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)

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#3470191 14-Mar-2026 18:07

I experienced this today at Costco, decent 5G coverage in store but could get zero data throughput (phone calls went through on VoLTE without issue, I even restarted twice to make sure it wasn’t my iPhone.
Meanwhile my wife on OneNZ could get 300mbps (which conveniently made her responsible for price checking).

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yitz

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#3470192 14-Mar-2026 18:12

Andib:

I experienced this today at Costco, decent 5G coverage in store but could get zero data throughput (phone calls went through on VoLTE without issue, I even restarted twice to make sure it wasn’t my iPhone.

Does VoLTE data packets operate on another frequency??

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#3470197 14-Mar-2026 18:23

yitz:

Andib:

I experienced this today at Costco, decent 5G coverage in store but could get zero data throughput (phone calls went through on VoLTE without issue, I even restarted twice to make sure it wasn’t my iPhone.

Does VoLTE data packets operate on another frequency??

Nope

boosacnoodle

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#3470216 14-Mar-2026 19:31

Andib:

I experienced this today at Costco, decent 5G coverage in store but could get zero data throughput (phone calls went through on VoLTE without issue, I even restarted twice to make sure it wasn’t my iPhone.
Meanwhile my wife on OneNZ could get 300mbps (which conveniently made her responsible for price checking).

That's because One NZ invested to install in-building coverage there. Spark did not. But that's not really the issue. The actual issue is: why is the Spark network putting you on a 5G layer that's unusable?

muppet:

I don't understand how you guys and girls are in a position to be using so much data just to.... test speeds??

At the moment people are lining up at the stations down here in Napier, data is over $3/L thanks to this stupid war. I've heard people having to wait ~10-15 minutes in a queue to get to the pump just to fill up with Data and even then yesterday, some of the Data pumps ran dry due to discounting.

Good on you if you can afford it, I guess, but I'm saving every ml of Data I've got given how volatile the price seems to be!

Doesn't use much data when you're sub-10Mbps.

Aucklandjafa

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#3470337 14-Mar-2026 21:19

Re speed tests. To this day, I don’t get ratted on them. Wondering if this a weird provisioning issue, or just being on an unlimited plan they don’t bother?

boosacnoodle

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#3470339 14-Mar-2026 21:54

Not at all. It's an extensive issue. Every day apps just simply don't work. It's not a case of data being deprioritised. Many (most?) areas on Spark work well for me, but there are specific areas where it's just so bad as to be unusable. I have the Action button on iPhone linked to a Shortcut that toggles data between One NZ and Spark - that's how bad it is.

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jordan8thepie1

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#3470353 14-Mar-2026 22:58

recently we have had two new towers added in our area a one NZ tower about half way up and a 2 degrees tower at the top of the hill.

Coverage has improved with both these providers.

2 degrees did have 2 3g microsites on top of lamp posts in our area. and I get decant signal with these two. Spark/Skinny are pretty bad at the top of the hill where we live.

The closest Spark tower is at the bottom of the hill near the golf course. in some areas i could receive a max of 2 bars but it was inconsistent.

michaelmurfy

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#3470765 16-Mar-2026 10:26

I was in Auckland over the weekend and found Spark coverage to just be terribly slow or not responsive around Albany and my phone mainly using 4G (vs 5G almost everywhere on One NZ). It's totally a problem around that area @idanoo

Very similar to what I often experience in Wellington.

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idanoo

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#3470767 16-Mar-2026 10:29

michaelmurfy:

I was in Auckland over the weekend and found Spark coverage to just be terribly slow or not responsive around Albany and my phone mainly using 4G (vs 5G almost everywhere on One NZ). It's totally a problem around that area @idanoo

Very similar to what I often experience in Wellington.

Yeah, It always happens around the same areas in Northcote. Data drops out for an extended period every single time.

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nzpilot1181

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#3470803 16-Mar-2026 11:31

One NZ has completed roll out of several new cell sites in and around the Pukekohe area. Spark none. Spark use to dominate this area with quite spotty coverage from One. Now its a complete turn around with One NZ being the more dominant coverage provider in and around Pukekohe and outskirts.

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grantius

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#3470854 16-Mar-2026 14:46

nzpilot1181:

One NZ has completed roll out of several new cell sites in and around the Pukekohe area. Spark none. Spark use to dominate this area with quite spotty coverage from One. Now its a complete turn around with One NZ being the more dominant coverage provider in and around Pukekohe and outskirts.

What's interesting is the newish tower in Tuakau on spark is really good, on LTE I have seen 5CA combos (b28+b3+b40+40+b7) and some really fast speeds. But yeah once you get into Pukekohe it's a different story.

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boosacnoodle

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#3470855 16-Mar-2026 14:48

Installation of the actual radio equipment in Wigram is finally underway now (March 2026), following the physical tower itself being installed in December 2024 (15 months ago).

KiwiSurfer

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#3470858 16-Mar-2026 14:50

Wonder if they put the build on hold to ensure the tower went live with Nokia gear rather than Samsung. You can see the "new gen" 5G antenna at the top, not the "old gen" 5G that they're ripping out of a lot of their exisiting 5G sites.

boosacnoodle

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#3470939 16-Mar-2026 16:40

KiwiSurfer:

Wonder if they put the build on hold to ensure the tower went live with Nokia gear rather than Samsung. You can see the "new gen" 5G antenna at the top, not the "old gen" 5G that they're ripping out of a lot of their exisiting 5G sites.

I believe this has occurred at several “work-in-progress” new builds, causing significant delays. In each case I've seen, sites were initially installed with Samsung equipment, which was then removed with the intention of replacing it with Nokia gear a few months later. However, the replacement equipment has sometimes taken 12 months or more to arrive and be installed.

The timing couldn't have been worse - many of these Samsung builds occurred around the same time Spark signed its new Nokia contract. As a result, sites that were mid-build during the Samsung-to-Nokia transition appear to have been left inactive during that extended period.

I’m aware of at least four Spark sites that have been sitting completely inactive:

Perhaps Spark underestimated the current lead time for Nokia radios, especially if towers are sitting empty for 12–18+ months before becoming operational. Presumably this also has a financial impact on Spark, with significant capital tied up in sites that are built but not yet generating revenue.

Aucklandjafa

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#3470943 16-Mar-2026 16:57

You can add the Botanic gardens and Aro valley - both sites were nearly installed 12 months ago and are still not live

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