Vodafone New Zealand is a telecommunications company operating in New Zealand; it is a subsidiary of the London-listed company Vodafone Plc. It is New Zealand's largest mobile phone operator, based in Auckland, and was formed in 1998, after Vodafone purchased BellSouth's New Zealand operations. The company employs over 3,000 people and has operations nationwide, with its main offices based in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The company is part of New Zealand Telecommunications Forum.
The company has invested millions of dollars in its 3G network, improving capacity in congested urban areas. It has New Zealand's first 4G LTE network and continues to maintain its 2G network. In February 2013, Vodafone New Zealand launched their LTE network which is currently available in 54 centres in total. In June 2014, Vodafone was ranked the fastest mobile network on the planet by speed-testing service Ookla.In October 2006, Vodafone bought ihug, New Zealand's third largest Internet service provider and now provides Internet service under the Vodafone New Zealand brand name. In 2012 Vodafone also bought TelstraClear, making it NZ's second largest ISP.
In June 2016, Sky TV and Vodafone agreed to merge, with Sky TV purchasing 100% of Vodafone NZ operations for a cash payment of $1.25 billion NZD and issuing new shares to the Vodafone Group. Vodafone UK will get 51% stake of the company. However, the proposed merger was rejected by the Commerce Commission which saw a plunge in Sky TV's shares.