Best-Rated Small Business Telecommunications

Compare Business Telecommunications providers in New Zealand at Canstar Blue. 2degrees, One NZ and Spark were compared on Overall Satisfaction, Billing, Customer Service, Flexibility of Contract, Network Performance and Value for Money.

See our Ratings Methodology.

Most Satisfied Customers | 2degrees

For the third year in a row, 2degrees has been rated number one for customer satisfaction by its legions of very satisfied small business customers.

How we rate small business telecommunications providers

Our review compares telecommunications providers on customer satisfaction, so you can discover what other Kiwis think about our compared providers before you go ahead and decide to use one to help keep your small business connected. Think of it like asking hundreds of your friends and colleagues which small business telecommunications provider they think is best!


Canstar Blue surveyed 656 Kiwis who had paid for a mobile phone/broadband service for business purposes in the past 12 months and asked for their feedback on their provider.

  • The outcomes reported in these ratings are measured via accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics.

Respondents rate their satisfaction with their small business telecommunications providers from zero to ten, where zero is extremely dissatisfied and ten is extremely satisfied. Brand satisfaction was rated by respondents on the following criteria:

  • Overall satisfaction: measures consumer satisfaction with a small business telco provider as an individual score NOT a combined total of all criteria.
  • Billing: the billing provides accurate details of phone/broadband usage and costs.
  • Customer service: the telco provider’s staff are readily available to contact, respond quickly and help with any questions or issues that arise.
  • Flexibility of contract: the contract for the telco services is clear, easy to understand and offers flexibility.
  • Network performance: the provider offers consistently fast broadband and good access to mobile signals in both urban and rural locations.
  • Value for money: the cost is reasonable for the quality of the services provided.

The winning telco brand is the one that receives the highest Overall Satisfaction rating once all the scores from the Overall Satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged.

  • Overall Satisfaction is asked as a specific question and represents an individual measure, not a combined total of all criteria.
  • When we cannot determine a clear winner from the criteria for the Overall Satisfaction rating, we will then look at the other criteria measured in the rating.
    • The telco brand with the highest number of five-star ratings within the supporting criteria will become the five-star recipient in overall satisfaction, and thus win the award. If a clear leader still cannot be determined from the supporting criteria, joint winners will be declared.

Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included, so not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The brands rated in this survey are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.

  • 2degrees
  • One NZ
  • Spark


Find more information on our Most Satisfied Customer methodology.

Best small business telecommunications brands in New Zealand

  1. 2degrees
  2. One NZ
  3. Spark

2degrees

Ratings Results

This year marks 2degrees’ third consecutive win of Canstar Blue’s award for Most Satisfied Customers | Business Telecommunications. And, building on its previous successes, 2degrees takes out top spot on our awards ratings table in style: earning a clean sweep of top 5-Star ratings across every measure of consumer satisfaction.

Not only does 2degrees earn a perfect set of scores, it’s the only small business telco provider this year to earn any 5-Star ratings – which is a clear indication of the great products, service and value for money it delivers to its thousands of very satisfied customers.

Editor’s Notes

What phone and internet plans does our winner 2degrees offer small businesses?

In addition to its great NZ-based customer service team, 2degrees prides itself on its small business mobile and internet products. They include:

Business Mobile

All plans come with unlimited calls and texts to NZ and OZ:

Choice Plans

For individuals with a range of data and device needs. Offers two products, covering different data needs:

  • Carryover Data (up to 12 months): 5GB/7GB/15GB plans
  • Endless Data: 100GB at max speed

All plans feature:

  • Unlimited NZ/OZ calls and texts
  • 90 days per year Aussie roaming
  • $8 daily business roaming in over 100 destinations

Connect Plans

One pool of data (from 8GB to 900GB) for your team to share. Includes:

  • Unlimited NZ/OZ calls and texts
  • 90 days per year Aussie roaming
  • $8 daily business roaming in over 100 destinations

Business broadband

2degrees business plans are made specifically for reliability across fibre, 4G wireless, and 5G wireless broadband. They provide higher speeds and faster support times than regular household connections.

Business services

2degrees also offers a range of office phone services, including:

  • Cloud PBX
  • Teams Calling
  • Contact centres
  • SIP trunks

And build on your mobile and broadband connections with tailored solutions including:

  • Cloud Navigator
  • Group Text
  • Insight Network
  • Professional Services

  • Fleet management
  • Managed networks
  • Cloud security
  • Government solutions


One NZ

Ratings Results

One NZ ranks second on this year’s award table, with an admirable 4-Star Overall Satisfaction. The telco, formerly known as Vodafone, earns predominantly 4-Star ratings, including in the all-important category of Value for Money.

It also earns two 3-Star ratings, for both Customer Service and Billing. While not a top rating, 3 Stars is by no means a measure of poor performance. Rather, 3 Stars indicates One NZ’s customers are happy with the telco’s performance in those categories.

Editor’s Notes

One NZ has plans to keep your business connected whatever its size:

Business mobile

One NZ has two tiers of business mobile plans, for different sized companies:

Endless Plans (1-4 employees):

  • Small: 5GB at max speed
  • Medium: 15GB at max speed (add up to 3 companion plans)
  • One Plan: Unlimited max speed data (add up to 3 companion plans)

All three plans come with unlimited NZ/OZ calls and texts

Endless Plans (5+ employees):

  • Large: 50GB at max speed
  • One Plan: Unlimited max speed data

Plans come with unlimited NZ/OZ calls and texts, plus local number on mobile

Business broadband

One NZ offers a range of broadband plans across fibre and its wireless 4G/5G network. Plans feature:

  • SmartWiFi
  • Static IP free on request
  • Multi-plan discounts for eligible mobile customers
  • Optional mesh SuperWifi ($4/m per unit)

One NZ also retails Business Starlink services as well as rural wireless plans through its subsidiary Farmside.


Spark logo

Spark

Ratings Results

Rounding out this year’s award ratings, Spark earns the same mix of 4- and 3-Star ratings as One NZ, except its two 3-Star ratings are awarded for Value of Money and Network Performance. Spark’s slightly lower Overall Satisfaction rating means that, this year, Spark is the third-placed telco on our ratings table.

Editor’s Notes

Spark’s business telco deals include endless mobile plans, all featuring Team Up discounts. It also offers a suite of IT solutions.

Business mobile

Spark has two main endless business plans:

  • Business Endless: 50GB at max speed
  • Endless: Unlimited max speed data

Plans come with unlimited NZ/OZ calls and texts, plus local number on mobile.

Business broadband

Spark has a simple choice of unlimited wireless and fibre plans:

  • Wireless 4G/5G
  • Fibre 500/300Mbps or 900/500Mbps

Plans come with free static IP on request. Modem extra.

Spark offers a wide range of IT services from its tech partners, providing bespoke IT solutions across:

  • Managed IT Services
  • Cloud services
  • Data Management
  • Security solutions
  • Professional Services

  • Infrastructure support
  • Sourcing (Software and Hardware)
  • Website / App development and hosting
  • IT health checks/audits

Other small business telecommunications brands

Not all brands in the market qualify for our ratings (based on minimum survey sample size), but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth considering. Here are more telco brands to check out before making a choice for your small business.

  • Digital Island
  • Kordia
  • Voyager

Digital Island

Digital Island provides internet, data, mobile, land lines and cloud PBX solutions to NZ businesses.

Business mobile

Digital Island offers mobile across three plan structures:

  • DigiShare: shared mobile data for businesses with 5+ mobiles
  • DigiSim: SIM-only plans with data limits: 2GB | 10GB | Unlimited
  • Mobile Smart Plans: data limits: 2GB | 10GB | Unlimited

Business broadband

Digital Island’s business broadband promises:

  • 60 second answer time when you ring its help line
  • Professional project co-coordinator offering a single point of contact

Digital Island also offers Premium UFB, for super-fast connectivity, and Corporate Fibre, for business heavily dependent on premium levels of data speed and support.

Digital Island’s consulting and advisory services offer tailored business telecommunications solutions.


Kordia

Rather than offering straightforward phone and broadband internet plans, Kordia is a specialist high-tech company offering its clients tailored telecommunications solutions, including:

  • Digital business phone services
  • Cloud migration and connectivity

Voyager

Voyager sells smart tech-based telecommunications solutions for small businesses, including:

  • Business broadband: Fibre/ADSL/VDSL
  • VoIP phone systems
  • Web hosting

 

Choosing the Right Telecommunications Provider for You

This year, it’s been interesting to note the changes in the consumer feedback we’ve received from small business owners. Given the current economic climate, Value for Money has become one of the main concerns for those in our various small business awards surveys. And the responses we received for our telco award were no different.

Last year, Network Performance and Customer Service were the biggest drivers of consumer satisfaction for small business owners in their dealings with their telco providers, with Value for Money rating third.

This year, however, the tables have turned, and Value for Money is the top priority for small business owners, placing slightly above Customer Service.

Here’s the full rundown of what the consumers in our survey say are the main things they consider when rating their choice of small business telecommunications providers:

  • Value for money: 28%
  • Customer service: 27%
  • Network performance: 24%
  • Flexibility of contract: 14%
  • Billing: 8%


About the author of this page

This report was written by Canstar’s Editor, Bruce Pitchers. Bruce has three decades’ experience as a journalist and has worked for major media companies in the UK and Australasia, including ACP, Bauer Media Group, Fairfax, Pacific Magazines, News Corp and TVNZ. Prior to Canstar, he worked as a freelancer, including for The Australian Financial Review, the NZ Financial Markets Authority, and for real estate companies on both sides of the Tasman.

More Information

Canstar Blue surveyed 724 New Zealand consumers across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics. The outcomes reported are the results from small business owners with mobile phone account(s) and/or fixed broadband with the same provider. In this case, 656 New Zealanders.

Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criterion.

The past winners from Canstar Blue’s Small Business Telecommunications ratings:

  • 2022: 2degrees
  • 2021: 2degrees

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