City Rail Link goes full 4G and 5G

In this edition:

• City Rail Link passengers to get continuous mobile
• TCF - Making it easier for consumers to understand their broadband options
• Opensignal
• Wild weather drives 300% surge in texting through space on One NZ Satellite

350 transmitters, 74km of cable for underground network

One New Zealand is leading the build programme so passengers get full 4G and 5G coverage on Auckland City Rail Link trains. The company is working with technology partner Nokia on behalf of all three mobile carriers.

Infrastructure is now being installed to provide connectivity through the 3.5km of tunnels and at Waihorotiu, Karanga-a-Hape and Maungawhau stations.

Spark, One NZ and 2degrees have co-operated in the past to provide rural coverage through the Rural Connectivity Group joint venture. Yet this is the first time the three have collaborated directly on a project of this scale.

Patrick Brockie, CRL Ltd’s chief executive says: “Installing technology that allows high-speed communications connectivity is an important part of delivering a world class railway.”

5G to play essential role

Providing 5G for passengers is important, yet as Auckland Transport chief executive Dean Kimpton says, the technology has an essential role to play in the event of an underground incident.

“Connectivity underground is crucial for real-time train tracking, emergency communications and integration of CRL with Auckland Transport systems that keep public transport running.

“It will help to keep trains and passengers on time and online.”

Engineering challenges

Underground mobile infrastructure is quite different to that above ground and technically complex. Wireless signals don’t pass through the concrete, steel or earth found in railway tunnels.

To get around these challenges, engineers are installing more than 350 radio transmitters connected by 74km of cabling and 30km of leaky feeders — cables that transmit radio frequencies.

CRL says installation work will continue until early in the New Year. Full coverage will be available when the CRL opens later in 2026. Officially, no opening date has been announced. Unofficially, staff expect trains to start running in the middle of the year.

Shared costs

Auckland Transport, City Rail Link Ltd and the three mobile network operators, One NZ, 2degrees and Spark will share the cost of 4G and 5G infrastructure in City Rail Link tunnels and stations.

CRL Ltd says: “Cellular connectivity was specified as a requirement of the project from the outset, as it’s vital for integrating with Auckland Transport’s public transport operating systems and safety in underground environments — as well as for customers to stay connected on their personal devices.

“The total cost is included within CRL Ltd’s overall scope and funded as part of the $5.5 billion project budget."

Spark offers widest mobile coverage in Opensignal report

There was something for everybody in the latest Opensignal New Zealand Mobile Network Experience Report.

Spark was named the winner for Coverage Experience. Opensignal says the company continues to operate the widest and largest coverage footprint. While its score improved from 9.0 to 9.1, One NZ narrowed the gap with its coverage score climbing from 8.2 to 8.5.

Opensignal says Spark’s long-term exclusive agreement for 20 MHz of Tū Ātea’s C-band spectrum, boosted its deployable 5G spectrum to 100 MHz and overall spectrum to 350 MHz.

2degrees came top in five of the report’s 14 categories and joint top in a further five. The company tops the field in Games, Upload Speed, 5G Video, 5G Games and 5G Upload experience.

Meanwhile One NZ won for nationwide 5G Experience and came top for 5G Availability in four of seven regions. In the other three it was joint top with Spark. One NZ also topped the table for Download Speed Experience with 80.7 Mbps.

TCF updates customer information codes

The New Zealand Telecommunications Forum updated two industry marketing codes following Commerce Commission guideline changes.

Both codes aim to give customers the information they need to make informed choices. The Broadband Marketing Code now explains the different speed and performance characteristics of broadband services so customers can more easily compare providers.

The Marketing Alternative Services during Copper and PSTN Transition Code steers telcos through their marketing when dealing with customers moving from older, end-of-life technologies and services to the newer services delivered via fibre, fixed wireless and other network types.

One NZ Satellite sees traffic surge as severe weather strikes

One NZ says it saw a 300 percent increase in text messages on its satellite-to-mobile service after last week’s bad weather took out more than 130 One NZ or Rural Connectivity Group cell sites.

Ian Sutton, who heads One NZ’s Network Services, says the satellite worked exactly as planned as his organisation installed more than 20 generators getting the network back in operation.

One NZ customers with a suitable device are able to send and receive satellite text messages at no extra charge. The company has offered direct-to-mobile satellite texting since December 2024.

RSM seeks feedback on 24–30 GHz band

MBIE’s Radio Spectrum Management unit has opened consultation on allocation and technical arrangements for frequencies in the 24-30GHz range. This includes sharing options between mobile and satellite services in the 28GHz band.

The process has started now as the existing 28GHz satellite licences are due to expire in May 2026. RSM wants to establish new satellite licensing before then so there is a smooth roll-over.

In 2023, RSM decided the 24.25 – 27.5 GHz spectrum range will mainly be used for mobile communications. There are options to include some satellite services.

Plans are for the 27.5 – 28.35 GHz spectrum range to be shared between mobile and satellite services while the 28.35 - 29.5 GHz range will be satellite first with some mobile use.

Feedback closes on November 28.

ComCom publishes fibre deregulation draft

The Commerce Commission has released a draft paper setting out its proposed legal and economic framework for fibre deregulation reviews. It explains how the Commission will determine if competition has increased enough for regulation to be lifted or reduced.

There are four steps in the framework: describing the service, identifying alternative services, assessing the effectiveness of competition and testing whether continued regulation best serves the long-term interests of end users.

The Commerce Commission is looking for submissions on its draft with responses due by November 27. The final framework is expected to appear in early 2026.

Voice service regulation

A second Commerce Commission draft paper recommends retaining regulation of New Zealand’s fibre-based wholesale voice services under Part 6 of the Telecommunications Act 2001.

The paper says competition is limited because retail voice providers rely on wholesale fibre services. Viable alternative, such as mobile or fixed wireless, are not yet strong enough to constrain fibre providers. Removing regulation now could risk higher prices or reduced quality for consumers.

In other news...

• New Zealand’s tech companies are thinking of listing, but not on the NZX — RNZ
• Sky Sport to offer bandwidth-chewing 4K streaming video — NZHerald
• Sky to have exclusive Olympic rights until 2032 — Sky
• AI uses your data to train, here’s how you can stop that — ABC
• Here comes the tri-fold smartphone — The Chosun Daily

NZ media specialists archive Niue video treasure

New Zealand media specialists Silver Trak Digital and Damsmart have worked with the Broadcasting Corporation of Niue and Pacific Cooperation Broadcasting Limited to digitise hundreds of archived video tapes.

The tapes are in S-VHS and DVCAM formats from the end of the analogue video tape era and the dawn of the digital era. By today’s standards, they are rare. Tape stock is almost impossible to find and most of the surviving hardware is used only for digitising purposes.

David Elder, GM of Silver Trak and Damsmart NZ says the S-VHS tapes showed significant mould and there was an issue keeping the S-VHS machines running.

“They are an old format and one that was not very popular, so we scoured the country finding extra machines. At the start of this project Damsmart NZ owned four S-VHS machines - we now have a total of 13. This project was particularly sensitive and at some points delicate, but it all came together perfectly by the end.”

When the project completed everything was transferred to portable NAS drives (hard drives).

Oppo launches Find X9, X9 Pro with telephoto lens

Spark, 2degrees and One NZ are now selling Oppo’s $2000 flagship Find X9 and $2600 Find X9 Pro phones.

As is often the case, marketing for the new phones leans heavily on their cameras. Both handsets include the Hasselblad Master Camera System.

The Find X9 has main, ultra-wide and telephoto 50 megapixel cameras along with a True Colour camera. The Find X9 Pro adds a 200 megapixel Hasselblad Telephoto.

Handset market grows 2.6% in third quarter

IDC says the phone market continued its recovery in the third quarter of 2025 with shipments up 2.6 percent on the same period a year ago. This is all the more remarkable given the turbulence caused by America’s tariff moves and greater economic uncertainty.

Premium phone upgrades and the arrival of more affordable AI-enabled phones are behind the growth.

Both Apple and Samsung have done well. IDC says demand for the iPhone 17 models has been robust, while Samsung is seeing momentum for its foldable phones.