Spark Wholesale launches Auckland data centre link

Spark Wholesale has launched a data centre interconnect service across Auckland using Ciena technology, aimed at organisations moving large volumes of data between data centres.

The service provides private, uncontended connectivity between regional facilities across Auckland. Its initial footprint runs from Silverdale in the north to Papakura in the south, with services available at 10G, 100G, and 400G.

The launch comes as investment in New Zealand data centre infrastructure rises. Industry figures cited by the companies show 56 data centres are operating in the country, with another 20 in development and an expected NZD $10 billion to be invested in data centre growth over the next decade.

Spark Wholesale is using Ciena's WaveLogic 6 Extreme coherent optics on the Waveserver platform for the service. The system is designed for data centre interconnect deployments across metro, regional, and longer-distance networks.

Ciena's technology supports transmission rates of up to 1.6Tb/s, while the Auckland service will support speeds from 10G to 800G. The 800G option is expected to be introduced after the initial launch.

The service is intended for organisations linking critical infrastructure across multiple sites, including cloud and data-intensive workloads. Private connectivity between data centres is becoming more important for operators and enterprise customers as growing use of artificial intelligence tools and cloud services increases demand for bandwidth and more predictable network performance.

Growing demand

Auckland has become a focal point for data centre expansion in New Zealand, reflecting wider demand from domestic businesses, international carriers, and large cloud providers. That growth has increased the need for links between facilities that can handle larger data volumes while giving customers more control over traffic than shared public network routes.

The new service is part of Spark Wholesale's response to that demand. Alongside the optical transport equipment, it is also using Ciena's Navigator Network Control Suite to manage the network.

The software gives Spark Wholesale visibility and management tools across the service, including support for automated capacity planning, service fulfilment, and fault troubleshooting.

Raj Singh, Tribe Lead, Spark Wholesale, described the project as part of a broader infrastructure investment effort.

“New Zealand's digital future is full of opportunity. Together, Ciena and Spark Wholesale are creating the high-performance foundations that will help organisations harness AI, accelerate innovation and confidently scale for what's next. We're excited to be investing in the infrastructure that will power the next generation of growth across New Zealand,” said Raj Singh, Tribe Lead, Spark Wholesale.

The agreement also underlines Ciena's push in the Australia and New Zealand market, where telecoms operators and wholesale providers are upgrading fibre networks to serve data centres and cloud traffic.

Matt Vesperman, Vice President, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, Ciena, highlighted the country's role in the regional market.

“New Zealand is emerging as a strategic regional hub for hyperscale and AI data centres,” said Matt Vesperman, Vice President, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, Ciena. “Spark is taking advantage of this opportunity, creating a foundation for delivering high-speed DCI services with Ciena's WaveLogic technology.”

For Spark Wholesale, the new interconnect product adds to its portfolio for international carriers, New Zealand telecommunications providers, and channel partners, which use its fixed and wireless network services to support digital services for their own end users.

The launch of a dedicated Auckland interconnect service reflects how network operators are adapting to a market where data centre traffic is becoming more concentrated and more demanding. With more facilities under development and larger data loads moving between them, transport links within metro areas are becoming as important as long-haul international and domestic backbone routes.

Initial availability from Silverdale to Papakura gives Spark Wholesale coverage across the main Auckland corridor, where many of the city's existing and planned data centre sites are located.