Spark Broadband Provider Review

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Nowadays, the choice between broadband providers can be a confusing one. Everywhere you look, you find advertisements for different companies offering a wide variety of broadband plans, from landline to wireless and fibre to satellite.

If you're looking for an internet service provider, then Spark, which is one of the biggest broadband providers in New Zealand currently, might be a sound choice for you.

For many, Spark is known as a mobile service provider. However, they also offer telecommunication and digital services, cloud and security services, and extensive broadband plans that cater to their customers' needs.

And since choosing the broadband provider for you can be a challenging task, we'll do a full Spark broadband provider review, focusing on the plans, special offers, costs, and add-ons to help you make an informed decision. So let's get into it!

Spark Broadband: A Quick Review

Spark offers numerous wireless and fibre broadband plans with monthly subscription fees starting from $45 to $105. Most of the plans are also uncapped, though some are subject to their fair use policy.

And since Spark has decent coverage all over New Zealand, it can be a good option if you live in a rural area.

Spark Overview

Spark is one of the largest telecommunications and internet companies in New Zealand. And although it's most well-known for its phone plans, it also offers home and mobile internet services.

Its broadband plans are mostly modern, as you can tell by the lack of traditional DSL and cable subscriptions since the focus is mostly on fibre and 4G/5G fixed wireless plans.

Thanks to the company's size, Spark is also able to offer wide coverage throughout the country, even having special plans and offers for rural wireless broadband.

Network Coverage

Despite Spark's wide network coverage, it's unrealistic to expect them (or other broadband providers) to cover 100% of the country. Here's a quick breakdown of the coverage of various network protocols:

• 3G and 4G: Virtually the whole country has 3G coverage, barring very small towns and settlements of a few hundred or thousand people, most notably Cape Runaway and Awatare Valley.
• 5G: 5G isn't as widespread as older technologies at the moment, but there's enough coverage for most Kiwis, especially in North Island. Some towns that miss out on Spark 5G include most of the northeast and southeast of North Island, Picton, Wanaka, Greymouth, and the west coast of South Island, except Westport and Hokitika.
• Wireless: Good coverage across North Island except the northeast coast and rural towns like Wairoa and Mahia Peninsula. As for South Island, most of the west coast and southern part don't have coverage.

Broadband Speeds

Spark's broadband lineup includes plans with fairly fast broadband speeds, especially fibre broadband, which can deliver speeds between 50 and 914 Mbps (download) and 10 to 497 (Upload).

As for the wireless plans, they mostly rely on 4G and deliver comparably slower speeds of 33 Mbps (download) and 16 Mbps (upload). However, 5G broadband speed estimates are still unavailable, and the service itself is prone to outages, which is why Spark broadband will automatically switch you to 4G in these instances.

Spark Broadband Plans and Pricing

Let's look at every Spark broadband plan at a glance, analysing broadband speed, data caps, requirements, inclusions, and more.

Wireless Broadband Plans

If a Wireless connection is your priority, then you'll surely find a plan that suits your needs from Spark. They offer various plans with different speeds, limitations, and inclusions to suit everyone's needs and budgets.

All six wireless plans are open-term contracts, so you won't be tied down to Spark broadband once you opt for them.

As for speeds, 4G plans offer 33 Mbps for download and 16 Mbps for upload, while 5G speeds haven't been estimated accurately enough yet, so they're undisclosed. But based on previous findings, you can expect download speeds in the hundreds of Mbps.

Lastly, all wireless plans require a Spark modem, which you can buy for $150.

Capped 4G Plans

First, let's look at the two capped 4G plans:

• Basic Wireless: 40 GB data cap, landline included for free, $45 per month
• Lite Wireless: 120 GB data cap, $55 per month

Those are cheap options for small households that don't use the internet frequently. These data limits determine how much data usage you're allowed per month. And if you exceed your cap, Spark can charge you $10 for 10 GB up to six times.

Uncapped 4G Plans

Next, we have two uncapped 4G plans:

• Everyday Wireless: $60 per month
• Everyday Wireless Plus: $65 per month, includes Netflix Standard and McAfee subscriptions

The lack of a data cap makes these plans good for households that are on the internet frequently. And although they'll work for streaming, more extensive tasks like gaming will be sub-optimal due to the low speed.

And although these plans are uncapped, they're subject to Spark's fair use policy, which prohibits you from using a service that's "overly excessive or unreasonable" without naming anything specific.

Uncapped 5G Plans

Lastly, here are the two 5G plans that Spark offers:

• Max Wireless: $80 per month
• Max Wireless Plus: $85 per month, includes Netflix Standard and McAfee subscriptions

Although 5G speeds aren't disclosed on the Spark website, we know it's fast enough for more extensive activities such as gaming and HD streaming. But keep in mind that the data allowances are also subject to Spark's fair use policy.

Fibre Broadband Plans

Spark broadband offers three standard fibre plans and two with benefits, all of which are uncapped and aren't subject to a fair use policy.

Here are the three standard fibre plans:

• Everyday Fibre: $75 per month, 50 Mbps download, 10-20 Mbps upload
• Essential Fibre: $85 per month, 319 Mbps download, 108 Mbps upload
• Max Fibre: $100 per month, 914 Mbps download, 497 Mbps upload

As for the plans with benefits, they are as follows:

• Essential Fibre Plus: $90, same as Essential Fibre but with Netflix Standard and McAfee subscriptions
• Max Fibre Plus: $105, same as Max Fibre but with Netflix Standard and McAfee subscriptions

All the fibre plans are open-term contracts but will require you to buy a Spark modem for $150 or bring your compatible modem instead. You can check if your modem is compatible through their guide.

Portable Mobile Broadband

Spark offers an elaborate portable broadband plan that scales up or down in price depending on your usage.

This plan uses 4G and requires a Spark modem for $150, but once you have it, you can enjoy a 40 GB data allowance on the move for $49.99. And if your usage is dormant or you spend less than 1 GB in a month, you'll only pay $14.99.

How to Choose the Right Spark Broadband Plan for Your Needs

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Are you overwhelmed by the abundance of options? Not sure which wireless or fibre plans are right for your needs? It's a common issue that we'd like to help you solve. So here are the most important factors to keep in mind before deciding on a Spark broadband plan:

Number of Users

Capped plans may be outdated, but they're a good and affordable option for individuals or smaller households that don't use the internet extensively.

But if there are 3 to 5+ regular internet users in your house, you'll definitely want an uncapped plan.

Speed Requirements

Consider your internet usage and how extensive your activities are.

If you're happy enough watching video streams on Netflix, YouTube, etc., then you can opt for one of the 4G plans. But if you want to do more, such as UHD streaming or playing video games, you'll need to upgrade to 5G or ultra-fast fibre broadband.

Location

Although Spark has wide coverage over New Zealand, you should still check to see if you're within their coverage of your preferred protocol.

Getting Started With Spark Broadband

If you think that Spark is the right option for you and have decided on a plan, then here are a couple of details to keep in mind:

Modem

Almost all Spark plans require you to buy their modem for $150. However, fibre plans allow you to use an external modem if it's compatible.

Add-Ons

You can purchase any of these add-ons on top of your broadband plan (unless it already includes the add-on):

• Landline for $10/month
• Neon Standard for $13.99/month
• McAfee Security Standard for $4.95/month
• Spotify Premium for $13.49/month

Conclusion

We hope we helped you make the right decision based on your needs now that you know more about the various plans, their costs, and what they entail.

Fortunately, Spark offers reliable broadband services because it's already well-established in New Zealand, so even many rural areas don't suffer from lag or outages as frequently.

And if you're struggling to choose Spark over another, you can refer to our broadband comparison page to find out which one is more suited to your needs.