Spark has selected Nokia to support its 5G rollout, targeting 5G coverage to 90 percent of the population in New Zealand by the end of 2023.
Spark will deploy Nokia’s 5G RAN technology across a large part of the rollout, while upgrading 4G at these sites using Nokia products.

Nokia RAN equipment will be used to upgrade parts of Spark’s mobile network using products from its latest AirScale radio portfolio — to deliver up to 10x faster data speeds to Spark’s mobile and wireless broadband customers.

Nokia’s AirScale portfolio equipment is software upgradeable from 3G / 4G to 5G, enabling  Spark to  remotely upgrade 4G sites to 5G. Nokia said together this energy efficiency and upgradeability makes Spark’s network investment future proof while also lowering its total cost of ownership.

“We’re bringing 5G to  90 percent of New Zealand’s population by 2023 and to upgrade parts of our 4G network to support the increase in demand for data,” said Rajesh Singh, General Manager of Value Management at Spark New Zealand.

“By helping Spark be 5G ready and reduce its total cost of ownership with our AirScale products, it can deliver 5G much faster and further than before,” Rob Joyce, Chief Technology Officer of Australia and New Zealand at Nokia, said.