New Zealand
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
New Zealand
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Key Findings
Spark is the first winner of Reliability Experience in New Zealand
In this report, the first on New Zealand to include this new award, Spark wins the Reliability Experience award outright with a score of 853 points on a 100-1000 point scale. It commands a lead of around 21 points over statistically tied One NZ and 2degrees. Opensignal’s Reliability Experience measures the ability of our users to connect to and successfully complete basic tasks on operators’ networks.
2degrees clears the board for 5G Experience
2degrees achieves a clean sweep for 5G Experience awards, retaining all of its outright wins since the previous report. It wins 5G Video Experience, 5G Games Experience, 5G Download Speed, and 5G Upload Speed outright. Our users across all Kiwi mobile networks have enjoyed increases in their average 5G download speeds — ranging from 32Mbps on 2degrees and Spark each to nearly 100Mbps on One NZ.
Spark triumphs for Coverage Experience
Spark continues to lead in New Zealand for Coverage Experience outright with a score of nine points on a 10-point scale — beating One NZ by one point. This means Spark has the widest and largest footprint of coverage nationally out of all mobile operators in New Zealand.
2degrees wins the largest number of regional awards
There are many joint wins across the regional awards table in New Zealand. However, 2degrees dominates the 5G Experience section, winning 20 awards outright and eight jointly out of 28 regional awards available. In Auckland, Canterbury, and Wellington it achieves a clean sweep. For Availability, 2degrees triumphs in Auckland, while Spark wins outright in Otago. One NZ wins Consistent Quality in Auckland and Spark wins in Waikato, while our users in Canterbury and Wellington enjoy the most consistent quality of services on 2degrees’ network. Spark is also the sole winner for Reliability Experience in the Bay of Plenty, while it shares the winners’ podium in all other regions as well.
One NZ seizes Download Speed Experience from Spark
In the previous report, Spark was the outright winner for Download Speed Experience. This time around, One NZ overtakes the previous winner and now leads the pack. One NZ takes the top spot due to the highest relative increase in score of 60% over the year, while Spark’s and 2degrees’ results improved by around 30%.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
In Opensignal's latest New Zealand Mobile Network Experience report we introduce our new Reliability Experience, which measures the ability of our users to connect to and successfully complete basic tasks on operators’ networks.
2degrees collects the most awards in this report — six won outright and four jointly. The operator confirms its supremacy in the 5G Experience section, as it is the sole winner across all categories once again. One NZ and Spark each have two outright and two joint wins. On top of defending their coverage awards, they also gain new awards this time. One NZ snatches Download Speed Experience from Spark — and Spark is the first-ever winner of the Reliability Experience award in New Zealand.
One NZ has been cleared to purchase Dense Air, which would give the operator access to Dense Air’s infrastructure and spectrum holdings — a 2x35MHz block in the 2600MHz band. These additional spectrum assets are likely to boost the network experience of mobile and fixed wireless access services for One NZ subscribers. Meanwhile, the operator has pushed back its 3G network shutdown from 31st August 2024 to 31st March 2025, to give its subscribers and IoT customers more time to transition to 4G and 5G services. Additionally, it intends to sunset its 2G network at the end of 2025. One NZ also aims to add satellite coverage to its 4G and 5G options from the end of 2024, with data transfers enabled in 2025.
In this report we examine the mobile network experience of the three main mobile network operators in New Zealand — One NZ, Spark and 2degrees — over a period of 90 days starting on June 1, 2024, and ending on August 29, 2024, to see how they fared.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
2degrees remains the sole winner of the Video Experience award, beating statistically tied One NZ and Spark by around two points. All operators place in the Good (58-68) category. This means that our users are, on average, able to stream video at 720p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling.
Video Experience scores account for adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR), a technology that allows Opensignal to accurately represent users' real video experience including video streams up to 4K quality.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Video Experience quantifies the quality of video streamed to mobile devices by measuring real-world video streams over an operator's networks. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate video experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the overall video experience for each operator on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
In addition to Video Experience, we report on the following metrics related to video experience:
- 5G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Video Experience – 5G Users: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G video experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator’s 3G network.
National Analysis
One NZ and 2degrees remain locked in a statistical tie for Games Experience and jointly win the award again.
Regardless of their choice of operator, our Kiwi users have a Fair (65-75) overall experience when playing multiplayer mobile games over cellular connections. In most cases the game is responsive to the actions of the player with most users feeling like they have control over the game. The majority of players notice a delay between their actions and the outcomes in the game.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-100, it analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience is affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter.
Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world.
Calculating Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games. The score is then measured on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Games Experience, we report on the following metrics related to games experience:
- 5G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Games Experience – 5G Users: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G games experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
In the previous report, Spark was the outright winner for Download Speed Experience. This time around, One NZ overtakes Spark to lead the pack with a score of 61.9Mbps.
One NZ takes the top spot due to the highest relative increase in the score — 60% over the year, while Spark and 2degrees’ results improved by around 30%.
Definitions
Measured in Mbps, Download Speed Experience represents the typical everyday speeds a user experiences across an operator’s mobile data networks.
In addition to Download Speed Experience, we report on the following metrics related to download speeds:
- 5G Download Speed: The average download speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Download Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average download speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G download speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
National Analysis
2degrees keeps the Upload Speed Experience award in a firm grip, winning it outright with a score of 12.1Mbps - 10% faster than second-placed One NZ.
One NZ's score has increased by 2Mbps and Spark's by 1Mbps. 2degrees' score hasn't changed a significant amount since the previous report.
Definitions
Upload Speed Experience measures the average upload speeds for each operator observed by our users across their mobile data networks. Typically upload speeds are slower than download speeds, as current mobile broadband technologies focus resources on providing the best possible download speed for users consuming content on their devices. As mobile internet trends move away from downloading content to creating content and supporting real-time communications services, upload speeds are becoming more vital and new technologies are emerging that boost upstream capacity.
In addition to Upload Speed Experience, we report on five supporting metrics related to upload speeds:
- 5G Upload Speed: The average upload speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Upload Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G upload speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
Regional Analysis
Regional Analysis Summary: New Zealand, Mobile Network Experience Report, September 2024
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- Auckland
- Bay of Plenty
- Canterbury
- Hawke's Bay
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- Manawatu-Wanganui
- Northland
- Otago
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S-Z
- Waikato
- Wellington
in Auckland
in Auckland
in Auckland
in Auckland
in Bay of Plenty
in Bay of Plenty
in Bay of Plenty
in Bay of Plenty
in Canterbury
in Canterbury
in Canterbury
in Canterbury
in Hawke's Bay
in Hawke's Bay
in Hawke's Bay
in Hawke's Bay
in Manawatu-Wanganui
in Manawatu-Wanganui
in Manawatu-Wanganui
in Manawatu-Wanganui
in Northland
in Northland
in Northland
in Northland
in Otago
in Otago
in Otago
in Otago
in Waikato
in Waikato
in Waikato
in Waikato
in Wellington
in Wellington
in Wellington
in Wellington
5G Experience
National Analysis
2degrees successfully defends the 5G Video Experience award with a score of 76.5 points on a 100-point scale. Our users in New Zealand enjoy a Very Good (68-78) video streaming experience when connected to 5G services across all national operators. This means that they are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling.
5G Video Experience scores account for adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR), a technology that allows Opensignal to accurately represent users' real video experience including video streams up to 4K quality.
Definitions
5G Video Experience quantifies the quality of mobile video experienced by Opensignal users on real-world video streams when they were connected to 5G. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate 5G Video Experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the video experience observed by our users on each operator’s 5G network on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
National Analysis
Once again, 2degrees wins the 5G Games Experience award outright, beating One NZ by five points. All of New Zealand’s operators rate as Good (75-85) for 5G Games Experience. This means that most users deem the experience acceptable. The gameplay experience is generally controllable and the user receives immediate feedback between their actions and the outcomes in the game. Most users do not experience a delay between their actions and the game.
Definitions
5G Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator's 5G network. It analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience was affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter. 5G Games Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
5G Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world. Calculating 5G Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games.
National Analysis
2degrees remains the sole winner of 5G Download Speed. Our users on this network enjoy average 5G download speeds clocking in at 343.1Mbps — 9% faster than those on One NZ. However, the runner-up is catching up with the leader, as One NZ has enjoyed the highest boost of 5G speeds in the market, nearly 100Mbps — meaning its speeds increased by 45%. Meanwhile, 2degrees’ and Spark’s scores have improved by 32Mbps each since the last report.
Definitions
5G Download Speed shows the average download speed experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Download Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
National Analysis
2degrees retains the 5G Upload Speed award, beating the runner-up One NZ by 7Mbps. One NZ has managed to narrow the gap to the winner, as our One NZ users’ average 5G upload speeds rose by 6Mbps while Spark's and 2degrees' scores have remained statistically unchanged since the last report.
Definitions
5G Upload Speed measures the average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Upload Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
Regional Analysis
Regional Analysis Summary: New Zealand, Mobile Network Experience Report, September 2024
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A-I
- Auckland
- Bay of Plenty
- Canterbury
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J-R
- Manawatu-Wanganui
- Otago
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S-Z
- Waikato
- Wellington
in Auckland
in Auckland
in Auckland
in Auckland
in Bay of Plenty
in Bay of Plenty
in Bay of Plenty
in Bay of Plenty
in Canterbury
in Canterbury
in Canterbury
in Canterbury
in Manawatu-Wanganui
in Manawatu-Wanganui
in Manawatu-Wanganui
in Manawatu-Wanganui
in Otago
in Otago
in Otago
in Otago
in Waikato
in Waikato
in Waikato
in Waikato
in Wellington
in Wellington
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in Wellington
Coverage
National Analysis
Spark continues to lead in New Zealand for Coverage Experience outright with a score of nine points on a 10-point scale — beating One NZ by one point.
Definitions
The Opensignal Coverage Experience metric measures the extent of mobile networks in the places people live, work and travel. The metric represents the experience users receive as they travel around areas where they would reasonably expect to find coverage.
Traditional coverage metrics typically estimate either a percentage of land area covered, or a percentage of population covered; often neither will be an accurate measurement of the true user expectation and experience. In many markets there are areas where neither population density nor geographic area reflect the importance of coverage to users. For example, in a large mountain range most users will not expect coverage in the wilderness, but poor coverage in the relatively small area of a ski resort is critical for the enjoyment of a holiday. Estimates based purely on population give undue significance to coverage in the most densely populated areas.
Coverage Experience measures geographic coverage of populated areas and therefore more accurately reflects the coverage expectations and experience of typical users. It can give a result that is somewhat different to traditional estimates based on either geographic or population measures. The metric uses a scale from 0 to 10.
National Analysis
One NZ wins the 5G Coverage Experience award outright with a score of 3.8 points on a 10-point scale — leading by a hair over Spark, which takes second place with a score of 3.7 points. All of the Kiwi mobile network operators have seen increases in their 5G Coverage Experience scores of one point.
Definitions
The Opensignal Coverage Experience metric measures the extent of mobile networks in the places people live, work and travel. The metric represents the experience users receive as they travel around areas where they would reasonably expect to find coverage.
Traditional coverage metrics typically estimate either a percentage of land area covered, or a percentage of population covered; often neither will be an accurate measurement of the true user expectation and experience. In many markets there are areas where neither population density nor geographic area reflect the importance of coverage to users. For example, in a large mountain range most users will not expect coverage in the wilderness, but poor coverage in the relatively small area of a ski resort is critical for the enjoyment of a holiday. Estimates based purely on population give undue significance to coverage in the most densely populated areas.
Coverage Experience measures geographic coverage of populated areas and therefore more accurately reflects the coverage expectations and experience of typical users. It can give a result that is somewhat different to traditional estimates based on either geographic or population measures. The metric uses a scale from 0 to 10.
5G Coverage Experience shows the proportion of places Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription had an active 5G connection.
National Analysis
Spark and 2degrees remain on the winners’ podium for Availability, with identical scores of 99.3%. These scores represent the proportion of time Opensignal users spend with a 5G, 4G or 3G mobile signal.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
Availability shows the proportion of time all Opensignal users on an operator’s network had either a 3G, 4G or 5G connection.
National Analysis
One NZ and 2degrees share the 5G Availability award jointly with statistically tied scores of 9-9.7%. This means, our 5G users spend nearly 10% of their time with an active 5G connection on the winners’ networks.
All New Zealand’s operators have observed increases in their 5G Availability scores — ranging from one percentage point for 2degrees to three percentage points for Spark.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
5G Availability shows the proportion of time Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription had an active 5G connection.
Regional Analysis
Regional Analysis Summary: New Zealand, Mobile Network Experience Report, September 2024
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A-I
- Auckland
- Bay of Plenty
- Canterbury
- Hawke's Bay
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J-R
- Manawatu-Wanganui
- Northland
- Otago
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S-Z
- Waikato
- Wellington
in Auckland
in Auckland
in Bay of Plenty
in Bay of Plenty
in Canterbury
in Canterbury
in Hawke's Bay
in Manawatu-Wanganui
in Manawatu-Wanganui
in Northland
in Otago
in Otago
in Waikato
in Waikato
in Wellington
in Wellington
Consistency
National Analysis
Of the two operators that shared the winners’ podium for Consistent Quality in the last report, only 2degrees remains while Spark replaces One NZ. This means 2degrees and Spark are now joint winners of this award, with statistically tied scores of 69.6-69.7% and a lead of around two percentage points over One NZ.
This metric measures if the network is sufficient to support common mobile application requirements at a level that is ‘good enough’ for users to maintain (or complete) various typical demanding tasks on their devices. It assesses a number of experience indicators such as download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, and time to first byte.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures if the network is sufficient to support common mobile application requirements at a level that is ‘good enough’ for users to maintain (or complete) various typical tasks on their devices.
We combine different experience indicators such as download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet discard, and time to first byte to calculate Consistent Quality. These components are evaluated against thresholds recommended by various more demanding common applications used for a range of common tasks.
To calculate the metric value, the proportion of tests that pass the requirements of Consistent Quality is multiplied by the test success ratio, which is the proportion of completed tests to all tests conducted. Tests that pass indicate that activities such as video calling, uploading an image to social media, or using smart home applications will be possible without noticeable lag or slowdown.
National Analysis
In the first report where we introduce this new award, Spark wins the Reliability Experience award outright with a score of 853 points on a 100-1000 point scale. It commands a lead of around 21 points over statistically tied One NZ and 2degrees.
Opensignal’s Reliability Experience measures the ability of our users to connect to and successfully complete basic tasks on operators’ networks. It consists of the following components:
a) Signal Availability — the proportion of time Opensignal users can successfully receive mobile network signal,
b) Data Connectivity — the proportion of time when the network is available and the device can connect to the internet,
c) Task Completion — whether tasks initiated by the user’s device are completed,
d) Sufficiency — the probability that (basic) tasks will be executed sufficiently well for the user.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Reliability Experience measures the ability of Opensignal users to connect to and successfully complete (basic) tasks on communication service providers’ (CSP) networks. It analyzes how much Opensignal users’ experience is affected by the radio access and core network, along with issues that prevent them from connecting to the internet even if they have a connection to their CSP’s network. It also factors in users’ ability to successfully use lower performance applications including SD video, over-the-top voice calls and web browsing.
Regional Analysis
Regional Analysis Summary: New Zealand, Mobile Network Experience Report, September 2024
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A-I
- Auckland
- Bay of Plenty
- Canterbury
- Hawke's Bay
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J-R
- Manawatu-Wanganui
- Northland
- Otago
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S-Z
- Waikato
- Wellington
in Auckland
in Auckland
in Bay of Plenty
in Bay of Plenty
in Canterbury
in Canterbury
in Hawke's Bay
in Hawke's Bay
in Manawatu-Wanganui
in Manawatu-Wanganui
in Northland
in Northland
in Otago
in Otago
in Waikato
in Waikato
in Wellington
in Wellington
Related Analysis
Our Methodology
Collecting billions of individual measurements daily from over 100 million devices globally, Opensignal independently analyzes mobile and broadband user experience on every major network operator around the globe.
About Opensignal
Opensignal is the leading global provider of independent insights into consumers' connectivity experiences and choice of carrier. Our proprietary insights into mobile and broadband networks give operators the solutions they need to profitably compete and win, from executive level scorecards and public validation to pin-point level engineering analytics and consumer decision dynamics.
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Confidence Intervals
For every metric we calculate statistical confidence intervals indicated on our graphs. When confidence intervals overlap, our measured results are too close to declare a winner. In those cases, we show a statistical draw. For this reason, some metrics have multiple operator winners.
In our bar graphs we represent confidence intervals as boundaries on either sides of graph bars.
In our supporting-metric charts we show confidence intervals as +/- numerical values.
Why confidence intervals are vital in analyzing mobile network experience