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Spark Boosts 5G with Maori Partnership, Expands Spectrum

9/12/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Spark New Zealand has partnered with Maori telecom service Tu Atea to utilize 20MHz of C-band spectrum for its 5G network over an 18-year agreement.
This increases Spark's total C-band spectrum to 100MHz and overall spectrum to 350MHz.
The activation of this spectrum across 770 cell sites is expected to boost 5G speeds by up to 25% and support 20% more traffic.
Spark's 5G mobile data usage has surged by 79% in the past year.
The partnership also aims to improve rural connectivity and provide civil defense solutions for marae, along with plans for a commercial Private 5G network at CentrePort in Wellington.

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Story summary

Spark New Zealand has partnered with Maori telecom service Tu Atea to utilize 20MHz of C-band spectrum for its 5G network over an 18-year agreement.
This increases Spark's total C-band spectrum to 100MHz and overall spectrum to 350MHz.
The activation of this spectrum across 770 cell sites is expected to boost 5G speeds by up to 25% and support 20% more traffic.
Spark's 5G mobile data usage has surged by 79% in the past year.
The partnership also aims to improve rural connectivity and provide civil defense solutions for marae, along with plans for a commercial Private 5G network at CentrePort in Wellington.