Mobile telecommunications density in New Zealand - Data and Analysis (2006-2034)

IBISWorld estimates that mobile telecommunications density will increase 1.0 percentage points in 2026-27, resulting in 129.0 active mobile services for every 100 people in New Zealand. The continued rollout of 5G services is expected to drive growth in mobile telecommunications density over the year, although growth from early adoption is expected to ease. For instance, in early 2025, Ericsson and One New Zealand launched a five-year partnership to deploy advanced 5G capabilities, which is set to expand mobile telecommunications density across New Zealand. Spark also targeted 5G rollout to all New Zealand towns with more than 1,500 residents by June 2026, extending coverage beyond the major urban centres. Even so, market saturation within the smartphone segment has somewhat slowed the uptake of new mobile phones and other mobile devices.Mobile telecommunications density has expanded over the past five years. The rollout of the Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) network has led to consumers increasingly switching from traditional copper telecommunications services to fibre broadband. As voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services become more sophisticated, this transition has incentivised consumers to switch off their traditional fixed-line voice communications services and substitute mobile voice services for when VoIP is not a viable option. Smartphone ownership and usage have also increased over the past five years, contributing to increases in mobile telecommunications density. However, the COVID-19 pandemic placed downwards pressure on the number of active mobile telecommunications services in New Zealand. Consumer sentiment fell strongly, and business confidence remained negative in 2020-21, and many consumers spent more time at home with fixed internet services, which limited consumer and business expenditure on additional mobile devices. Yet, mobile telecommunications density rebounded strongly in the aftermath of the pandemic. Demand for constant connectivity from consumers, combined with greater data allowances from mobile telecommunications providers, has also increased the popularity of mobile services over the past five years. According to the Commerce Commission, monthly data usage from mobile connections has grown strongly over the past decade, to reach an average of 7.36gb of data consumed per mobile connection. However, this rise is still dwarfed by fixed-line broadband connections, which consume an average 481gb of data per month in 2023-24. Overall, IBISWorld forecasts mobile telecommunications density to increase by an average 2.6 percentage points over the five years through 2026-27.