Bill Bennett

Download Weekly – Spark 5G footprint will hit 90 per cent next year

Spark 5G footprint will hit 90 per cent next year Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting last Friday, CEO Jolie Hodson told investors Spark’s 5G network is on track to cover 90 per cent of New Zealand’s population by the end of 2023. This beats the goal set out earlier this year when Spark announced it was investing an additional $35 million to accelerate its 5G rollout. The extra money…

The Download Weekly – 2degrees tips toe in power market

2degrees tips toe in power market, full launch next year 2degrees has begun selling power and broadband bundles to new customers signing up for internet services. The company says it will launch a full entry into the electricity retail market next year. While power is new to the 2degrees brand, it is not new to the wider company. Vocus offered power to broadband customers before the company…

Download Weekly – MBNZ reports faster fixed wireless, fibre max

MBNZ spring report clocks faster fixed wireless, fibre max The latest Measuring Broadband New Zealand (MBNZ) report published by the Commerce Commission show improved download speeds for fixed wireless and fibre max customers. In its Spring Report, the Commerce Commission says the average fixed wireless download speed is up 16 per cent on numbers recorded for the Winter Report. The average speed…

Download Weekly – Telecom complaints surge

Telecom complaints back to pre-pandemic levels Telecommunications Dispute Resolution service enquiries surged in the first half of 2022. The enquiries were a third (33 per cent) higher than in the previous six months and 34 per cent higher than the same period a year earlier. The TDR says enquiry volumes are now back to pre-pandemic levels. Billing continues to generate more heat than any other…

Download Weekly – Vodafone rebrands, Optus reputation hit

Vodafone to rebrand early next year. Vodafone to rebrand as One New Zealand early next year Vodafone will become One New Zealand early in 2023. The change comes with a new green hoop logo to replace the red inverted comma. It means the end of the Vodafone brand in New Zealand after a 25 year run. The rebrand is the local company’s latest step away from its UK-based former parent company. In 2019…

Download Weekly – New Zealand broadband Oceania’s fastest

Sky expects its delayed set-top box to start reaching customers by Christmas. New Zealand broadband Oceania’s fastest A broadband speed survey conducted by cable.co.uk places New Zealand at 21 out of 220 countries with an average broadband download speed of 94.5 Mbps. It takes seven minutes and 14 seconds to download a 5GB movie. Cable says New Zealand offers the fastest speeds in the Oceania…

Download Weekly – Samsung expands Auckland Spark 5G footprint

Samsung expands Auckland Spark 5G footprint Samsung installed its radio equipment at 20 suburban sites to boost Spark’s 5G coverage in parts of Auckland. The sites also have upgraded 4G capacity. After sticking with one technology partner, Huawei, for its 4G network build, Spark has moved to using multiple equipment suppliers. Samsung is mainly supplying equipment for urban Auckland and…

Download Weekly – Spark turns in solid result

Strong financial results from Spark and Chorus mark a solid reporting season for New Zealand’s listed telcos. Net profit up 7.6 percent as Spark turns in solid result Spark reported a solid revenue increase of 3.5 percent to $3,729 million for the 2022 financial year. Net profit did even better climbing 7.6 percent to $410 million. The company’s mobile business led the way with revenue growing…

The Download Weekly – Fibre uptake at 70 percent, Auckland 5G lags region

Maritime New Zealand has begun upgrading the search and rescue satellite Earth station. The Earth station, which is located halfway between Rotorua and Taupō is the first step for dealing with distress beacon signals anywhere in the 30 million square kilometres making up New Zealand’s search and rescue area. UFB uptake hits 70 percent as NZ climbs broadband rankings Seven out of ten homes…

The Download – Commerce Commission raps Spark for useless charge

  Commerce Commission pings Spark for useless wire maintenance charge, Google opens cloud region.  Commerce Commission raps Spark for useless service charge The Commerce Commission warned Spark after finding the telco charged 113,000 customers for a needless ‘wire maintenance’ charge. The company charged customers for the service even if they used a fibre or fixed wireless connection. A Commerce…

The Download – RSM clears lower 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi

More bandwidth set aside for wireless networks, MyRepublic offers a new way to buy mobile.  Radio Spectrum Management clears lower 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi Radio Spectrum Management has chosen to allocate the lower part of the 6 GHz band for low-power use. This, in effect, means Wi-Fi networks. For now the regulatory agency has put off a decision about the higher part of the band. This squares with…

Chromebook demand halves, tablets flat, PCs wobble

Chromebook makers shipped 6 million devices in the second quarter of 2022 down from 12.3 million the same time a year ago. The numbers come from IDC’s mobility and consumer device tracker. Chromebooks enjoyed a short-lived boom in demand when the world first went into lockdown. Schools and governments in the US and Europe sent the devices home with students as learning temporarily shifted…

Tower sales revive shared infrastructure question

There is nothing unusual about Spark and Vodafone deciding to sell their cell tower networks. Telcos around the world have done the same thing. If anything the two New Zealand carriers were late to the party. Yet the move throws up an interesting question. Not many years ago telcos regarded their mobile phone tower networks as strategic assets. One of the justifications for the sales is that…

Download Weekly – Ontario Teachers buys Spark TowerCo majority

Spark finds a buyer for its mobile towers, 2degrees expands 5G network, Chorus sees modest rise in fibre uptake. Ontario Teachers buy majority share of Spark’s TowerCo Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board will pay Spark $900 million for a 70 percent majority stake in TowerCo, the telco’s mobile tower business. The deal covers more than 1250 mobile phone towers around New Zealand and values the…

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2: Well built mobile

Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Go 2 doesn’t break any new ground, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a better designed, better made laptop in the same price range. Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 at a glance For: Well-built, robust design, competitive performance, good keyboard and trackpad. Against: Battery life, screen resolution lacking by 2022 standards Maybe: Fingerprint scanner on some models,…

Download Weekly – Southern Cross lights up Next cable

The Southern Cross Next cable doubles New Zealand’s international data capacity.  Southern Cross lights Next cable Southern Cross Cables hit the switch on its 72 Tbps trans-Pacific Next cable on Thursday. The move doubled capacity on routes between New Zealand and the US. The new 15,840 km cable connects Los Angeles to Auckland and Sydney with links branching to Fiji, Tokelau and Kiribati. It…