{“headline”:”Cabinet just clipped Spark and One NZ to give 2degrees a fighting chance”,”seoTitle”:”2degrees wins 30 MHz spectrum in Goldsmith decision”,”standfirst”:”Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith has decided to renew only about 70% of Spark and One NZ’s most valuable mid-band spectrum, handing 30 MHz to 2degrees. It is the most direct competition intervention the mobile market has seen in over a decade.“,”body”:”## The decision that reshapes the mobile market\n\nCabinet has decided how New Zealand’s most valuable mid-band mobile spectrum, the 2300 MHz and 2600 MHz bands, will be carved up when current management rights expire. The headline outcome is blunt. Spark and One NZ will have only around 70% of their existing holdings renewed, with the freed capacity redirected. Specifically, 30 MHz in the 2600 MHz band will be offered to 2degrees, up to 20 MHz in the 2300 MHz band reserved for defence, and any remaining 2600 MHz sold at auction in 2027.\n\nGoldsmith framed it squarely as a competition measure, per Newsroom’s report on the allocation. And on the merits, he has a case.\n\n## Why 2600 MHz is the number that matters\n\nThis is not an abstract regulatory shuffle. The 2600 MHz band is the workhorse of high-capacity mobile data and 5G. Until now, 2degrees held zero 2600 MHz spectrum. That is a genuine handicap in a market where mid-band capacity determines whether a network can carry serious data load.\n\nThe gap has been flagged before. In its 2024 statement of issues on One NZ’s acquisition of Dense Air New Zealand, the Commerce Commission warned the deal [“, “sources”:
Sources
- Goldsmith allocates mobile spectrum to 2degrees to boost competition – Newsroom
- Telcos caution Government plan to auction radio spectrum could hit network investment, consumers – NZ Herald
- Future allocations of 2300 MHz and 2600 MHz spectrum – Radio Spectrum Management New Zealand
- Regulator juggles ‘theories of harm’ in One NZ’s planned Dense Air buyout – Reseller News
- Determination on One New Zealand and Dense Air merger clearance – Commerce Commission
- One NZ calls for long-term telecom investment policy – Telco News
- NERA economic report in response to Statement of Issues – Commerce Commission
- 2024 Telecommunications Monitoring Report – Commerce Commission