.......but a 30 per cent share doesn’t seem too paltry
Spark today announced it has signed an agreement with the Crown for a direct allocation of C-band mobile spectrum under a new model where the revenue is directly invested into accelerated mobile network upgrades that benefit provincial and rural New Zealand.
Spark will invest an additional $24 million in funding to the Rural Connectivity Group between 2023 and 2025, which will support the expansion of mobile coverage further into rural New Zealand and address mobile black spots on state highways.
Spark is not alone in striking a deal with the government, although no other company seems to have announced anything publicly.
But the Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications, Ginny Andersen, has told us what is happening.
In a press statement today, she revealed:
“The Government has struck a bespoke deal with New Zealand’s three major network operators – Spark, 2Degrees and One New Zealand – which will deliver a faster roll-out of 5G services to around 55 rural and regional towns across New Zealand and provide mobile wireless coverage to further rural black spot areas.|
And:
“As part of this new agreement, our three major mobile network operators must increase the pace of the 5G roll-out to small towns across New Zealand and to continue their efforts to further expand mobile wireless coverage in rural areas.
“This deal is a huge step forward for rural New Zealand when it comes to connectivity. By working together with our telecommunications operators more Kiwis will have access to faster wireless mobile services,” said Ginny Andersen.
But wait – there’s more.
But the Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications, Ginny Andersen, has told us what is happening.
In a press statement today, she revealed:
“The Government has struck a bespoke deal with New Zealand’s three major network operators – Spark, 2Degrees and One New Zealand – which will deliver a faster roll-out of 5G services to around 55 rural and regional towns across New Zealand and provide mobile wireless coverage to further rural black spot areas.|
And:
“As part of this new agreement, our three major mobile network operators must increase the pace of the 5G roll-out to small towns across New Zealand and to continue their efforts to further expand mobile wireless coverage in rural areas.
“This deal is a huge step forward for rural New Zealand when it comes to connectivity. By working together with our telecommunications operators more Kiwis will have access to faster wireless mobile services,” said Ginny Andersen.
But wait – there’s more.
- New Zealand’s three major operators will each receive 80 MHz of spectrum in the 3.5GHz band. This is sufficient spectrum for all three MNOs to operate nation-wide 5G networks.
- The Interim Māori Spectrum Commission will receive 100 MHz of spectrum (and will manage this spectrum, on behalf of all Māori).
- In return for the allocated spectrum, Spark, One New Zealand and 2Degrees will each pay the government $24 million between 2023 and 2025.
- The Interim Maori Spectrum Commission will pay…. Sorry, but the minister’s press statement doesn’t disclose the size of this payment.
- But if we have done our sums correctly, the Interim Maori Spectrum Commission is paying an unknown sum (if anything) for around 30 per cent of the total spectrum being allocated today.
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Point of Order recalls a press statement released by David Clark on February 2 last year when he was Minister of the Digital Economy and Communications.
It was headed Māori recognised as telecommunication sector leaders, which implies non-Maori at that point became followers.
Clark said an historic agreement recognising Māori interests in radio spectrum had been signed at Parliament that day.
The agreement, designed in partnership with the Māori Spectrum Working Group, was an opportunity to build Māori capability in spectrum-related industries and enable Māori to participate more prominently in this growing sector, he said.
The Māori Spectrum Working Group?
It’s an outfit established in 2019 to lead this work with the Government.
In 2020 a short-term allocation of spectrum for 5G services was made to Māori, as a stepping-stone to reaching the enduring agreement that prompted Clark’s statement in February last year.
“I’m excited we have reached this enduring agreement as it recognises the critical role Māori are able to bring to the telecommunications sector,” Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications, David Clark said.
Why a special arrangement was being made and special privileges granted to recognise the critical role Maori could bring to the sector was not spelled out in the press statement.
But to carry out the commitments in this agreement, Clark said, a permanent Māori Spectrum entity would be established.
Oh – and funding was mentioned in the press statement, but not the amount.
Moreover, the agreement included an ongoing allocation of national spectrum and a role for Māori in spectrum policy making.
“Supported by funding and long-term access to spectrum, the Māori Spectrum entity will work with the Government on spectrum policy decisions whilst advocating for Māori interests in radio spectrum. This includes digital enterprise and jobs, healthcare, rural economy and connectivity, education, broadcasting, and revitalisation of te reo Māori,” Clark said.
Next day we learned much more from a Stuff report headed Māori set to receive quarter of key 5G spectrum band and $57m under Crown deal
This report revealed that Māori would receive:
- a quarter of the 5G radio spectrum that was due to be distributed by the Government that year; and
- $57 million to help them capitalise on that opportunity, under a deal with the Crown.
The agreement appears to effectively – though not formally – draw a line under a Treaty of Waitangi claim for a share of the country’s valuable but invisible airwaves.
Another $17.8m of unspent funds in the Māori Digital Technology fund would also be transferred to the new entity, Stuff reported.
That fund was offered to Māori as a $30m consolation prize after a former National government rejected their Waitangi Tribunal claim to a share of the radio spectrum freed up by the closure of analogue television in 2013, now used for 4G.
Whether Maori would be satisfied by this consolation prize was open to question.
Antony Royal, chief executive of the Interim Māori Spectrum Commission, was quoted as saying Māori had not given up any rights under their Treaty of Waitangi claim.
“What we’ve done is look forward, to try and build a collaboration between the Crown and Māori in coming to an arrangement we feel confident that we can build something on.
“The treaty [claim] will still stand as is. This isn’t a settlement. But I think we are all confident that we can move forward with the arrangements that are in place.’”
In her statement today Ginny Andersen said the Government has struck a bespoke deal with New Zealand’s three major network operators – Spark, 2Degrees and One New Zealand – which would deliver a faster roll-out of 5G services to around 55 rural and regional towns across New Zealand and provide mobile wireless coverage to further rural black spot areas.
The agreement built on other Government investment, including the $60 million allocated through Budget 2022 for rural connectivity improvements, as well as the $47 million of rural capacity upgrades that commenced in February 2022.
The features she highlighted are:
- Long-term rights to the 3.5GHz spectrum band for 5G services will come into effect from 1 July 2023, as the short-term rights that were extended in October 2022 come to an end.
- In return for the allocated spectrum, Spark, One New Zealand and 2Degrees will each pay the government $24 million between 2023 and 2025. This funding will be used to pay the Rural Connectivity Group to expand mobile coverage into areas of rural New Zealand which would not otherwise have been provided with coverage commercially (for example, rural areas where there are mobile black spots). This funding is additional to the value of the works required to provide 5G to towns.
- Dense Air New Zealand, which is a current interim holder of 3.5GHz spectrum rights and had previously been in negotiations with the government for long-term rights to the 3,5 GHz spectrum, has since decided to withdraw from the process.
- Further information is available on the Radio Spectrum Management website: Preparing for 5G in New Zealand | Radio Spectrum Management New Zealand (rsm.govt.nz).
Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton
1 comment:
5G has nothing to do with telecommunications. It's a military grade weaponized EMF system.
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