Off the Wire
Spark starts rollout of ‘self-healing’ network technology
Spark has completed the first stage of its next generation Optical Transport Network (OTN 2) that has ‘self-healing’ capabilities. Read more…
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Spark New Zealand starts 5G live trial in Auckland Harbour
Spark New Zealand is trialling a 5G service in Auckland Harbour for Emirates Team New Zealand, delivering on their promise to help make the boat go faster. Read more…
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Huawei 5G ban not a full ban, just a tiny ban: GCSB minister
New Zealand’s intelligence services minister has reportedly denied that the GCSB’s decision that Huawei’s 5G equipment poses a national security risk constitutes a full-on ban of the Chinese telecoms equipment vendor. However, as far as Read more…
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NZ says Spark can’t use Huawei 5G gear – Huawei says “What?”
WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Huawei Technologies said it was seeking clarification from New Zealand after the country’s intelligence agency rejected the telecommunication industry’s first request to use the Chinese firm’s equipment in its planned 5G mobile Read more…
Off the Wire
Spark opens 5G lab for America’s Cup NZ team to play with
Spark and Emirates Team New Zealand have opened an interactive 5G test lab that also marks the official countdown to Spark’s planned 5G network launch on Auckland Harbour by July 1, 2020 for the team Read more…
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Spark pleads guilty to operational and billing infractions
Spark New Zealand has pleaded guilty to court proceedings brought by the New Zealand Commerce Commission under the Fair Trading Act 1986 over a pair of billing and operational issues. Specifically, Spark admitted that it Read more…
Off the Wire
Spark expands IoT network choices with Cat-M1 launch
New Zealand incumbent telco Spark says it has switched on its second Internet of Things (IoT) network, which will run on its LTE network using LTE Cat-M1 technology. The launch of Cat-M1 IoT follows the Read more…
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Spark has a 5G plan – now it’s the NZ government’s turn
Incumbent telco Spark New Zealand has released a paper outlining its plan to launch 5G services starting in 2020 – provided the NZ government provides sufficient spectrum and pro-5G policies. The paper – aimed at Read more…
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Spark launches tool to help farmers embrace digital technology
New Zealand telco Spark, together with partner Digital Journey, has launched a tool specifically for the agriculture sector to help farmers work out a plan to go digital. The free tool – Spark Agri Assessment Read more…
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Spark switches on New Zealand’s first live 5G test site
Spark said on Monday it has switched on New Zealand’s first live 5G mobile test site in Wellington. The trial site, located on the Stout Street Exchange Building directly across from Parliament, was deployed with Read more…
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Spark ready to launch LoRa IoT network, has first customer signed
New Zealand telco Spark says its LoRa IoT network will launch later this month and Levno has signed as its first customer in a partnership targeting rural areas. As part of the agreement with Spark, Read more…
Off the Wire
Nokia’s new PSE-3 crams even more capacity into fiber
Nokia has unveiled the PSE-3, the next generation of its Photonic Service Engine (PSE) family of super-coherent digital signal processors, which the company claims pushes optical network capacity to theoretical limits. The new Nokia PSE-3 is Read more…
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Spark to switch on first LoRa IoT network sites by start of 2018
Spark announced it is rolling out a LoRa network to enable the Internet of Things in New Zealand’s most populated urban centers, and will switch on sites in Christchurch, Wellington, Hamilton and Auckland by the Read more…
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Chorus calls for shared 5G infrastructure – cellcos say that’s crazy
ITEM: The CEO of New Zealand fixed-broadband operator Chorus has called for a government-regulated shared 5G infrastructure program rather than every cellco building separate 5G networks. At least two cellcos have said the idea is Read more…
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Spark prepares IoT trials for both LTE Cat-M1 and LoRa
New Zealand telco Spark says it is preparing to commence not one but two IoT network trials this month – one using its LTE network, and the other using low-power wireless access (LPWA) network using Read more…
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Spark taps Nokia to brace its core network for 5G
Spark New Zealand has signed a three-year strategic partnership with Nokia to upgrade its core and backhaul IP/MPLS infrastructure to prepare for 5G, ultra-broadband and IoT. Spark said that unprecedented growth in demand for mobile Read more…
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Spark NZ to junk its clunky old PSTN for fancy new IP-based network
Spark New Zealand has announced it is finally time to join the IP network bandwagon, and plans to swap out its aging PSTN to a next generation IP-based network in phases over the next five Read more…
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Spark bundles Netflix at no extra cost in New Zealand
WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand telecommunications company Spark said on Monday it was partnering with US video streaming giant Netflix in an arrangement that was the first of its kind. Spark’s broadband customers would receive Read more…