Spark, Cisco to create new 5G innovation hub in New Zealand

Leading Auckland-based telecommunications company Spark has announced that it has signed a new agreement with multinational technology company Cisco to create a new 5G innovation hub in New Zealand to bolster the country’s next generation connectivity efforts.

The agreement is the first in a number that Spark plans to sign in the aim of preparing and testing the parameters for a 5G network in New Zealand, with the innovation hub set to be crucial in creating this.

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“5G will transform the way we live, work and play with significantly faster speeds and considerably more capacity than previous generations of mobile technology,” said Mark Beder, Chief Operating Officer at Spark.

“The purpose of the 5G Innovation hub is to start planning and testing use cases that’ll help New Zealand businesses win big in a digital world.”

The news comes after Spark successfully trialled 5G in both Auckland and Wellington earlier in the year, achieving speeds 150 times faster than the firm’s initial 4G trial.

“The innovation hub will provide a collaborative workspace to allow local New Zealand companies to work with Cisco’s programmable networking technology within a 5G sandbox to explore new ideas,” said Andrew Findlay, Sales and Operations Director for Service Providers at Cisco ANZ.

“Next generation networking underpins the 5G future where the contrasting demands from IoT through to Augmented Reality require unprecedented flexibility in the network, and with that there are new possibilities waiting to be discovered.”

Spark’s 5G network partners are yet to be chosen or named.