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Spark announced today the north Auckland suburb of Silverdale has become just the second place in New Zealand to get 4.5G, the next generation of mobile technology, delivering more capacity and faster speeds to the area, and giving people more connectivity options. 

 

4.5G is the next evolution of the existing 4G technology that is already available in around 90% of the places New Zealanders work, live, and play on the Spark network. The launch of 4.5G in Silverdale follows the first New Zealand activation in Christchurch in May, where specialised equipment reached a peak speed of 1.15Gbps (gigabits per second). 

 

Spark Chief Operating Officer, Mark Beder, said that the upgrade makes Silverdale a “hyper-connected” suburb, and sets it up well for the strong projected population growth. 

 

“People in Silverdale are already massive data users - it’s our busiest mobile site with nearly two terabytes of data used each week and that’s growing at two per-cent per week. There will be nearly 23,000 households in the Silverdale-Dairy Flat area by 2030, and already we’re seeing huge new developments with subdivisions in Millwater and Red Beach and the new business park at Highgate. 

 

“This massive growth needs to be supported by high-quality mobile telecommunications infrastructure, with lots of capacity and great speeds, to really unleash the potential of the residents and businesses who live and operate in the area,” said Beder. 

 

The upgrade to 4.5G future-proofs the Spark network and puts it ahead of devices, with no commercially available modems or phones supporting the full range of 4.5G features yet. However most high-end new phones support some of the features, which propels their speeds to between three and five times faster than regular 4G, with some real-world tests delivering over 300Mbps. 

 

4.5G also delivers around five times more capacity from a single tower compared with regular 4G, helping keep up with population and data growth. This means being able to do more on the go – using mobile applications for business or staying in touch with friends and family, and more options for fast, high quality wireless broadband. 

 

Spark intends to continue delivering 4.5G upgrades to key areas around New Zealand alongside its 4G upgrade and deployment programme.