By Alexandra Cain

As Aotearoa New Zealand’s 5G rollout gathers pace, the country is preparing for the shutdown of the old 3G network. Telcos and service providers are working with customers to ensure a smooth transition and, at the same time, support the country’s ongoing digitisation.

Aoteatoa New Zealand’s telecommunications infrastructure needs to be resilient, well integrated and proactively managed in order to deliver consistent, high-performing service, according to Maurice Zicman, ANZ Vice President, CX Strategy, at customer experience expert Teleperformance.

Consequently, New Zealand telecommunications companies need to spend money on backup network routes, develop edge computing technology and use artificial intelligence (AI) for predictive maintenance. This will help them find and fix problems before customers are impacted. Edge computing is a technology that involves processing data closer to where it is generated, rather than relying on a central data centre that may be far away. Investment is also required to modernise legacy systems, especially outside metropolitan areas.

‘Many consumers in rural and low-density areas still suffer from slower speeds or limited options. This needs co‑investment to expand 4G, 5G and broadband, while satellite partnerships like Starlink should also be explored for truly remote areas,’ says Zicman.

With such varied terrain across the country, it’s incumbent on New Zealand telecommunications companies to analyse and keep track of how well their services perform in both rural and urban areas. This will help ensure everyone has equal access to telecommunications services.

‘Companies must use insights to support their customers, who expect telcos to know their experience before they complain,’ says Zicman.

This means using network analytics to detect and address user-specific issues like poor home wi-fi performance or signal dropout.

‘Telcos need to notify customers about slow speeds or planned upgrades proactively, not reactively,’ he adds.

Spark is leading the upgrade of the Kiwi telco backbone. Its national 5G rollout is continuing at pace, with 5G now live on almost half its sites nationwide, which is more than 950 5G cell sites. These sites span more than 130 locations across Aotearoa, from large cities to smaller regional towns. This means that more than half the population in New Zealand can now access 5G through Spark’s network.

‘As we build our 5G network across the country, we are also deploying a 5G core network known as 5G standalone. This will deliver a true, end-to-end 5G experience without any dependency on legacy 4G technologies,’ says Spark’s Network and Operations Director, Renee Mateparae.

‘This means we can optimise the network to suit the specific needs of different customers and industries. In FY25, we have been busy designing, building and implementing our new 5GSA core. We are now in the process of migrating traffic off the 4G core and onto our new 5G core,’ says Mateparae.

Spark will launch 5G standalone to customers in the coming months, as it closes its 3G network on 31 March 2026. It has substantially expanded its 4G network since announcing its shutdown plan in 2023, building more than 70 new 4G mobile sites and upgrading more than 600 others. All 3G-only cell towers will be upgraded to 4G and 5G technology, with the majority of these upgrades already completed. Spark is working directly with customers that are still using 3G-only devices.

‘We continue to migrate customers off end-of-life technology and onto modern alternatives already used by the majority of New Zealanders, such as fibre and wireless. This includes the retirement of our 3G network and the public switched telephone network,’ says Mateparae.

Vehicle telematics technology business Teletrac Navman works with truck and fleet businesses to track and manage their vehicle workforces. With the upcoming 3G network shutdown, it is working with customers to help the transition to new network upgrades with new 4G- and 5G-compatible devices.

Simon McCaughan, Head of Customer Implementation for Teletrac Navman, is leading the firm’s 3G migration project across New Zealand.

‘A significant portion of our New Zealand customers have been using 3G devices, meaning our role is helping these customers update and upgrade before the 3G network shutdown,’ says McCaughan. ‘We’ve been helping customers understand the benefits that 4G and 5G will offer through faster speeds, better coverage and more efficient use of spectrum, articulating the benefits this telecommunications system change will bring.’

Network upgrades aside, environmental initiatives remain a priority across the telco sector. Spark has a science-based emissions reduction target, which has received verification by the Science Based Targets Initiative.

‘This target includes a commitment to reduce our scope 1 and 2 emissions by 56 per cent by FY30 against a FY20 baseline year, alongside a scope 3 emissions target that 70 per cent of our suppliers by spend have science-aligned targets in place by the end of 2026,’ says Mateparae.

Emissions reduction does not track a straight-line trajectory and often occurs in step changes tied to specific initiatives. Subsequently, Spark has a 10-year renewable energy partnership with Genesis Energy, which means it can reduce its reported, market-based, scope 2 emissions through linking emissions from electricity consumption to new renewable generation.

Through the partnership, Spark’s energy consumption is matched via renewable energy certificates with new renewable energy generated by a solar farm at Lauriston, which started supplying the grid in early 2025.

The annual production from the solar farm is projected to be equivalent to approximately 60 per cent of Spark’s annual electricity consumption; although the site was only operational for part of the FY25 period, reducing Spark’s reported market‑based electricity emissions by 3954 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

 As for the future, technology has evolved rapidly in recent years and, with the deployment of 5G and greater levels of virtualisation, networks are becoming increasingly complex.

‘This presents many exciting opportunities like the use of AI and automation to deliver better network experiences for our customers. This includes moving from reactive fault management to AI-driven monitoring and automation to detect and address issues proactively for our customers,’ says Mateparae.

This enables self-restoring networks, which means customers won’t notice when fibre is cut between locations because traffic can be automatically rerouted through an alternative path.

As the Kiwi telco sector continues its ongoing upgrade, it will be exciting to see how this supports the country’s adoption of digital technologies, and what this means for long-term productivity.