Spark New Zealand

• Date founded: 1987
• Industry: Telecommunications
• Corporate headquarters: Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, New Zealand
• Type: Public

Spark New Zealand is a digital services and telecommunications company providing telephone and internet services in New Zealand. A publicly traded company, it provides mobile phone services, fixed-line telephone services, broadband, and digital technology services, such as security. It is the largest mobile operator in New Zealand with 41 percent of the market share. As of 2025, key people in the organization included Chair Justine Smyth and Chief Executive Officer Jolie Hodson.

History

In 1862, New Zealand's first telegraph line was established, running from Christchurch to Lyttleton. The first telecommunications division, the Electric Telegraph Department, was founded in 1865, and merged with the New Zealand Post Office in 1881. Thenceforth, the post office provided both postal and telecommunications services, adding more telegraph facilities over time and later providing telephone and internet service as well.

The Country Telecommunications Act was passed in 1912, which provided greater public access to telephone networks, and by the 1920s many New Zealanders had home telephones. In the 1930s telecommunications extended outside the domestic market, with the first international call being made to Australia in 1930 and then to Great Britain in 1931. In the 1980s, there was a public call for deregulation in New Zealand, as in so many other countries. The New Zealand Post Office was reorganised as three separate entities in 1987: the post office, Telecom New Zealand and Postbank, which took over its banking business. While still government-owned, unlike most government entities, all three were expected to be profit-driven as a step towards possible privatisation. With the launch of Telecom New Zealand, New Zealand became the first country to deregulate telecommunications.

Although many were opposed to the privatisation of Telecom New Zealand, it was sold to private companies in 1990, with conditions attached to guarantee that local calls on fixed-phone lines would remain free. In the 1990s, the telecommunications industry in New Zealand became more diverse; while Telecom remained the largest company, it had twenty-five smaller competitors. The recession in New Zealand saw Telecom expand into the Pacific Islands during this period, and then into Australia when the company acquired AAPT.

In the 2000s, the internet and mobile phone service became more important aspects of telecommunications business. Telecom and Vodafone between them dominated both markets, and legislation was introduced in 2006 to allow other companies to use the network and infrastructure that Telecom had established in order to improve competition. Telecom's stock price fell in response, but these smaller companies were able to offer faster and more reliable Internet service.

In 2008, Telecom's infrastructure and networking division was spun off into a stand-alone, Chorus, which became an independent business in 2011 and helped to provide ultra-fast broadband throughout New Zealand. In 2014, Telecom rebranded as Spark New Zealand, marking its shift from infrastructure concerns to digital services. In 2023, the company announced that it would be investing up to NZ$189 million in the construction of new data centres over the following three years. It also announced that it would be investing roughly NZ$50 million in its 5G network, improving its cellular capabilities.

Impact

For years, Telecom New Zealand held a general monopoly on the New Zealand telecommunications business. However, its market share declined significantly in the early twenty-first century: in the mobile service sector, for instance, its market share fell by half from 2000 to 2012 to about one-third. However, by 2021, it had gained 41 percent of the mobile operator market share, making it once again a market leader. By 2023, its revenue had risen to NA$4.5 billion. During this year, the company had 2.7 million mobile connections and 700,000 broadband connections.

Spark is involved in an assortment of community initiatives. It provides support for school-aged children through a number of programs. Environmentally, the company has committed to the increased use of electric cars and is a member of a scheme that encourages the recycling of mobile phones. Spark's business mission statements highlight its commitment to diversity in the workplace and to increasing the number of women in leadership roles in the organisation.

The Commerce Commission maintains some regulatory authority over the telecommunications sector. This means that all telecommunications companies operating within New Zealand pay a Telecommunications Development Levy, which goes towards improving infrastructure and telecommunication networks.

Bibliography

"About Us." Spark New Zealand, www.sparknz.co.nz/about. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.

"Company Profile: Spark New Zealand Trading Ltd." Bloomberg, www.bloomberg.com/profiles/companies/7722360Z:NZ-spark-new-zealand-trading-ltd. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.

Fletcher, Hamish. "Bright Spark – Telecom Changes Name." New Zealand Herald, 8 Aug. 2014, www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c‗id=3&objectid=11305410. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.

"Spark New Zealand to Invest Up to $189 Mlm in Data Centres Over Three Years." Reuters, 4 Par. 2023, www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/spark-new-zealand-invest-up-189-mln-data-centres-over-three-years-2023-04-04/. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.

"Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited History." Funding Universe, 2002, www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/telecom-corporation-of-new-zealand-limited-history. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.

"Telecommunications." Te Ara—The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, New Zealand Government, teara.govt.nz/en/telecommunications. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.

"What Is Local Loop Unbundling?" U Switch, www.uswitch.com/broadband/guides/what‗is‗llu/. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.