Spark New Zealand has selected Nokia as its 5G Radio Access Network partner to streamline operations and consolidate its RAN.
This strategic decision will simplify network operations while delivering the best-performing 5G network in New Zealand.
The deal with Nokia will be covering over 700 sites. Finland-based Nokia will provide equipment from its 5G AirScale portfolio. This includes baseband, remote radio heads, and massive MIMO radios, offering 5G capacity, coverage, and connectivity.
Spark New Zealand is aiming to lower its annual capital expenditure to ~$460 million – $480 million during the fiscal 2025.
In FY24, Spark New Zealand invested over $350 million into secure and resilient network and digital infrastructure, delivering a 28 percent increase in mobile network capacity and underpinning growth in data centres, IoT, and high-tech. Total Capex of Spark was $518 million in fiscal 2024.
Investment in customer experience is significant to Spark as it reported 14 percent drop in revenue to $3.861 billion during 2024 fiscal.
Renee Mateparae, Network and Operations Director for Spark said: “This next phase of our partnership will see us streamlining our 5G deployments to simplify operations and deliver great 5G experiences for our customers every day.”
Capex
In FY24, Spark invested $518 million in capital expenditure, equivalent to 13.4 percent of its revenue. This investment supports key infrastructure developments, including:
Spark has achieved 98 percent mobile population coverage with a 28 percent increase in network capacity.
Spark has started the preparation for the launch of a 5G Standalone (SA) network.
Spark is aiming at the expansion of data center capacity by 10MW, bringing the total to 22.3MW.
Spark said 2 million devices are connected to IoT networks covering 99 percent of the population.
AI
Spark has announced significant advancements through its strategic investment in artificial intelligence (AI) over the past five years, highlighting improved efficiencies in data-driven marketing and network automation.
The company is positioning itself to scale its Generative AI capabilities, aiming to reduce costs while enhancing customer experiences. Spark’s strong AI foundation, bolstered by in-house expertise and governance structures, supports rapid deployment of AI use cases across the business.
Spark’s transformation efforts are led by a dedicated team, focused on identifying and implementing high-value AI applications. These efforts combine third-party tools with Spark-designed applications to leverage its decision-making engine.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
