One New Zealand secures Best in Test mobile network title again

One New Zealand has been awarded New Zealand's Best in Test mobile network for 2024 by the independent benchmarking organisation umlaut, part of Accenture. This marks the third consecutive year that the company has received this accolade. The recognition highlights One New Zealand’s performance across critical categories, including voice, data, reliability, and overall user experience.

Thaigan Govender, General Manager of Mobile Access Networks at One New Zealand, expressed satisfaction with the results, saying, "Every day we aim to ensure New Zealanders are better connected. Phones are now an essential part of daily life, and so you need a mobile network that performs at its best. These results show One NZ leads in terms of voice and data performance, and reliability."

Govender attributed the success to the hard work and innovation of One New Zealand’s technology team and partners. He noted that the company has continuously invested millions of dollars in its network, building and upgrading over 300 4G and 5G sites in the last year alone. This ongoing investment aims to enhance connectivity and improve user experiences across the country.

umlaut's benchmarking process involved extensive comparative testing across more than 200 mobile networks in 120 countries. In New Zealand, the evaluation included data browsing, video streaming, and voice call performance over a six-month period. The testing utilised both drive testing and crowd-sourced data, ensuring broad representation by covering at least 60% of the population. Mobile operators were informed about the certification window, but they were unaware of the specific routes chosen for testing.

One New Zealand emerged as the leader across several key metrics. The company scored a total of 801 points out of 1000, surpassing competitors Spark and 2Degrees, which scored 747 and 709 points respectively. These metrics covered areas such as fastest call setup time, data connectivity during calls, high call voice quality, web browsing, file downloads, and YouTube streaming experience. One New Zealand also showed the most consistent performance over the past six months based on crowd-sourced data.

This is the first time One New Zealand has exceeded the 800-point threshold, a significant milestone indicating continuous progress. The company’s leadership extended to voice and data services, as well as overall network reliability, meaning it excelled in maintaining high-quality connections for both voice and data calls. The company's commitment to further improvements was underscored by recent strategic moves, including the acquisition of Dense Air and its spectrum, and the upcoming launch of a satellite text service in partnership with SpaceX.

Looking ahead, One New Zealand plans to continue building and upgrading its network to ensure even better service for its customers. "We're focused on getting better every year for our customers," Govender stated.