New Zealand's incumbent operator Spark NZ has expanded its partnership with Huawei aimed at bringing new mobile technologies to the market.
The companies signed an MoU covering further collaboration between Spark and Huawei's gobal R&D network.
The Joint Innovation Programme covers initiatives including deployment of carrier aggregation technology on its 4G sites, an upgrade for Spark's 3G network nationwide and the use of LTE technology to take advantage of Spark's newly-acquired 700-MHz spectrum.
Spark aims to use the 700-MHz band to improve rural coverage due to its increased range, and to augment its urban coverage with better building penetration.
“These sorts of partnerships play a strong role in Huawei’s product development. They allow us to meet regularly with customers, discuss how consumers are using their networks and the ways in which we can help to improve their experience,” Huawei NZ CEO Jason Wu said.
Spark NZ COO David Havercroft added that its collaborations with Huawei has already allowed the company to extend its range of consumer and business services.
He said Spark will continue to explore opportunities for further R&D collaborations with the vendor as part of the expanded agreement.