In November 2023, One New Zealand said it had reached an agreement to acquire Dense Air’s business with the aim of expanding its 5G footprint
New Zealand’s Commerce Commission has granted clearance for local carrier One New Zealand Group to acquire 100% of the shares in Dense Air New Zealand, the body said in a statement.
The commission noted that Dense Air currently owns the management rights to 2×35 megahertz of spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band.
In reaching its decision, the commission considered the potential impact of the proposed acquisition on competition in wholesale and retail telecommunications markets in New Zealand. The body considered that the acquisition is unlikely to substantially lessen competition in the domestic telecom market.
“Based on the evidence before us, we are satisfied that One NZ acquiring Dense Air’s spectrum is unlikely to substantially lessen competition in telecommunications products and services compared with the counterfactual. Post-acquisition, One NZ would continue to face significant competition from other retail mobile and broadband providers,” said John Small, head of the commission.
“We do not consider that the acquisition is likely to substantially affect [rival telco] 2degrees’ competitive effectiveness. While the acquisition means that it will not have any spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band, it has access to other spectrum in the mid-band that it can deploy. In addition, 2degrees has options to expand the capacity of its network by deploying its existing spectrum at more sites and by improving spectral efficiency,” Small added.
In November 2023, One New Zealand said it had reached an agreement to acquire Dense Air’s business with the aim of expanding its 5G footprint. The company said that this spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band can be immediately deployed by the carrier to improve speeds and capacity on the carrier’s 4G and 5G mobile networks.
The management right to this spectrum has five and half years left to run, with renewal due at the end of 2028, the company said. One New Zealand CEO Jason Paris had previously said the purchase of new spectrum will increase network capacity, benefitting end customers across the country.
According to the carrier’s website, its 5G service is live in parts of Auckland, Hamilton, Bay of Plenty, Manawatū-Whanganui, Taranaki, Wellington, Christchurch, Queenstown and Southland, among other cities.
In May 2023, the government of New Zealand signed contracts with local carriers Spark, 2Degrees and One New Zealand to accelerate the roll out of 5G services to small towns across New Zealand and improve rural connectivity.
The government had said that the country’s three mobile network operators each received 80 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band, which according to the authorities, is sufficient radio spectrum for all three companies to operate nationwide 5G networks.
