big time
December 2016Fast broadband is creating a giant new internet arena for online games and superstar gamers. The best show off their fast-twitch skills to million...
No muppets
December 2016Vocus is our third-biggest telco. It’s little known but it has a big game-plan that sounds eerily like the All Blacks’ game-winning strategy – and ...
Get Ready For 5g Mobile
December 2016A new generation of cellular technology is on the way. Wireless companies and carriers hope to have the first 5G networks operating by 2020. What c...
Keeping the sharks at bay
December 2016New Zealand may soon have four submarine cable options, ensuring a robust connection to the world even if a fascinated shark should nibble through ...
Digital leaders
December 2016Education has always been an important part of Tuanz’s mission. When it was first set up, in the 1980s, the goal was to help people in companies us...
Bye-bye to War of the Remotes
December 2016Chorus nethead Kurt Rodgers is an avid rugby, soccer and cricket fan – with three non-sport-watching youngsters at home. He tells Nikki Mandow how ...
What Australia does better
December 2016Behind the headline politics, Australia’s National Broadband Network is being rolled out to nearly all Australians – wherever they live. It draws o...
Poets and mothers – Chorus’ cabinets celebrate people and art
December 2016Chorus started a nationwide art project in 2010 that’s seen around 120 street telecommunications cabinets transformed every year since.
Oh, the places you’ll go
December 2016When was the last time you surfed the web? How long since you told someone you planned to travel the information superhighway? What about visiting ...
Would you like electricity with that?
December 2016Tucked into an unexpectedly leafy part of the Auckland suburb of Albany, Megatel’s offices are those of a standard small ISP, with a bit of trendy ...
New Zealand’s need for speed
August 2016Rosalie Nelson, head of insights at Chorus, says we are on the cusp of a paradigm shift in how we use the internet in New Zealand. And the exponent...
The connection challenge
August 2016Higher than expected demand, complex installs and plenty of cooks in the kitchen have created some well-publicised issues for consumers wanting fib...
The man keeping the ISPs honest
August 2016New Zealand ISPs have been criticised in the past for low speeds and lack of consistency, but TrueNet's John Butt says it's mostly good news these ...
Smart agriculture is changing the business of farming
August 2016How smartphones, cloud-based software, drones and Ultra-Fast Broadband are creating a productivity gap between the technology haves and have-nots o...
The fourth industrial revolution: agriculture
August 2016Every year, KPMG’s Agribusiness Agenda takes a look at the primary sector – what agribusiness leaders are concerned about, and what they need to be...
The speed demon
August 2016Amy Adams has been the Minister for Communications since 2011, a year after the UFB rollout started. Living on a farm in Canterbury, she knows the ...
The faces of modern farming
August 2016Canterbury high country farmers Dan and Mandy Shand high speed broadband to run three export-focussed businesses, a sheep and beef farm – and two c...
Taking rescue helicopters into the cloud
August 2016As more and more critical health and technical information is accessed via the internet, HeliOtago decided it needed a radical broadband transforma...
Virtual clinics save patients’ time
August 2016Could 2016 be the year when telehealth finally comes of age in New Zealand?
Keeping Kiwi kids well in the cloud
August 2016Most people’s mental image of a rural Plunket nurse has a weighing scales and a Plunket book in it. But it probably doesn’t have a tablet and a sma...
Online education: bringing big city choice to rural schools
August 2016Imagine you are a year 13 student in a rural area, say Tapanui (between Dunedin and Invercargill) or Kaitaia in the Far North. You want to study ac...
Face the fear or face the consequences
August 2016Connectivity is changing the world of business and no sector is immune to ‘the great disruption’. So, says Frances Valintine, founder of Tech Futur...
The pipes, the pipes are calling
August 2016As the old phrase goes, if you can’t beat ’em, sell ’em high-speed internet access. And that’s what Fairfax Media has decided to do, announcing the...
Let’s give ourselves a pat on the back
August 2016New Zealand is doing well internationally when it comes to uptake of fast internet. Now we need to ensure we make the most of the economic potentia...
Fast connections don’t mean fast computers says international expert
May 2016Brussels-based expert in high-speed fibre broadband Stefaan Vanhastel tells Nikki Mandow what’s holding us back from getting the speed we want.
Is virtual reality set to become the new video on demand?
May 2016After 20 years building broadband networks, Kurt Rodgers works in the sweet spot where fibre broadband demand meets supply. Think of it as having a...
The competition for content is heating up
May 2016Kym Niblock believes there is room in the New Zealand market for several streaming video-on-demand services – and she wants Lightbox to be one of t...
Watch and learn: How broadband is changing the classroom
May 2016Students in Becka Nathan's classroom are watching rap, making Dubsmash videos and retelling the three little pigs story, with the wolf as a cyber b...
The world wide web of patients and doctors
May 2016Dr Ben Wheeler is running remote diabetes clinics for rural Otago families, saving them the long trip to Dunedin.
In the business of video
May 2016Mike Jenkins is using video (or video in video) for product launches and client updates, so he and his staff don’t have to spend so much time on th...
UFB steps up security in retail
May 2016Pharmacist Nai Yeat is using high definition security footage to keep him and his staff safe – and protect his stock.
The virtual reality content creator
May 2016Danu Abeysuriya's company Rush Digital is working on a bunch of crazy (and not so crazy) virtual reality projects for a range of clients in New Zea...
Catching up with the rest of the world at high speed
May 2016Last year, the far north settlement of Mitimiti was put “on the grid”, and Auckland-based IT consultant Robyn Kamira (Te Rarawa) talks about it’s r...
What Dunedin is doing with all that speed
May 2016In 2014, Dunedin won the Gigatown competition and now City Council CEO Sue Bidrose shares how it’s transformed the city.
The fusion of books and video
May 2016For Rhonda Kite, founder of interactive book publisher Kiwa Digital, video is a marketing tool, a learning feature, and a way to add sign language ...
Video, a key ingredient for baking and exporting
May 2016Video is an important part of a major factory innovation process for Florentines Patisserie, says managing director Greg Knight.