MVNOs call for regulatory action on satellite texting

In this edition:

• ISPANZ seeks intervention on MVNO satellite access
• 2degrees’ mobile market share rises
• TCF updates Product Disclosure Code
• MBNZ April 2026 charts changing landscape
  

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ISPs accuse carriers of satellite texting lockout

The Internet Service Provider Association of New Zealand (ISPANZ) says mobile carriers have squeezed MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) out of the satellite texting market.

That has left them unable to be part of what they regard as critical rural safety infrastructure.

MVNO access dispute

In a letter to the Commerce Commission, ISPANZ chief executive David Haynes describes what he calls and anti-competitive practice. Haynes calls on the Commission to investigate the withholding of satellite texting from MVNOs.

He writes: “If current practice by One NZ and Spark is in breach of the Commerce Act, direct them to comply with the Act and make satellite texting available to MVNOs, or if current practice is not currently contrary to the Commerce Act, arrange for MBIE to draft an appropriate bill to ensure that it is.”

One New Zealand and Spark both offer satellite texting to their customers through the Starlink satellite network At the time of writing, 2degrees has yet to begin its service which will use the rival AST SpaceMobile satellites (LEO direct-to-device).

A previous commitment

ISPANZ says One NZ had previously committed to make satellite texting available to MVNOs on April 1, 2026. When the deadline passed, the telco told ISPANZ members it had made a business decision not to deliver.

The letter argues there is no technical reason for this as One NZ’s Farmside subsidiary has this capability. It also notes that One NZ enabled satellite messaging for MVNOs during recent civil emergencies.

ISPANZ argues the emergency activation is evidence that the withholding is deliberate and anti-competitive, not operational.

Spark is also mentioned, but the company has only recently started its satellite texting service.

MVNOs losing business

The argument says that because customers now demand satellite texting, the MVNOs are now losing business to the networks that host them.

New Zealand’s MVNO market is already tiny by international standards. Here it is around 2 percent of the market. In Australia MVNOs are close to 20 percent of the market. Elsewhere in the OECD the share ranges from 10 to 20 percent.

2degrees increases mobile market share

Telcowatch reports that 2degrees has increased its share of the mobile market for seven quarters in a row.

In the first quarter of 2026, 2degrees’ was up 1.45 percent taking the total year-on-year growth to 3.6 percent. The company now has 27 percent of the mobile market putting it in third place behind Spark when combined with its Skinny brand and One NZ.

Most of 2degree’s growth came at Spark’s expense. The company’s branded mobile network dropped 1.5 percent in the recent quarter and a total of 2.4 percent over the last year. Spark’s Skinny brand fared worse over the year dropping by 3.1 percent.

Spark falls as 2degrees rises

Just as 2degrees has enjoyed seven quarters of market share growth, Spark’s share has declined for seven quarters.

Skinny’s long-term decline halted in the first quarter with the company adding 0.6 percent market share.

Speaking at the time of Spark’s half-year result for the period ending December 2025, CEO Jolie Hodson said mobile momentum is returning, with service revenue up 1.6 percent to $499 million.

She emphasised that Spark is "reaffirming leadership in mobile connectivity”. This squares with the Telcowatch survey.

Spark now sits at 32 percent of the market while its Skinny brand is a six percent. This gives the pair a combined share of 38 percent. This is just in front of One New Zealand’s 36 percent. One NZ’s market share has been flat over the past year growing just 0.2 percent.

Analysis: mobile market stable

Last year, the Commerce Commission’s 2024 Telecommunications Monitoring Report noted the concentrated nature of the mobile market with Spark, One NZ and 2degrees collectively controlling 97.5 percent of the market.

The remaining 2.5 percent are the mobile virtual network operators. Their share of the New Zealand market is one of the lowest in the OECD. It is telling that Telcowatch doesn’t bother to mention them in its quarterly reports.

In its Monitoring Report, the Commerce Commission says mobile is a “stable three-player oligopoly” that has experienced little disruption.

That is underlined by the Telecowatch numbers. Spark’s relative decline and 2degrees’ relative growth over the the last year is greater than most years, but still stable.

TCF updates Product Disclosure Code

New Zealand’s Telecommunications Forum has updated its Product Disclosure Code. The mandatory code sets out minimum information disclosure rules for consumer broadband plans.

It includes a product description template that service providers should use when setting out their broadband plans.

The change is a response to the Commerce Commission’s October 2025 Product Disclosure – Price and Cost Guidelines.

Monitoring Broadband Report shows shifting landscape

While speeds remain steady in the April 2026 Measuring Broadband New Zealand report, it notes changing market conditions.

The Commerce Commission says it has not included results for HFC plans due to low numbers. This comes as One NZ begins to retire the network.

Numbers are included for LEO satellites, but the report notes that Starlink has updated its New Zealand residential plans to a tiered structure, replacing the Residential and Residential Lite plans with Residential 100Mbps, Residential 200Mbps and Residential Max plans. It says this change will be reflected in the next MBNZ report.

Key changes in April report

Faster Game Downloads: High-end Fibre and LEO Satellite plans showed an improvement in the time taken to download large game files like Hogwarts Legacy.

Starlink Improvement: MBNZ saw a jump in the percentage of Starlink households able to support multiple simultaneous UHD streams, particularly for the ‘Residential Lite’ plan which climbed from 59 percent to 84 percent.

In other news:

• Spark uses satellite for roaming — NZ Herald
  Customers travelling to Japan will get access.
• Fibre is no longer a utility — OpenSignal
  ‌”Performance is not defined by top speeds, but by consistency”.
• HBO Max to launch as Sky faces fresh cloud — The Post
  Local streaming market continues to fragment.

Primo appoints Shewen as GM

Taranaki-based regional telco Primo has appointed Andrew Shewen as the company's first general manager.

Shewen brings a mix of telecommunications experience and business insight to his role at Primo. He has previously worked in technology, operations and project delivery. He worked for Spark as a client lead and has spent time in the oil and gas sector as well as in his own ventures.

Shewen was appointed at the end of March, taking over day-to-day operations while the company’s founder, Matthew Harrison, focuses on network strategy and growth. He says his priorities are maintaining Primo’s customer-first culture and strengthening systems to support sustainable growth, while continuing the company’s strong connection to its Taranaki community.

Thomson takes TDR reins

Commerce Commission director of transformation Simon Thomson is the new chief executive of Telecommunications Dispute Resolution. An announcement on Linkedin says Thomson has ‘previously led telecommunications regulatory work and contributed to telecommunications policy at an international level’.

Cloud infrastructure spending up 29 percent

A report from research company Omdia says worldwide cloud infrastructure spending surged 29 percent to US$110.9 billion in Q4 2025. The growth was driven by a shift from AI experimentation to full-scale production.

Hyperscalers are aggressively expanding capacity, with Google Cloud leading growth at 50 percent, followed by Microsoft Azure at 39 percent and AWS at 24 percent.

With the market now moving toward AI agents and automated workflows, Omdia forecasts a further 27 percent increase in 2026.

Five years ago in Download Weekly

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Ten years ago

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