Rocket Mobile tops NZ value rankings for unlimited data plans
The Commerce Commission assessed a range of mobile offerings in its annual report, ranking Rocket Mobile's unlimited data plans first, second, fourth, and sixth based on price per gigabyte (GB). This positioning placed Rocket Mobile ahead of established mobile network operators in terms of value for data offered to consumers.
Ranking and recognition
The report from the Commerce Commission, detailed on page 244, evaluated the comparative cost-effectiveness of a range of plans offered in the New Zealand market. Rocket Mobile, a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), was highlighted for providing four of the six top-ranked unlimited data options by cost per GB.
James Whittome, Head of Rocket Mobile NZ, commented on the results, stating the findings support the provider's standing in the national market. "We've already won Best Value Mobile Provider at the NZ Compare Awards for the past two years. Having all four of our unlimited plans ranked at the top of this ComCom list really highlights how other providers are overcharging consumers for mobile data."
Market dynamics
The annual Telecommunications Monitoring Report examines industry shifts within New Zealand, including market share changes among providers. The report noted that the MVNO market showed a significant annual growth rate, with share increasing by 61 percent year-on-year. Despite this, MVNOs represent only 2.5 percent of total mobile connections in the country.
MVNOs, such as Rocket Mobile, were found to typically include comparable plan features to those offered by mobile network operators (MNOs) but at reduced prices. The Commission's data also highlighted persistency in consumer behaviour, with 63 percent of New Zealanders remaining with the same mobile provider for over five years, an increase from 60 percent the year prior. Only 5 percent of users switched providers during the last twelve months. "Cost of living is at the forefront of Kiwis' minds at the moment, so switching to a better value plan should be a no brainer. Yet there's still a misconception that it's a difficult process."
Whittome further commented on switching behaviours, identifying inertia and misconceptions as central challenges for consumers seeking to benefit from lower mobile plan prices.
"The only way we're going to see some real change and more competitive prices in the mobile market is if more consumers move to MVNOs like us. Since we launched, we've already seen some big telcos respond by slightly increasing data inclusions on selected plans, but overall they're still relying on inertia to keep the status quo," said Whittome.
He continued: "This ComCom report should be a wakeup call to Kiwi consumers that they're still paying too much for their data, and there's no reason to keep it that way when you can switch and get the same or even more, for less money."
Outlook and eSIM adoption
The report also covered trends in consumer technology adoption and mobile data usage, both of which are rising across the country. Whittome is optimistic that more consumers will investigate MVNOs as an option, citing technological improvements as a contributing factor.
He said, "With rising mobile data usage rates, Whittome is confident more consumers will consider MVNOs for lower cost mobile plans, especially when technologies like eSIM enables easy switching within minutes."
Rocket Mobile states that its entire range of plans is compatible with eSIM technology, allowing customers to transition to their service quickly. Customers are able to retain their existing phone numbers at no cost and have access to plans without credit checks, contracts, or early termination fees.
The findings from the Commerce Commission Monitoring Report are based on nationwide data and provide insights into cost structures, consumer habits, and the state of competition in New Zealand's mobile sector.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
5 hours ago
- NZ Herald
The Government says it's fixing the cost of living, so what happens if voters don't believe it?
It was clearly designed to assuage fears, fanned by the Opposition, that the Government had put the entire Crown infrastructure build on ice, leading to the mass exodus of construction labour to Australia. The tactic isn't an unfair one. All Governments indulge in the vice of reannouncing things to focus attention on them. A billion or so dollars spent on a road earns the Government a few hundred bites of the PR cherry, or so the political arithmetic goes. So no, the tactic wasn't unfair or even ridiculous - but nor was Labour's criticism that a fair whack of the projects were funded by the last Government. (Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop's riposte that Labour might have funded some of the projects, but it certainly didn't do a good job of delivering them, was equally true.) This early success evaporated on Monday, when Luxon held one of the most bizarre press conferences since taking office. Alongside Finance Minister Nicola Willis, he spoke for more than 10 minutes to mark the first anniversary of the Government's tax package coming into effect. He listed every other cost-of-living policy the Government had implemented since taking office. Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Trade Minister Todd McClay spoke about US tariffs yesterday. Photo / Mark Mitchell Again, there's nothing inherently wrong with reannouncing something old. Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern liked to mark anniversaries too. Some years, she'd put out a press release celebrating the fact that superannuation payments were increasing in line with wages - despite the fact that this annual increase is written into primary legislation. But Monday's announcement, coming as voters' economic sentiment bounces along the bottom and the country seems on the verge of rioting over the butter price, seemed vacuous. There was something ever so faintly Soviet about a Government thinking that, simply by telling voters it had a policy to fix their problems, they'd believe those problems were being fixed. There are two obvious pathways for how the next few months might pan out. The Government is clinging to several good forward economic indicators: business confidence surveys report okay-ish vibes from firms and suggest something of a recovery next year; the primary sector, far from being the villain of the butter crisis, is driving an export-led recovery in the regions; the Reserve Bank is likely to continue cutting interest rates, spurring investment and growth in 2026, giving Luxon an economic tailwind of good vibes and rising house prices in election year. The snow will soon melt, the ground will thaw, and New Zealanders may spend their summer holidays contemplating having endured the worst of it. Luxon and his colleagues may return to work in January, set the election date and wonder what on earth they were so worried about in winter. That's one scenario, sure. There's another. For every positive data point, there is an equally negative one. The Reserve Bank's GDP tracker suggests what every New Zealander feels in their bones: the economy has been shrinking, and could shrink further. A small recession, measured by the glib but powerful two-negative-quarters definition, could be on the cards. The most recent ANZ business confidence survey showed residential construction intentions tanking, to use the words of the bank's economists. If things continue to follow that negative trajectory, another scenario opens up: one of panic, as the once-distant prospect of a first-term defeat becomes more plausible. If the economy continues to worsen, and National's polling materialises into gloomy party vote numbers, don't entirely rule out a leadership change. A change is not 'on' - you'd be a fool to put money on it — but you'd also be a fool to bet against it. There's no real affection for Luxon in the caucus room, and National has little patience for underperformance, particularly from its leaders. Luxon's intense self-belief could count against him. He does not seem to observe that, of all his frontbenchers, he is the one who is struggling the most. Despite the whole Cabinet fighting fires on every front, National's ministers do a decent job of rebuffing their Labour opposite numbers during Question Time. Health Minister Simeon Brown has come under the most pressure, but has so far survived in the House. Chris Bishop seems unbothered by Kieran McAnulty and seemed to be enjoying himself on Thursday when he answered finance questions on behalf of Willis, who was away (the caucus enjoyed it too). Willis herself never breaks a sweat debating her opposite number, Barbara Edmonds. FBI director Kash Patel visited Wellington to open a new office. Photo / Ola Thorsen Luxon is the most challenged of the lot and was devoured, degustation-style, by Chris Hipkins in the debating chamber this week. Hipkins, who can excel in the House when he wants to, wasn't even trying a particularly sophisticated line of questioning. He resorted to a past Luxon tactic of using each supplementary question to list another case of something going terribly wrong in the economy - migration to Australia, construction jobs, board director remuneration - and then asking the Prime Minister what he thinks about it. Luxon should be able to answer questions like that easily, but could not. His belief in the power of political marketing is so fundamental that he undervalues the importance of backing up that marketing with substance; even more than most prime ministers, he's too quick to answer every question with a canned line and not quick enough to respond by substantively dismantling the question and defending himself. He seems to think this doesn't matter. He's disdainful of Question Time, or of anything that happens in Wellington. But it does matter - and you could tell from the ashen faces behind Luxon as he answered Hipkins' questions that the backbench is worried. If the economy doesn't turn around meaningfully, there's a chance the Government could be in serious trouble, however scary they think a Labour-Green-Te Pāti Māori Government might be. Slumps such as this one are difficult for centre-right governments. They're instinctively anti-intervention. When the public demands 'something must be done', centre-left governments have no shortage of ideas for that 'something'. The National benches regularly look despondent during Question Time - as pictured here in March. Photo / Mark Mitchell For the right, recovery comes from automatic stabilisers like benefits doing their job, before the fiscal part of the Government gets out of the way of the monetary side, allowing the reduction of interest rates to encourage firms to borrow and invest. It's a less politically attractive recovery because it involves substantially less ribbon-cutting, but that doesn't make it any less sensible a strategy. Ultimately, however much a government tries to pump-prime an economy back to life with fiscal policy, eventually private firms will need to pick up some slack too - and that means low interest rates. Luxon, to his credit, has been explicitly articulating this as his vision for the economic recovery. Last month, he successfully rebuffed one of Hipkins' questions, noting that the construction sector was 'hit hard because of high interest rates. High interest rates happened because Government spending was out of control, and you let inflation get out of control'. Not bad. Grim economic times will always be tough for a government, but they needn't be as tough as these. Back in 2012, net migration to Australia was even higher than it is now and the unemployment rate, in September of that year, was higher than at any point in the past 25 years. Yet that economic malaise failed to find its way into politics. National's party vote polling peaked at 48.8% in October 2012, rising - strangely - in tandem with the unemployment rate. Prime Minister John Key's popularity was unassailable. A government can be popular when an economy is under strain. But that appears to require the public to have faith that the government has a plan to make things better. Voters don't have that faith currently and, after this week, who could blame them?
Otago Daily Times
5 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Waste-to-power venture gains global recognition
Ecogas — a joint venture between Central Otago's Pioneer Energy Group and Ecostock Ltd — has received global recognition, winning AD Hero of the Year at the 2025 Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Industry Awards in the United Kingdom. The awards, held during the World Biogas Summit and Expo in Birmingham, recognised global excellence in the anaerobic digestion and biogas sector. More than 400 people attended the event hosted by the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) and the World Biogas Association. Pioneer Energy ventured into the waste-to-energy sector through a partnership with Ecostock Ltd to form Ecogas. In 2022, the business commissioned its first site in Reporoa, in the central North Island, New Zealand's first and only commercial-scale anaerobic digestion facility. Since opening, the facility has diverted more than 125,000 tonnes of organic waste from landfill, generating renewable natural gas and biofertiliser. Last year, Ecogas became the first company to inject generating renewable natural gas into New Zealand's national gas infrastructure, marking a major milestone in the country's transition to renewable energy. It has secured a contract with the Christchurch City Council to build a second food waste-to-bioenergy facility. The award was accepted by Andrew Fisher, managing director of Eco Stock Supplies and a founding partner in Ecogas, who attended the ceremony in Birmingham and said he was "super proud" to represent Ecogas and New Zealand on the global stage. Pioneer Energy Group and Ecogas chief executive Peter McClean said the company's success had only been possible through strong partnerships and a shared vision to divert organic waste from landfill and create lasting value for New Zealand. "We championed this technology in a highly competitive market with limited policy mandates or financial incentives. We are incredibly grateful to our partners, councils, and commercial customers who have supported us on this journey," he said. Jeffrey Clarke, chief executive of New Zealand's gas sector body, GasNZ, welcomed Ecogas's win, saying he was not at all surprised. "What they have achieved is nothing short of remarkable. Through vision, persistence and a passion to do what is right, Ecogas has led a collaboration of partners who have quite literally turned Kiwi waste into treasure. "Where others saw rubbish destined for landfill, Ecogas saw opportunity. They are converting the energy from food scraps and other organic waste into much-needed gas to power thousands of homes, generating heat and bioCO2 that significantly boosts greenhouse crop production. "All nutrients are being captured to make rich biofertiliser to support Kiwi farmers. Communities should be replicating Ecogas's Reporoa plant all over New Zealand to help solve our energy shortfall, reduce GHG emissions, reduce dependency on fertiliser imports, and so much more." Earlier this year, Ecogas was also recognised at home, winning the 2025 WasteMINZ Award for excellence in best resource or value recovery initiative. — Allied Media
Scoop
6 hours ago
- Scoop
Wānaka Bakery's Mince And Cheese Pie Wins Again At National Awards
Kai Pai Bakery has once again proven its Mince and Cheese mastery, earning two medals at the 2025 New Zealand Bakels Supreme Pie Awards. The Wānaka-based bakery took home a Silver in the Commercial Mince and Cheese category and a Bronze in the Mince and Cheese category, proving their expertise in a pie that's long been considered a Kiwi classic. Kai Pai head baker Jason Danielson says the Mince and Cheese is Kai Pai's biggest-selling flavour. 'We make sure we keep at the top of our game with it.' This year's results reinforce Kai Pai's position as the most awarded bakery in the South Island. The bakery's Commercial Mince and Cheese Pie has been recognised at every NZ Supreme Pie Awards held since 2017, a testament to consistent quality and delicious taste. 'In the Mince and Cheese category, we are often competing against small-batch, even handmade pies, so we're delighted to show large-scale production can still deliver award-winning flavour and craftsmanship, Danielson says. 'We don't take shortcuts. Despite rising ingredient costs, we're still sticking to our guns and using top-quality ingredients, like using Colby cheese rather than going for cheaper options. 'A lot of the time commercial bakeries are focused on speed or profit margins, but it's important to us to maintain that level of quality and taste. It proves that we do really care about what we're doing.' Kai Pai's Mince and Cheese pie is not only a favourite with judges—it's also a Kiwi classic. 'Every month, we make enough Mince and Cheese pies to span the length of 42 rugby fields. So it's pretty popular.' Employing 45 staff, Kai Pai Bakery is a Kiwi-owned family business, with all of its pies and savouries produced in Wānaka. The bakery has scooped 29 Supreme Pie Awards since 2016, making it the most awarded commercial pie manufacturer in New Zealand. 'We've got a great team who all work very hard and care about what they do. These wins are a credit to them," Danielson adds.
