by CIO New Zealand staff

Telecom changes name to Spark

News
Feb 20, 20142 mins
CareersIT Leadership

Telecom is changing its name later this year to Spark, the company has announced.

“Spark better represents what we are today – it is all about digital services, fibre, mobile, data, cloud, entertainment, apps, or whatever new technology is around the corner,” says Telecom chief executive Simon Moutter.

The change was announced as part of Telecom’s half-year results, which showed the company adding 200,000 mobile customers in the past year and announcing a new internet-delivered TV and movie service called ShowmeTV.

Spark New Zealand Limited is intended to be the new name for the parent company, Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited. Until the name change takes place, the company will continue to trade as Telecom and Gen-i.

Gen-i will also be known as Spark Digital Solutions, while Telecom Digital Ventures will be rebranded as Spark Ventures.

Telecom is number 10 in CIO100, the annual report on the top ICT using organisations in New Zealand.

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“We’re operating at a faster pace than in the past and we have to appeal to a broader range of customers in a competitive market place. Our successful initiatives in 4G mobile, fibre, WiFi, cloud services and applications have given us new momentum,” says Moutter, of the rebranding.

“When we embarked on this journey, we knew that at some point we would likely move beyond the Telecom name – to something that better reflects what our customers expect from us.”

Telecom has embarked on a series of changes in the past year. These include the launching its 4G mobile data network, revamping phone booths into a nationwide network of public Wi-Fi hotspots and exiting the Australian market to focus on its New Zealand business.

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