Vodafone New Zealand has announced it is changing its name to One New Zealand in early 2023.
It comes following the change of ownership from Vodafone Group to new owners Infratil and Brookfield in 2019.
Vodafone New Zealand CEO Jason Paris said he is proud to announce this decision to change its name and believes One New Zealand better reflects the company's legacy in Aotearoa.
But Paris said it is much more than just a name change and that over the past three years, the company has moved from a global focus to a 100 percent New Zealand focus.
"Now, it is time to take the next step. To become One New Zealand. One team of over 3000 employees, with one focus on one country and on one goal, to unlock the magic of technology to create an awesome Aotearoa."
Over the past three years, the company said it has spent close to a billion dollars to improve The Smart Network. This includes being the first to launch a 5G mobile network in New Zealand and rolling this latest technology out to dozens of cities and towns around Aotearoa, plus upgrading wireless broadband and Hybrid Fibre Coaxial services and delivering fibre broadband.
Vodafone has also brought most of its call centres back to New Zealand and all of its retail stores are now under full ownership.
The company said while its customers' experience is "better than it's ever been", One New Zealand will be on a mission to become world-famous for its service.
To coincide with the announcement of One New Zealand, the company is announcing new initiatives, including One Good Kiwi, which is a unique digital charity platform through which One New Zealand will donate $1.2 million a year to worthy causes that are making positive change for young people. There is also One Plan, which will give customers the freedom to use data however and whenever they want.
"Our commitment to Aotearoa has always been intergenerational. We recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of Te Rourou, Vodafone Aotearoa Foundation (soon to be Te Rourou, One New Zealand Foundation), which has now invested close to $50 million in securing a better future for rangatahi (young people), and we believe represents the biggest corporate philanthropy in New Zealand’s history, and this commitment will continue long into the future," Paris said.
"We are committed to supporting Te Ao Māori and normalising the use of Te Reo through Whārikihia, our Māori strategy, and through honouring the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We also support numerous digital equity and youth programmes.
"We have been supporting the Vodafone Warriors (soon to be One New Zealand Warriors) through thick and thin for a quarter of a century now, one of the longest-running sporting sponsorships in the world, and that commitment will continue."
Paris added Vodafone is proud of the difference they've made for customers over the past three years and they have more to share in the coming months.
"For now, customers will not need to do anything different at all, we will continue to operate as Vodafone New Zealand until the change happens, but in the meantime, expect to see a lot more proof of the changes that One New Zealand will bring."
