Telecom New Zealand has announced plans to rebrand as Spark New Zealand from August 8.
The operator announced earlier this year that it plans to change the name it has had since 1987 to reflect the many changes that have happened in the company over its lifetime.
While Telecom NZ began life as a government-owned fixed line monopoly, its focus has changed significantly, CEO Simon Moutter said in a statement.
“As a company we've moved far beyond the home telephone. Spark better represents what we are today – it is all about mobile data, online entertainment, cloud services, the Internet of Things, or whatever new technology is around the corner.”
As part of the rebrand, retail unit Telecom Retail will be renamed to Spark Home, Mobile and Business, ICT division Gen-i will be named Spark Digital and Telecom Wholesale will be known as Spark Wholesale.
Although the company's legal name will change on August 8, Moutter said some changes will need to be phased in over a longer period.
“The technical transition to Spark is extremely complex, especially with so many of our customer services revolving around digital connections via our networks or the internet," he said.
“Phasing in the changes is therefore the best way to reduce the risk of disruptions to customer services and to manage the transition cost-effectively.”
Telecom NZ was spun out from the New Zealand post office in 1987 and privatized in 1990.