Newly-rebranded operator One New Zealand revealed plans to reach 100 per cent coverage in its market using SpaceX’s Starlink low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to fill current gaps, a deal announced the day it dropped the Vodafone name.

The operator plans to start delivering access through satellite connectivity in late 2024 with the service initially set to provide MMS and SMS before eventually being expanded to voice and data.

In a statement, One New Zealand CEO Jason Paris noted its terrestrial network already covered 98 per cent of the areas where people live and work, but due to the geography of the country this only accounts for around half of the landmass.

“When the service goes live, there will be coverage across the country whether you’re out on your boat, climbing a mountain, fixing a remote road or on your farm,” he added.

The rebranding to One New Zealand had been flagged by the company in September 2022, which has been distancing itself from its former parent organisation since being sold by Vodafone Group in mid-2019 for NZD3.4 billion ($2.1 billion).