Vodafone New Zealand has confirmed that it is enabling support for 5G, IoT, ultra-high definition (UHD) video and other bandwidth-heavy applications, in conjunction with vendor partner Ciena. The two companies will seek to deploy ‘an adaptable and agile network’ that can respond in real time to Vodafone customers’ changing demands. As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, the telco trialled 5G with Nokia in Auckland in March this year.
In other news, newly appointed Vodafone NZ chief executive Jason Paris said he has been tasked with getting the company ‘in shape’ for an initial public offering (IPO) in 2020. Stuff.co.nz quotes the CEO as saying: ‘The target is an IPO in 2020. It is not a “hard stop”, but that is what we would like to see.’ Asked about the previous stalled share sale process, he observed: ‘The overall market was a lot tougher than we anticipated.’ Vodafone NZ cooled on the prospect of an IPO earlier this year after drumming up support for a listing in 2017.