Renee Mateparae (Spark)
Spark has kicked off its 5G standalone network build, which will drive 5G technology into the network's core to unlock new capabilities.
5G networks in New Zealand currently use 4G for base connectivity (known as the "core"). 5G standalone means 5G enabled cell towers will connect back into a 5G core to create in an end-to-end 5G network.
Renee Mateparae, Spark’s network and operations director, said deploying a 5G standalone core would be the turning point for unlocking the transformative features the technology could bring.
“5G standalone will unlock capabilities like ‘network slicing’, which is one of the most transformative features of the technology," Mateparae said.
"While today our network is tuned to provide the best experience across a variety of devices, network slicing provides the ability to tailor or ‘slice’ the network and then tune it based on a specific use type."
A piece of network could be sliced to serve a mission critical service such as driverless cars, for example. These require the network to respond quickly and with ultra-reliability in real time.
A gaming slice, meanwhile, could be created to provide the ultimate high speed, low-latency experience for gamers.
“5G standalone also allows us to move some elements of the core out to the edge of the network," Mateparae said. "This technology, called ‘multi access edge compute’, takes more of the network’s processing functions closer to the customer, which reduces the distance data needs to travel from one point to another."
This allowed the network to respond quickly to support new applications that require real-time performance, such as allowing video analytics to identify health and safety hazards in real-time.
“In addition to our investment in C-band mobile spectrum, we are committing $40 million to $60 million to the development of a 5G standalone network over the next three years, which will create a step change enabling business innovation in Aotearoa.”
The announcement follows the successful completion of a three-month 5G standalone trial in 2022, using Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G core running on Red Hat OpenShift and integrated with Spark’s 5G fixed wireless access network to test enhanced wireless broadband.
Ericsson and Red Hat have now been selected to support the wider network rollout.
Ericsson supports around 55 per cent of the world’s live 5G standalone networks while Red Hat’s open source technologies are designed to provide the foundation and capabilities for service providers to modernise their networks as well as to scale the 5G core on-demand.
One NZ senior corporate affairs lead Matt Flood said 5G standalone was on the telco's future roadmap. However, One NZ was focusing right now on customers’ "more immediate needs" by expanding its 5G network at pace, with a focus on regional builds.
"We’re also working on our collaboration with SpaceX to provide coverage like never before across New Zealand, starting with text service by the end of 2024," Flood said.
One NZ was also the first NZ telco to launch control plane and user plane separation (CUPS) on its core data network, delivering lower latency, mobile edge computing capability and capacity and scalability for 5G and fixed wireless access growth.
"We have the ability today to provide better quality of service through the existing feature sets to meet the demands of the market right now," Flood said.
2degrees told Reseller News it didn’t have a 5G stand-alone roll-out date to share.
"We remain focussed on continuing to deliver an excellent 5G service and rolling out at pace," a spokesperson said.
Spark, meanwhile, had also committed to accelerating deployment of its 5G network aiming to expand 5G connectivity to all towns with a population of more than 1500 people by the end of June 2026.
The telco also announced it will aim to shut down its legacy 3G network in late 2025, freeing up radio spectrum to make way for 5G in rural areas.
To date, 41 mobile network operators have deployed or launched 5G standalone worldwide according to the Gobal mobile Suppliers Association (GSA).
