Spark announces strategic network partnership with Nokia

Spark New Zealand Limited
ARBN 050 611 277 Spark City, Level 1, 50 Albert Street, Private Bag 92028, Auckland, New Zealand




MARKET RELEASE – MONDAY, 19 MAY 2025

Spark announces new strategic network partnership with Nokia
• Network operations partnership forms part of technology delivery model transformation
• The partnership will accelerate the use of AI and automation and contribute to reduced network
operating costs, supporting SPK-26 Operate Programme cost out

Spark New Zealand (Spark) today announced it has signed a strategic network operations partnership
with Nokia.

Under the partnership, Nokia will manage the day-to-day monitoring and support for Spark’s network,
while Spark will retain strategic decision-making and control over all components of competitive
advantage, including future network strategy and planning, network design engineering, critical incident
oversight, and complex operations. Spark and Nokia will jointly develop AI and automation capabilities to
deliver better network experiences for Spark customers.

As part of the agreement, Nokia will establish a local Network Operations Centre (NOC) to complement
its global operations, and ensure critical local support and expertise is retained in New Zealand.

Spark Network and Operations Director Renee Mateparae said, “Spark has had a long-term strategic
focus on building a resilient, adaptive, and automated network that delivers better customer experiences
in an efficient way. Technology has evolved rapidly in recent years, and with the deployment of 5G and
greater levels of virtualisation, networks are becoming increasingly complex – with more elements to
monitor and manage.

“Through this strategic partnership, we can focus our teams on network strategy and areas of
competitive advantage for Spark, while leveraging Nokia’s global scale and extensive AI and automation
capabilities to deliver labour-intensive and manual network tasks more efficiently.

“Nokia and Spark will also work together to co-design use cases that will accelerate Spark's network
strategy through AI and automation, moving us from reactive fault management to smarter network
monitoring, which will enable us to detect and address issues proactively for our customers.”

Friedrich Trawoeger, VP Managed Services at Nokia, said, “Nokia and Spark have a long history of
working together. We are excited by the opportunities this expanded partnership will create, as we
combine our extensive network operations and AI expertise with Spark’s track record of delivering
network innovation to New Zealand. Together, we will enable a smarter, more efficient network for Spark
and enhanced user experience for its customers.”

This partnership with Nokia now completes the transformation of Spark’s technology delivery model.

SPK-26 Operate Programme

As previously disclosed, Spark has expanded its SPK-26 Operate Programme to include a significant
transformation of its technology delivery model. This delivery model refers to Spark’s IT and network
operations.

Spark has had a long-term focus on modernising its technology, embedding AI into its business, and
building a resilient, adaptive, and automated network. The new technology delivery model accelerates
this long-term focus through the establishment of several strategic partnerships – a common structure
utilised by telcos in offshore markets.

Spark New Zealand Limited
ARBN 050 611 277 Spark City, Level 1, 50 Albert Street, Private Bag 92028, Auckland, New Zealand


Through these partnerships Spark will leverage the scale, capability, and innovation of global partners, to
support better customer outcomes and improved cost efficiency. This supports Spark’s ambition to
deliver an ~$80-$100 million reduction in net labour and opex costs in FY25, and annualised benefits of
$110-$140 million by FY27, as outlined in its H1 25 results presentation.


Authorised by:

Rodney Deacon
Finance Lead Partner – Investor Relations and Commercial


For more information contact:

For media queries please contact:
Althea Lovell
Corporate Relations Lead Partner
(64) 21 222 2992
althea.lovell@spark.co.nz

For investor queries please contact:
Rodney Deacon
Finance Lead Partner – Investor Relations and Commercial
(64) 21 631 074
rodney.deacon@spark.co.nz