Sector state of play: Telecommunications

Telecommunications connects markets, enables new technologies and is becoming increasingly essential for accessing key services such as education, health, financial, and government services.  COVID-19 highlighted the importance of telecommunications connections and the barriers faced by those without them.

The telecommunications sector has gone through a transformational period with the rollout of fibre. Once complete, 87% of New Zealanders will have access to fibre by the end of 2022 and New Zealand will be one of the leading countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for fibre availability.

There has been an increasing demand for both the speed and volume of data. This demand is expected to continue to significantly grow.

This research looks closely at the telecommunications sector in New Zealand. It describes the state of the sector, the issues it faces as well as those it needs to prepare for. This work is based on our own research, a survey of infrastructure owners as well as conversations with people within the sector.

Key findings

• Private sector involvement is high in telecommunications. The Government’s participation, through Crown Infrastructure Partners, has broadly been successful in helping to close gaps in access to telecommunications networks.
• Ensuring that New Zealanders who live remotely have access to the telecommunications services is a challenge for the sector. While access can be critical to wellbeing, providing access is not always economic and the long-term solution to this problem is not clear.
• Cyber security is also a growing challenge, and the risks this poses could become even greater with technology changes like the Internet of Things and automated transport systems.
• As the world moves increasingly online, the disadvantages faced by those who don’t have access to telecommunications services becomes even greater. The solution to this divide goes further than having access to and being able to afford the infrastructure services, it also involves skills, motivation, and trust.
• The combination of our existing broadband infrastructure and our mobile infrastructure has been successful in providing high-quality internet services. New Zealand compares well with other OECD countries. This success has been compounded by ever-growing importance of connectivity as Covid-19 has shown.
• Today the sector is well placed in relation to the services that New Zealanders get from their telecommunications infrastructure. With rapid demand-side change, as well as new and uncertain technologies such as 5G, and satellite broadband this strong position will be tested.