Spark - 5G Coverage + data instability (Wellington & parts of Auckland)

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Spark - 5G Coverage + data instability (Wellington & parts of Auckland)

1 | ... | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15

Max
2111 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1733

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#3482040 19-Apr-2026 09:54

boosacnoodle:

Middleton (Christchurch) is now live, too - but oddly does not show on RSM (perhaps a delay in licensing over the weekend?).

There appears to be the following Christchurch sites still to come:

Peterborough Street, CBD
Worcester Street, CBD
Spark appears to have a network of sleeper cells LOL.

Hurray! I finally won't complain about sitting on L700 in the CBD anymore.

Canterbury Tech park is next please.

edit: re worcester.

That could have been Latimer.

Ramblings from a mysterious lady who's into tech. Warning I may often create zingers.

Want broadband cheap and made for tech enthusiasts? Go look over at Quic. Use R177510EBNVXP for free setup at check out.

Linux

12362 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 8657

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3482205 19-Apr-2026 16:25

SparkNZ 4G / 5G in Kaipara region where I work is much better after the 3G shutdown

boosacnoodle

1393 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 930

#3482840 21-Apr-2026 18:52

Euston Street, Riccarton, Christchurch being worked on today.

boosacnoodle

1393 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 930

#3483640 24-Apr-2026 08:55

Looks like Yaldhurst Road, Christchurch has been livened now as Cockburn North. It's presumably meant to be Sockburn North but got a chuckle out of me, at least, when I first saw it.

Appears to be around 4-5 days of lag between when the site actually goes live and when it shows as licensed on RSM, i.e. they start operating before they are actually licensed. Another observation is that 4G is generally turned on first, then somewhere between the next day and the next week 5G is certified separately. Not sure of the reason for either of these.

michaelmurfy

meow
13665 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 11071

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3483646 24-Apr-2026 09:04

Had this happen a few times now on Transmission Gully. Makes no sense.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
Referral Links: Quic Broadband (use R122101E7CV7Q for free setup)

Are you happy with what you get from Geekzone? Please consider supporting us by subscribing.
Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

boosacnoodle

1393 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 930

#3483684 24-Apr-2026 11:05

Looks like I am seeing 5G SA in Hornby now. Rollout mustn’t be that far away. Phone does not appear to attach to it but everything I’ve seen suggested it will be priced separately, so no surprise.

Mighty Ape

Shop now at Mighty Ape (affiliate link).

jaydenvt

35 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 2

#3484919 28-Apr-2026 09:30

Does anyone know anything about 4G or 5G improvements for Belfast / Northwood in Christchurch? 8051. Particularly the the Spring Grove area. The subdivision has been around for a long time yet coverage is absolutely terrible. I struggle to get 1 bar in the subdivision especially when inside, and in the Northwood Supa Center area, you get 2-3 bars but about 10mb download speed.

I often can't even make phone calls in my home

2 degrees seems to be quite bad there too but not as bad. Coverage on the Spark coverage map says it should be okay there but it has been terrible for years

Linux

12362 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 8657

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3484921 28-Apr-2026 09:37

@jaydenvt Looks like OneNZ would have the best coverage in the area & next 2degreees looking at gis.geek

Do you have home broadband? If yes then enable Wi-Fi calling on your handset and this should resolve the issue of making calls inside your house

Any coverage map reflects out door coverage and not in bulding

jaydenvt

35 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 2

#3484923 28-Apr-2026 09:41

@Linux Yeah agree, Vodafone looks better but I'm a long term Spark user and have a nice grandfathered mobile plan that I would like to keep, personally. I would like to stay with Spark if I could but I might have to change. Just seems odd that such a large town in Christchurch is that bad? It's 15 mins from the CBD.

I do have UFB yes and I should look more into WiFi calling to solve the calling issue, you're correct. It would be nice though to have some proper 4/5G coverage there though. Our phones are constantly changing to emergency calls only and there's about a 2m^2 section of the house where we have actual coverage to receive texts and things.

Just seems very odd given the location.

Would you happen to know if there's any upgrades planned for this area? Or new towers to go up?

Linux

12362 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 8657

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3484924 28-Apr-2026 09:42

@jaydenvt Vodafone does not operate in New Zealand has hasn't for many years 100% of it was sold by Vodafone Group in the UK

How are you not using Wi-Fi calling? This makes zero sense and is a free service / feature!

jaydenvt

35 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 2

#3484925 28-Apr-2026 09:43

@Linux old habbit, I meant OneNZ. I read your message and my mind just changed it to Vodafone

New World

Shop on-line at New World now for your groceries (affiliate link).

Linux

12362 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 8657

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3484926 28-Apr-2026 09:47

@jaydenvt 15 minutes from a CBD mean zero! Like people in Auckland with poor mobile coverage that can see the Sky Tower - Not related to mobile coverage in anyway at all

' Oh why do I have poor mobile coverage when I can see the Sky Tower '

jaydenvt

35 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 2

#3484929 28-Apr-2026 09:50

@Linux fair point. However, I am just curious as to why it's so bad for a long existing and decent size town in Christchurch. Looking at the coverage map on Spark (unsure how accurate this is) it shows strong 4 and 5G signal all over the area where I am, yet that's most definitely not the case

ajw

1971 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 369

#3484931 28-Apr-2026 09:53

jaydenvt:

@Linux Yeah agree, Vodafone looks better but I'm a long term Spark user and have a nice grandfathered mobile plan that I would like to keep, personally. I would like to stay with Spark if I could but I might have to change. Just seems odd that such a large town in Christchurch is that bad? It's 15 mins from the CBD.

I do have UFB yes and I should look more into WiFi calling to solve the calling issue, you're correct. It would be nice though to have some proper 4/5G coverage there though. Our phones are constantly changing to emergency calls only and there's about a 2m^2 section of the house where we have actual coverage to receive texts and things.

Just seems very odd given the location.

Would you happen to know if there's any upgrades planned for this area? Or new towers to go up?

Have a look at these guys uses the spark network.

https://www.geckomobile.nz/

Linux

12362 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 8657

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3484932 28-Apr-2026 09:53

jaydenvt:

@Linux fair point. However, I am just curious as to why it's so bad for a long existing and decent size town in Christchurch. Looking at the coverage map on Spark (unsure how accurate this is) it shows strong 4 and 5G signal all over the area where I am, yet that's most definitely not the case

@jaydenvt I bet the area does have Spark 4G / 5G mobile coverage but as above a coverage map does not reflect in building coverage as depending what a building is made of coverage will change and this is why you should be using Wi-Fi calling

1 | ... | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15