Best-Rated Small Business Telecommunications

Compare Business Telecommunications providers in New Zealand at Canstar Blue. 2degrees, Spark and One NZ 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 fourth year in a row, 2degrees is rated No.1 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 694 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
  • Spark
  • One NZ


Find more information on our Most Satisfied Customer methodology.

Best small business telecommunications brands in New Zealand

  1. 2degrees
  2. Spark
  3. One NZ

2degrees

Ratings Results

This year marks 2degrees’ fourth consecutive win of Canstar Blue’s award for Most Satisfied Customers | Business Telecommunications. And, repeating its previous successes, 2degrees takes out top spot on our awards table emphatically, earning almost a clean sweep of top ratings across every measure of consumer satisfaction: 5 Stars in every category, except for Flexibility of Contract, for which it earns a great 4-Star rating.

In this year’s ratings 2degrees earns more 5-Star Ratings than Spark and One NZ combined – 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?

2degrees prides itself on its NZ-based customer service team and its range of small business mobile and internet products, which include:

Business Mobile

Choice Plans: For firms with a range of staff mobile requirements. Two plan types, covering different data needs:

  • Carryover Data (up to 12 months): 7GB/15GB/50GB plans
  • Endless Data: 100GB at max speed

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

All plans feature:

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

Business broadband

2degrees business plans cover 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

Tailored business solutions include:

  • 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 rating. The telco has an equal mix of 4- and 5-Star ratings, and earns its top scores in the categories of Billing, Customer Service and Flexibility of Contract.

Editor’s Notes

One NZ has plans to keep businesses connected whatever their size:

Business mobile

One NZ’s range of business mobile plans include:

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)

Endless Plans (5+ employees):

  • Large: 40GB at max speed
  • One Plan: Unlimited max speed data

All plans feature:

  • Unlimited NZ/OZ calls and texts
  • $6.96 (+GST) daily roaming

Business broadband

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

  • SmartWiFi
  • Free static IP
  • 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 table, Spark earns a mix of 3- and 4-Star ratings. It earns its top ratings for Customer Service and Billing. In all other categories it earns 3-Star ratings.

While not a top rating, 3 Stars is by no means a measure of poor performance. Rather, a 3-Star rating indicates Spark’s customers are happy with the telco’s performance in those categories.

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 three main business plans:

  • Rollover plan: 4GB rollover data
  • Endless capped: Max speed data capped at 50GB
  • Endless: Unlimited, max speed data

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

Business broadband

Spark offers a wide range of unlimited wireless and fibre plans:

  • ADSL/VDSL
  • Wireless 4G/5G
  • Fibre 500/300Mbps or 900/500Mbps
  • Rural wireless

Fibre 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 two plan structures:

  • DigiEndless: two plans with max speed data caps of 16GB and 40GB
  • DigiShare: plans share a pool of data set to meet your needs

Business broadband

Digital Island’s business broadband plans feature speeds up to 900Mbps/450Mbps.


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

Given the current economic climate, it’s no surprise that Value for Money is the biggest concern for small business owners when rating their satisfaction levels with their telco providers, besting both Network Performance and Customer Service.

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

  • Value for Money: 31%
  • Network Performance: 27%
  • Customer Service: 21%
  • Flexibility of Contract: 19%
  • Billing: 2%


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 719 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, 694 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:

  • 2023: 2degrees
  • 2022: 2degrees
  • 2021: 2degrees

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