Spark gives Queenstown nations' fastest mobile network

Spark fired up five cellular towers to give Queenstown the fastest mobile data speeds in the country. The company says users have managed 400Mbps downloads during testing.

The towers are in Queenstown's tiny CBD, as well as in Frankton and Arrowtown with other towers filling the gaps between these sites. It turns out users in the Queenstown area are data gluttons. One of the sites in the town numbers among the top ten nationwide for downloads.

Spark already has towers using the same technology in central Christchurch and in Silverdale. They are one-offs. This is the first time Spark has kitted out an entire region for faster mobile data. 

This is 4.5G mobile

The reported speeds are impressive, but that's not the whole story. During a test held in Christchurch last year, a custom-made receiver managed to download data at 1.1Gbps. 

Spark describes the wireless technology deployed in Queenstown as 4.5G. That's controversial in some circles. But is the simplest way to describe a stepping stone between the 4G mobile service found in most of New Zealand and the next generation 5G services expected to debut in 2020. 

The technology is LTE-Advanced Pro. It offers about four times the speed and capacity as everyday 4G. One key feature is the ability to aggregate spectrum giving users more bandwidth to play with. 

The other controversy is today's devices can't make full use of Spark's 4.5G technology. Vodafone used an interview opportunity in the NBR to snipe at Spark's claims. 

Most recent phones can get speeds in the 400Mbps range. 

Spark says it roll out its 4.5G technology to another 10 towns over the next year. 

Telcos not banking broadband price cuts

The Commerce Commission says almost all the recent cut in the regulated wholesale broadband price ended up in customers' pockets. 

Telecommunications Commissioner Dr Stephen Gale says telcos passed almost 90 percent of the price drop on to their customers.

He says: "...our regulation reduced wholesale prices and it’s good to see consumers benefitting. At the same time, as average prices have been falling, it’s also good to see the value of standard bundles continuing to increase with consumers getting more data for their dollar."

Gale is talking about the December 2015 final decision on the price Chorus charges ISPs for local lines. This amounted to around $4 less per month per connection. To see what this meant to consumer prices, a Commerce Commission study examined 80,000 residential telecom bills from Spark, Vodafone and Vocus. Let's hope the Commerce Commission automated that process. 

There's a video of Gale discussing the study on the Commerce Commission’s website.

Spark to take direct control of retail stores

If everything goes to plan, Spark's outsourced retail stores will be under the company's direct control by Christmas. 

At the moment Spark runs 36 of 62 branded stores. Leading Edge and Orb manage the other 26 stores. Spark says the move will be seamless. It says no stores will close and staff working in the managed stores can keep their jobs. 

Leading Edge and Orb will continue to run Spark-branded outlets for business customers. They will also manage a handful of what Spark calls 'hybrid' stores. These service both business customers and consumers. 

Spark says bringing the stores in-house will allow the company to "showcase digital experiences to customers in an interactive retail environment". That means "sell phones" in English. 

Grant McBeath, Spark general manager of customer channels makes a connection between his company's move and Amazon's investment in high street stores. He says it makes sense to offer online customers a place where they can look more closely at goods before buying. They can also used these outlets to pick up or return purchases. 

Part of the reason for the move is that Spark want to offer consistency. Each store will have the same options and the same processes. These will match the company's online offerings. 

Internet of Things worth a cool trillion

Research company IDC says the world will spend US$1.4 trillion on the Internet of Things by 2012. That number includes hardware, software, services and telecommunications. 

Industry is already pouring money into IoT. IDC says manufacturers will invest more than US$100 billion on the IoT this year. Freight companies will spend half that to watch goods on the move. Smart grids for power and water companies will spend a similar figure. 

IDC says smart homes and electric vehicle charging will be the fastest growing IoT sectors. 

Buffered video viewers are loyal customers

Akamai released research claiming video resolution and playback quality affects viewer loyalty to video services. No doubt it is a co-incidence that Akamai sells a service helping video vendors serve higher resolution and and better quality. 

While the survey should help Akamai sales, it's a useful reminder of how high-speed broadband improves viewing. 

Akamai used a research firm which measured people's facial expressions and skin conductivity as they watched videos. It says: 

"Viewers disengage with emotive storylines and react negatively to low-quality streaming incidents like buffering regardless of the brand or interest in the content."