Chorus returns to profit as fibre uptake climbs
In this edition:
- Chorus half year result
- Central city ground station woes
- Spark blocks unsafe 3G handsets
- Strong result for Sky
Fibre momentum, tight cost control in first half result
Chorus has returned to profit, posting a net gain of $15 million for the six months ended December 2025. That compares with a loss of $5 million a year earlier.
The New Zealand fibre network operator grew revenue to $506 million from $500 million, while cutting operating expenses by $5 million to $149 million. EBITDA rose 3 percent to $357 million.
Fibre connections grew to 1.13 million, up 31,000 on the previous year and representing 95 percent of total fixed connections. Uptake reached 72.4 percent of serviceable addresses. Fibre broadband revenue rose 7 percent to $387 million.
More than 80 percent of fibre customers are now on 500 Mbps plans or higher. Monthly average data usage per connection hit 722 GB in January 2026, reflecting surging demand from cloud services, multi-device households and artificial intelligence applications.
Copper retirement accelerating
Copper retirement is accelerating. Chorus disconnected around 60,000 lines in the half, leaving just 3,000 remaining in its fibre areas. Full withdrawal is expected by mid-2026.
Gross capital expenditure fell $41 million to $158 million, reflecting lifecycle planning and project timing shifts.
Chief executive Mark Aue said the company was targeting 80 percent fibre uptake by 2030. Chorus is also launching an Equity Fibre product to address affordability, with nearly 400,000 households currently unable to afford meaningful digital access.
Full-year EBITDA guidance of $710 million to $730 million is unchanged, tracking to the upper end of the range. An interim dividend of 24 cents per share will be paid on 14 April.
Chorus, Spark half year results highlight market changes
In December 2011 Chorus demerged from Telecom to build most of the nation’s fibre network and to manage the copper network which would, over time, be replaced.
Telecom retained retail and mobile operations; Chorus got the fixed-line access network infrastructure. This was part of regulatory reforms tied to New Zealand’s Ultra-Fast Broadband programme.
Chorus became the largest wholesale network company and would be heavily regulated. Telecom would be free of the structural regulation and, in theory anyway, be able to focus on being a broad-based digital services company.
From monopoly to structural separation
Before the demerger, Telecom was the dominant company by a considerable margin. Half of all internet connections were with the company, more than 80 percent of landline calls. Vodafone and a number of smaller companies made up the rest of the market.
Telecom became Spark in 2014 to reflect its new wider digital focus.
Spark invested in a range of digital, entertainment and cloud initiatives after rebranding. Many of these have since been scaled back, sold or closed.
Today, a significant share of Spark’s revenue comes from mobile, around 40 percent in the most recent half year report.
Spark's digital services play
It would be easy to characterise Spark’s foray into digital services as a missed opportunity, but the reality is that many telcos around the world had a similar experience. In hindsight, there wasn’t a bright new digital services future for the freed up former monopolies.
Australia’s Telstra has fared better overall than Spark over the last decade or so, that’s mainly because New Zealand is a more competitive market and regulation keeps it that way. Telstra remains dominant in all segments and has the advantage of greater scale in a market five times the size of New Zealand.
In the last two weeks both Spark and Chorus have reported first half results. Spark announced increased profit at the cost of business growth.
After the demerger in 2011, the remainder of Telecom was around twice the size of Chorus. Analyses show Chorus’s market cap has grown since 2011 and that it is now closer in size to Spark than at the time of the split.
Different paths
This shift reflects differing growth trajectories over the last 15 years:
Spark has navigated competitive retail markets, focusing on mobile growth and digital offerings. Recent results show profit stabilisation, but long-term earnings have been mixed.
Chorus successfully transitioned into fibre infrastructure leadership, with steady revenue fundamentals, increasing fibre uptake, and a return to profitability in the latest half year.
Share performance reflects these differing roles: Chorus’s infrastructure profile has offered steadier long-term returns, while Spark’s retail dynamics reflect market competition and earnings variability.
2degrees central Auckland satellite ground station proves controversial
Moves by 2Degrees to install a satellite earth station on a central Auckland rooftop has prompted concern from nearby residents.
When complete, the station will involve around 30 2m tall dome shaped antennae. They are on the roof of a commercial building in College Hill in Freemans Bay.
Auckland Council granted non-notified resource consent in June last year. That means neighbours were not formally consulted.
Local residents say they only became aware of the project once construction began. They argue independent health and environmental assessments should have been sought.
Officially compliant, lack of communication
2Degrees says the station complies with the Auckland Unitary Plan, the National Environmental Standards for Telecommunications Facilities and the New Zealand Radiofrequency Radiation Standard.
A spokesman says rooftop antenna installations are common, the site meets all safety limits and screening will reduce visual impact.
Generally telecommunications regulatory processes in New Zealand usually involve health standards (RF exposure limits and so on). Companies rarely get consent without meeting them. Radio waves in the parts of the spectrum used by communications satellites are non-ionising and present no health risk.
At first glance, Freeman’s Bay is a curious location for a satellite station. Typically, satellite ground stations (for communication with low Earth orbit or geostationary satellites) are placed in open areas with clear views of the sky and limited nearby structures — often rural or semi-rural sites — rather than inner-city rooftops.
2degrees has previously said it was building its main ground station for its sovereign satellite project with AST SpaceMobile in Marton. The company is not able to say who it is building the College Hill facility for as it has signed a non-disclosure agreement.
Spark blocks 3G handsets that can no longer make 111 calls
Spark says it will block around 300 mobile phones which are still able to make calls after the 3G network shutdown, but are no longer able to connect to the emergency 111 network.
The phones in question can use 4G for voice calls, text messages and data, but their inability to connect to 111 makes them potentially risky.
Most of the phones affected are models from the Asus range. These were not sold by Spark and are relatively rare. Some Asus models can be updated. Those that can not will be blocked.
Potentially unsafe phones
Spark chief customer office Greg Clark says these phones are potentially unsafe: Customers using these phones could mistakenly assume their device is fully functional when it isn’t, particularly if it’s later sold, gifted, or handed down. It will only be once they try to call 111 that they will realise there is an issue, and by then it could be too late.
The problem with these phones was identified in Australia during that nation’s 3G network shutdown.
Clark says Spark is contacting affected customers and plays an automated message every time one of the phones makes a call.
Emergency calling has been a focus during the 3G network shutdown:
Bill Bennett
ComCom to investigate possible deregulation of mobile tower co-location
The Commerce Commission will launch a formal investigation into whether mobile tower co-location should remain a regulated service.
In a final decision released this week, the Commission says there are reasonable grounds to investigate removing co-location on cellular mobile transmission sites from Schedule 1 of the Telecommunications Act.
Co-location allows one mobile network operator to install transmission equipment on another operator’s tower. The service has been regulated since 2001 and was last reviewed in 2021. The Commission is required to reassess Schedule 1 services at least every five years.
The decision does not remove regulation. It triggers a full investigation into whether the service should be omitted.
The Commission says market conditions have changed significantly since the last review. Spark, One NZ and 2degrees have all sold their passive tower assets to independent tower companies. These TowerCos now own most cellular transmission sites and have commercial incentives to lease space to multiple operators.
Rural expansion has also relied heavily on the government-backed Rural Connectivity Group and radio access network sharing, reducing reliance on traditional tower co-location.
The Commission received three submissions on its draft decision. Connexa and One NZ supported launching an investigation. 2degrees said that if regulation remains, it would need to be updated to capture TowerCos.
The Commission must begin the investigation within 15 working days and report to the Minister within 240 working days of public notice.
Sky records strong first half
Sky TV chief executive Sophie Moloney’s long-term strategy showed fruit in the first half with a strong profit despite challenging trading conditions.
Net profit at the pay TV company for the half year was $52.4 million this compares with a $1.7m loss for the same period a year earlier. Revenue climbed to $415.4 million from $385 million.
Moloney says she expects earning growth to continue into the next financial year. She says the half-year performance includes the financial and strategic benefits of the Sky Free purchase of Three owner Discovery NZ for $1.
"The Discovery NZ acquisition was a well-structured deal for Sky," she said.
Sky’s broadband revenue was up 35 percent at $23 million compared with $17 million in the first half of the 2025 financial year. Customer numbers climbed from 44k to 56k. On that basis it would be the fifth or sixth largest broadband provider.
Some context from 2020:
Bill Bennett
In other news...
- Spark data centre spin-off plans $3 billion investment - Reseller News
TenPeaks aims to continue build programme. - Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra first look — NZ Herald
Otherwise incremental upgrade brings fast charging and privacy display - Crematorium for satellites — The Conversation
More launches means more debris. - Orbital data centers are a pie-in-the-sky idea — The Register
Research company says economics don’t add up.
Samsung shows potential 6G mobile downloading at 3 Gbps
Samsung says it has successfully tested its eXtreme multiple-input multiple-output (X-MIMO) technology in the 7 GHz band. This is a candidate for future 6G mobile networks. A demonstration with KT Corporation (KT) and Keysight Technologies showed a peak download data rate of 3 Gbps.
X-MIMO uses an ultra-high-density antenna system, which has four times as many antennas as current 5G systems while maintaining a similar physical size.
One NZ signs for five more years of Warriors sponsorship
One New Zealand has renewed its sponsorship of the Warriors Rugby League club for a further five years taking it to the end of the 2031 NRL season. By the time that date rolls around, the company, formerly Vodafone, will have been behind the team for over 30 years.
Hawley and Clancy join expanding Connexa
Connexa’s new chief delivery officer is Ben Hawley, who arrives from Australia’s NetworkCO. His job is to focus on the tower company’s programme to add a further 800 mobile sites over the next five years. His is a new role.
Former Quotable Value chief people officer Rochelle Clancy will move to the same job at Connexa. She has previously worked at Spark, among other roles.
This week five years ago Vodafone restructured
The company’s third jobs cut in three years saw a further 10 percent of the workforce leave the company. Vodafone’s business units were reorganised at the same time.
Last year the economic headwinds, which continue to trouble telcos today, saw Chorus post a small net loss in a flat half year result.
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