Regions to benefit from greater rural connectivity options

Monday, 27 July 2015, 11:00 am
Press Release: Spark NZ

Regional New Zealanders to benefit from greater rural connectivity options

Following nationwide trials, Spark New Zealand officially launched its Rural Wireless Broadband service today, giving eligible New Zealanders throughout Heartland New Zealand access to a reliable and faster internet service.

Over the last two months New Zealanders right from Kaitaia in the far north to Alexandra in the south have been part of a trial helping Spark to make final tweaks to its service - which will initially use Spark’s 4G mobile network over the 700MHz spectrum - ahead of its launch today.

Rural Wireless Broadband trialist and Aka Aka Dairy Farmer, Tony Walters says: “Rural Wireless Broadband really has surpassed our most optimistic expectations. The device was easy to set up and within minutes we were good to go, there was no mucking around with installation of an external antenna or any additional set up costs.

“Living in rural New Zealand, you get used to slow internet speeds and it kind of becomes the lay of the land which is pretty frustrating as we’re already strapped for time. Spark’s Rural Wireless Broadband service has given us internet speeds that we’ve never had before and best of all we’ve actually got enough data to take advantage of the service.

“Being able to access the internet faster allows our farm to make better use of the latest apps and online farming tools to do things like store, record and analyse on-farm data. All of this helps us make better, more informed decisions, making sure we can work faster and smarter.” said Mr Walters.

Spark Home, Mobile and Business Chief Executive, Jason Paris says: “In today’s always on, technology-driven world, access to an affordable, reliable and fast internet connection is becoming as vital to businesses and residents as utilities like power and water. Customers using Rural Wireless Broadband are already telling us the service has given them much faster access to the internet, allowing them to get on and do a whole lot more.

“New Zealanders have told us some of their biggest frustrations with other wireless broadband products has been the unreliable internet speeds and hefty installation costs. To address this head-on we’ve identified the locations across New Zealand where we know Rural Wireless Broadband has the best chance of delivering reliable and super-fast speeds using the 4G network without the hassle and high-cost of installing an aerial antenna.”

Spark has launched an online address checker on its website so customers can check whether Rural Wireless Broadband will be available to them from today.

Mr Paris says as Spark’s rollout of 4G continues at pace, more and more New Zealanders will be able to take advantage of Rural Wireless Broadband.

“As we launch the service today, Rural Wireless Broadband will be available to a number of customers living and working in areas that have access to 4G using the 700MHz spectrum. And, as we rapidly expand the 4G network to rural New Zealand over the next few years we expect the number of customers that can access the service to increase at that same pace.”

Spark currently has 4G services available in more than 130 regions, towns, cities and rural locations across New Zealand. It has also delivered 4G services over the 700MHz spectrum to more than 200 mobile sites nationwide and has extensive plans to continue to expand its 4G footprint over the next few years.

To check their eligibility for Spark’s Rural Wireless Broadband service today customers can go to www.spark.co.nz/rural

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