Vodafone 5G by Xmas, Spark’s RWC deal, Netflix hikes prices

Vodafone to offer 120 5G sites by Christmas

Vodafone says it will launch a 5G mobile network in December with as many as 120 sites ready on day one. It will be the nation’s first practical public 5G service.

Spark previously said it will have a 5G service by the middle of next year. Vodafone’s 5G services will be available in Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown.

The announcement came within hours of the company completing its sale to Infratil and Brookfield for $3.4 billion. Vodafone CEO Jason Paris says he always planned to go live with a 5G service this year, but finance from the new owners meant it was possible to upgrade the network faster and without the need to sell assets.

Early 5G customers

Speaking at a launch function held at Vodafone’s Smales Farm site in Auckland, Paris announced four major customers for the network: New Zealand Police, BNZ, Westpac Rescue Helicopter and Waste Management. He said the technology partners building the network include Nokia, Microsoft and IBM.

In addition to the 5G sites, Paris says another 400 or so Vodafone cell sites will be upgraded to 4.9G. In effect these will deliver most of the benefits of 5G.

Paris says the investment from Infratil and Brookfield gives him more flexibility over spending plans. With 5G now ticked off he says the next job is to fix Vodafone’s customer service.

Spark Sport calls on Sky to spread Rugby World Cup to pubs, clubs

Pubs, clubs and other commercial premises wanting to show the 2019 Rugby World Cup will be able to buy a pop-up satellite channel from Sky. Spark Sport says this arrangement compliments its own offer to commercial customers which allows them to stream matches using broadband. The deal includes live coverage of all 48 matches.

The Warehouse moves online with TheMarket

The Warehouse has launched TheMarket, an e-commerce business that it says already stocks a million products from 1,500 brands. Customers can have their purchases delivered or made available for pick-up from one of 19 retail stores operated by The Warehouse Group. It says the number of pick-up stores will increase over time.

Netflix hikes NZ prices

Netflix has increased its prices in New Zealand. The popular premium plan which allows four streams is now $22 a month, an increase of 19 percent. Prices are also rising for other plans.

This comes at a time when Netflix is losing content providers who are pulling their shows to set up their own streaming services. Netflix recently increased prices in the US, the move resulted in the first decline in subscriber numbers.

Online gambling in Martin’s sights

Internal Affairs Minister Tracy Martin has launched a discussion document on online gambling. It aims to ensure overseas gambling sites don’t undermine New Zealand’s rules.

While it is illegal for overseas online gambling operators to advertise to New Zealanders, offshore gambling is legal. New Zealanders spent about $380 million on offshore gambling sites in the last 18 months. Public consultation will run until September 30.

Tuanz Digital Convergence Symposium

Tuanz’s first Digital Convergence Symposium takes place just weeks before Spark’s streaming Rugby World Coverage begins. The event is on Tuesday August 6 at the Grand Millenium Hotel in Auckland. Speakers include Vodafone consumer director Carolyn Luey, NZME CEO Michael Boggs and TVNZ CEO Kevin Kenrick.

Infrastructure as a Service market up 31.3 percent in 2018

Research company Gartner says the worldwide infrastructure as a service (IaaS) market grew 31.3 percent in 2018 to US$32.4 billion. Amazon remains the top IaaS player with US$15.5 billion, almost half the market. Microsoft, Alibaba, Google and IBM make up the top five. The top five accounted for 77 percent of all IaaS in 2018 up from 73 percent a year earlier. The market favours large and dominant players and it is consolidating.