Spark launches the first broadband plan that flexes with you, offering customers the opportunity to save on their monthly bill

Spark is launching the first broadband plan in New Zealand that flexes the price you pay based on your monthly usage. Called the Unplan, it gives you the freedom to use more, and savings when you use less.

Spark is also shaking things up by giving customers the choice on whether they include entertainment on their broadband plan by introducing a version of the Unplan that includes the best in global entertainment, called Unplan Entertainment.

Why will Kiwis like the Unplan? Because sometimes it’s winter, and all you want to do is curl up on the sofa and enjoy nights of TV and movie marathons. But then suddenly it’s summer and you’re away at the weekends, enjoying BBQs and days at the beach with friends and families and your broadband starts to feel a little unloved. Or take another scenario: you use about the same amount of data each month – but then the family comes to stay and your data use goes through the roof.
 
Historically, broadband plans haven’t accommodated for the variability of real life, and customers have had two choices: buy a capped plan (and risk running out of data or paying for more) or buy an unlimited plan (and sometimes pay for more data than you need).
 
The Unplan solves that conundrum. It gives customers as much data as they need for a fixed price, giving them peace of mind and cost certainty. But customers also get the benefit of a discounted pricing in months when their data usage falls below 60GB or between 60GB and 120GB.
 
Joe Goddard, Consumer tribe lead says, “We think it’s a fairer way of offering broadband, as it reflects our customers’ needs. This is the first broadband plan in New Zealand that flexes to reflect customers’ data usage – and it has the potential to save our customers a lot of money. It’s also the first plan that’s only available on new generation broadband options (wireless broadband and fibre).”
 
Spark customers also said they wanted choice when it came to value-added entertainment services. So, from today, customers who want to access the best in global entertainment can opt for the Unplan Entertainment. Unplan Entertainment also has three pricing tiers based on your usage and includes Lightbox for the life of your plan, and Netflix for 6 months.
 
Goddard explains, “We wanted to launch a broadband plan that offered benefits to all our existing Spark customers. The Unplan offers potential money back in the pocket every month to everyone on the plan. We’d prefer to give money back to all our customers and build customer loyalty through this innovative plan, rather than spending money on joining discounts and giveaways to encourage new customers to join Spark.”
 
Finally, it’s worth noting that this is the first significant mass-market proposition that Spark has launched since the business changeover to Agile. This project has benefited from a more customer-centric approach and demonstrated an improvement in the company’s speed to market following the adoption of Agile ways of working.

Notes to editor:

Spark Unplan (12-month term)

• $65 for usage less than 60 GB
• $75 for usage between 60 GB and 120 GB
• $85 for usage above 120 GB (Unlimited on fibre, restrictions on wireless broadband)

Spark Unplan Entertainment (12-month term, includes a standard Lightbox subscription for the life of your plan and 6 months of Netflix)

• $75 for usage less than 60 GB
• $85 for usage between 60 GB and 120 GB
• $95 for usage above 120 GB (Unlimited on fibre, restrictions on wireless broadband)

Bill calculated at the end of the month based on customer data usage.
 
The Unplan is available on fibre and wireless broadband and is available to new and existing customers (not in contract). Customer eligibility for wireless broadband Unplan will depend on plan availability. The Unplan is not available on copper broadband.
 
Unplan fibre connections have unlimited usage. Unplan wireless broadband connections have restrictions to regular usage of over 180GB a month or a single usage of over 300GB in one month.
 
Pricing for fibre based on Fibre 30. Unplan and Unplan Entertainment speed upgrades: + $10 for Fibre 100, + $25 for Fibre 200, +$45 for Fibre MAX.