Press release:

 

Spark today announced it has entered into a partnering agreement with Netlinkz – an ASX-listed network-as-a-service technology company – to supply Starlink business-grade satellite broadband to customers later this year, following the completion of trials currently underway with a small number of New Zealand businesses. 

 

Spark Product Director, Tessa Tierney, says, “It is critical that businesses can continue providing their services to New Zealanders in the event of extreme weather events or other disruptions to traditional connectivity.

 

“Spark has been providing satellite connectivity to Aotearoa since the 1970s and we own and operate a purpose-built Satellite Earth Station in Warkworth. Our new partnership with Netlinkz allows us to supply Starlink business-grade satellite to our customers, which will further enhance the end-to-end digital capabilities we already offer businesses across connectivity, cybersecurity, cloud computing, IoT, data and AI, with an additional layer of resilience and business continuity.

 

“We are conducting trials prior to launching the service more broadly to ensure that deployments are as seamless as possible for our customers. We are excited to be working alongside some of our business customers and Netlinkz to explore how we can use emerging satellite technologies to deliver remote connectivity and improved resilience right across Aotearoa’s economy.”

 

Spark is also working on a satellite-to-mobile service for Spark mobile customers, with details and timings to be announced soon.