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New Zealand Telecommunications

Market Structure

Mobile Network Operators (MNOs)​

New Zealand's telecommunications market is dominated by three major carriers who own and operate their own network infrastructure:

  • Spark New Zealand - Market leader with approximately 40-41% mobile market share and 35% broadband share
  • One New Zealand (formerly Vodafone) - Holds 38% mobile market share and around 19-21% broadband share
  • 2degrees - The challenger with approximately 19-21% mobile market share and growing broadband presence (now second place at 20% broadband share)

Spark, One New Zealand and 2degrees jointly serve 98.5% of mobile subscriptions, marking a highly concentrated landscape. Independent MVNOs account for between one and two percent of all mobile subscribers, which is well below OECD standards.

Wholesale Infrastructure​

Chorus is New Zealand's largest telecommunications infrastructure company, building and operating nationwide fibre broadband and copper telecommunication networks. By law, Chorus cannot sell directly to consumers but provides wholesale services to retail providers. The network covers up to 87% of New Zealanders, with a 75% uptake as of 2024, though fibre uptake has reached 72.1% UpGuard by mid-2025.

Other infrastructure providers include Northpower, Enable Networks, and Tuatahi First Fibre, which together delivered the government's Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) programme.

Technology Transition​

  • 5G Rollout

Operators invested more than NZD 100 million annually in 5G during 2024-2025, with One New Zealand upgrading over 300 sites in the latest fiscal year UpGuard. Median mobile download speeds reached 154 Mbps in early 2025, and 5G subscriptions are expected to cross 32.2% of total mobile lines by 2028 UpGuard. Spark leads with 100+ 5G locations, One NZ has 50+ locations, and 2degrees covers 30+ locations.

  • Legacy Network Shutdown

One NZ announced that its 3G network will be shut down on 31 December 2025, the same date scheduled for the closure of its 2G network. All three major operators plan to retire 3G by March 2026, freeing spectrum for 4G/5G use.

  • Fibre Over Copper

The ultra-fast broadband (UFB) initiative was announced in 2011 by the New Zealand government, and UFB roll out was completed in December 2022, delivering fibre broadband to 412 towns and cities. Only 13,000 copper lines remain in Chorus' fibre areas where they expect to withdraw copper services completely by mid-2026 UpGuard. Chorus aims to phase out its copper network by 2030 to focus solely on fibre services.

TM Forum​

TM Forum is a global alliance of telco and tech companies https://www.tmforum.org/.

Process Framework (eTOM)​

The Business Process Framework is a hierarchical classification scheme with descriptions of the key business processes required to run a service-focused business.

Information Framework (SID)​

The Information Framework addresses the Communications Service Provider's need for shared information definitions and models.

More to come when I get time.