One NZ
One New Zealand is a New Zealand telecommunications company. One NZ is the largest wireless carrier in New Zealand, accounting for 38% of the country's mobile market in 2021.
Corporate history
Vodafone New Zealand (1998–2023)
One NZ is based in Auckland and was formed in 1998 as Vodafone New Zealand, after Vodafone purchased BellSouth's New Zealand operations. The company employs over 3,000 people and has operations nationwide, with its main offices based in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The company is part of the New Zealand Telecommunications Forum.In October 2006, Vodafone bought ihug, New Zealand's third largest Internet service provider at the time, to provide internet services under the Vodafone name.
In 2012, Vodafone bought TelstraClear, making it New Zealand's second largest internet service provider.
In June 2016, Sky TV and Vodafone agreed to merge, with Sky TV purchasing 100% of Vodafone NZ operations for a cash payment of NZ$1.25 billion and issuing new shares to the Vodafone Group. Vodafone UK was to get a 51% stake in the company. However, the proposed merger was rejected by the Commerce Commission, resulting in a plunge in Sky TV's shares, and the proposed merger was not completed.
The company launched New Zealand's first 4G LTE network and continues to maintain its 2G network. In February 2013, Vodafone New Zealand launched New Zealand's first LTE mobile network which is currently available to 98% of the population. In June 2014, Vodafone New Zealand was ranked the fastest mobile network on the planet by speed-testing service Ookla. In December 2019, Vodafone New Zealand launched New Zealand's first 5G mobile network which by 2023 was available in more than 70 towns and cities across New Zealand.
It ceased to be a subsidiary of the London-listed company Vodafone Plc on 31 July 2019, when its sale to a consortium comprising Infratil Limited and Brookfield Asset Management Inc. was settled. The sold company would continue to use the Vodafone brand under a commercial arrangement with Vodafone plc.
In March 2022, Vodafone New Zealand was described as the best mobile network in New Zealand by umlaut. In August 2022, Vodafone New Zealand announced that from 31 August 2024, it would start to switch off their 3G mobile network to allow further expansion of the 4G/5G mobile network.
One NZ (2023–present)
In September 2022, it was announced that Vodafone New Zealand would change its name to One New Zealand in early 2023. Stuff News reported that the naming change could save the company between $20 million and $30 million that it would otherwise be paying in licensing fees. Vodafone NZ stated that customers' ability to roam on networks overseas will be unaffected by the name change.Stuff published an article titled "Could Vodafone's rebrand to One New Zealand backfire?", stating that the naming change could be tarnished by the name's association with the defunct NZ political party One NZ. In response, the company's CEO Jason Paris said on Twitter "One NZ stands for the best of NZ ".
One NZ currently operates New Zealand's largest 5G mobile network and New Zealand's only 2G mobile network. On 3 April 2023, Vodafone NZ announced their change to One NZ, while also announcing a deal with SpaceX to provide 100% mobile coverage through their Starlink satellite internet service, which was to be available in late 2024.
In May 2023, One NZ was described as the best mobile network in New Zealand by Umlaut.
In June 2023, Infratil announced that they would be taking full control of One NZ by buying out all shares from Brookfield Asset Management. This brought the Infratil ownership to 99.90%, making One NZ a New Zealand owned company. A small percentage of the company is owned by executives.
In August 2023, One NZ was fined over $3 million for breaching the Fair Trading Act by misleading consumers about their FibreX service, after One NZ incorrectly told people that FibreX was the only broadband service available at their location.
In May 2024, One NZ was described as the best mobile network in New Zealand by Umlaut.
In October 2024, One NZ received approval to test Starlink satellite-to-mobile SMS service. This came as the FCC voted unanimously in favor of its Supplemental Coverage from Space regulatory framework on 14 March 2024.
In June 2025, One NZ was again awarded the best mobile network in New Zealand by Umlaut.
Market share
In December 2021, One NZ had 2.4 million customers. According to the Commerce Commission's Annual Telecommunications Monitoring Report in March 2022, One NZ's market share in the mobile market was 38%, Spark 41% and Two Degrees Mobile 19%. The remainding 2% of the market is made up of mobile virtual network operators.Acquisitions
BellSouth
BellSouth had 138,000 customers when it was purchased by Vodafone in November 1998. BellSouth's main rival was Telecom New Zealand, New Zealand's second largest telecommunications company behind Vodafone. After Vodafone took over Bellsouth, it expanded network coverage to compete more effectively with Telecom.ihug
On 11 October 2006, Vodafone acquired ihug from iiNet, and closed the ihug brand in 2008. ihug was a popular Internet Service Provider and was notable for introducing a flat rate account in 1995.TelstraClear
On 31 October 2012, Vodafone acquired 100% of TelstraClear from Australian company Telstra. TelstraClear had its beginnings in New Zealand with Kiwi Cable, Clear Communications in 1990, and Telstra New Zealand in 1996.Telstra NZ expanded its operations in the business market, bundling Telecom New Zealand services distributed as a reseller with its own network services. It maintained interconnect agreements with Telecom New Zealand, Clear Communications and some smaller service providers. In 1999 Saturn Communications was sold by its parent company, Austar United Communications, to a new joint venture with Telstra that became known as TelstraSaturn. TelstraClear was then created by the merger of Telstra's TelstraSaturn and Clear Communications in December 2001.
In July 2012 Vodafone NZ approached Telstra to purchase TelstraClear for a payment of $840 million, and $450 million that TelstraClear had in its accounts. The Commerce Commission approved the bid on 30 October, and the sale was completed on 31 October. TelstraClear's final trading day was 31 March 2013.
WorldxChange (WxC)
On 10 June 2015, Vodafone NZ acquired WorldxChange, a New Zealand based telecommunications business. WorldxChange delivered communications services to government, corporate, and business customers; and fibre broadband to residential customers.Defend Limited
In February 2022 Vodafone NZ signed a conditional agreement to acquire a 60% majority share in cybersecurity specialist company Defend.Dense Air
One NZ committed to acquiring Dense Air, in order to use their 2x35MHz of 2600 MHz spectrum rights, and immediately deploy it for use on its 5G network. The acquisition of Dense Air by One NZ was approved by the Commerce Commission on 6 May 2024.Mobile services
Coverage
One NZ operates a GSM mobile phone network at 900 MHz, a UMTS network at 900 MHz and 2100 MHz, a 4G LTE network at 700 MHz, 900 MHz 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz and 2600 MHz and a 5G NR network. It states that the network provides service in "Our mobile network covers over 99% of the population, with 4G/5G coverage to over 99% by late 2024".On 25 October 2024, One NZ confirmed that it would delay plans to close its 2G and 3G services until 31 December 2025.
GSM Coverage (2G)
One NZ operates a nationwide GSM service in the 900 MHz band. In areas with high demand One used to operate additional GSM services in the 1800 MHz band, usually from existing 900 MHz cell sites, to provide more capacity. Areas that had both 900 MHz and 1800 MHz service included most major business districts and large shopping malls. In later years One NZ also established some cell sites that only provided 1800 MHz service where it was difficult to release spectrum for more 900 MHz cell sites. Most phones sold since the mid-1990s supported both bands.In March 2016 Vodafone New Zealand announced plans to shut down its 2G network, beginning with voice and messaging services. Vodafone's Spokesperson Elissa Downey commented that they would keep the GSM network running until 2025, although it would only support devices using GSM data such as electricity meters that send readings over the network, and that they would be announcing the end date for its 2G voice service soon. In early August 2016, however, it was reported that Vodafone was reconsidering its choice to shut down the network, with Spokesperson Andrea Brady stating that the 2G network "will not be switched off anytime soon as it continues to serve customers across New Zealand". This announcement came following the company's criticism of rival operator Spark's billboard campaign that claimed "Vodafone's 2G network is shutting down" and invited customers to "switch before ditched", despite neither Spark, nor its child division Skinny Mobile – whom the campaign was run under – operating a compatible 2G network. The campaign was denounced by Vodafone as "pretty misleading", shortly followed by the announcement that 2G voice services would not be ended any time soon. On 4 April 2024, One NZ announced the planned shutdown date for its 2G network. The announcement was made alongside the revised shutdown date for its 3G network. Both the 2G and 3G networks are scheduled to be shut down on 31 December 2025.
UMTS Coverage (3G)
In the main centres, One NZ operates UMTS service using the 2100 MHz band. UMTS service is often provided from the same cell site as 900 MHz and/or 1800 MHz GSM services. Most of the existing 900 MHz sites were built in the 1990s when it was not expected that a 2100 MHz network would be built, hence the existing 900 MHz network was not at all optimised for 2100 MHz service. Due to the fact that 900 MHz and 1800 MHz signals propagate further than 2100 MHz signals, there were many areas beyond 2100 MHz coverage where UMTS phones would have to hand down to 900 MHz or 1800 MHz GSM service. One NZ established many individual 2100 MHz UMTS sites to enhance 3G coverage.In rural areas, One NZ has installed 900 MHz UMTS service alongside their existing 900 MHz GSM service. The 900 MHz UMTS service has roughly the same coverage area as 900 MHz GSM service, so instances of UMTS service being handed down to GSM should occur far less often in rural areas than in areas covered by the 2100 MHz network. However, older UMTS phones only support 2100 MHz service so these phones will hand down to 900 MHz GSM even though there is UMTS service available at 900 MHz.
Rural Broadband Initiative coverage: One NZ have a contract with the New Zealand government to provide fixed cellular access to the internet with antennas mounted on the outside of buildings, homes and businesses at speeds of at least 5 Mbit/s. Much of the coverage as of 2015 is on 900 MHz 3G. By January 2016, One NZ had actively extended its 4G network throughout key rural areas, and was on track to deliver speeds as high as 100 Mbit/s.
RBI services is sold by many ISPs and can include voice services and internet services designed to give similar plans and pricing as landline. One NZ wholesales RBI services over cellular to many ISPs, and any ISP may provide RBI services over cellular, ADSL and UFB fibre, whatever is available at the customer's rural property.
In August 2022, One NZ announced plans to shut down its 3G network as early as August 2024. On 4 April 2024, the company stated that the shutdown would be delayed from 31 August 2024 to 31 March 2025. On 24 August 2024, One NZ announced a further postponement, rescheduling the 3G shutdown to 31 December 2025. The same date was also set for the planned shutdown of its 2G network.