Spark chief executive Simon Moutter has taken a swipe at new competitor Netflix, saying the TV streaming company is taking advantage of GST loopholes.

Is it fair big companies extract hundreds of millions of dollars of profit each year from the economy, yet contribute little or nothing to fund a civil society?

Leading telecommunications company Spark actively considered becoming the cornerstone sponsor of the new Paul Henry breakfast show, but has pulled out, writes John Drinnan.

Spark has agreed to sell its Telecom Rentals business for $106 million to Australian financial services company FlexiGroup.

New Zealand shares rose yesterday, paced by Chorus as its first-half earnings met with market expectations. Xero rose to a four-month high as a seller exited the stock.

Broker Forsyth Barr is tipping a drop in profit at Spark when the NZX's biggest listed company reports its half-year result tomorrow.

Yesterday's five-hour long service outage meant smart phones were useless for customers in many parts of the North Island.

A breakdown at telecommunications giant Spark impacted data, texts, and phone calls for customers in many parts of the North Island tonight.

New Zealand shares fell yesterday from a record close paced by Meridian Energy, Precinct Properties New Zealand and Spark New Zealand, as the appetite waned.

Vocus Communications, the Australian fibre network and data centre company, has agreed with Spark New Zealand to form a new construction joint venture, Connect 8.

New Zealand shares rose yesterday, heading back towards a record high after a two-day slide.

Spark chief executive Simon Moutter is parting on great terms with his No 2 executive Chris Quin with appreciation "for a job well done".

New Zealand shares rose to a new record close yesterday as holidays in Auckland and Australia kept trading volumes light.

Spark is giving away its subscription video-on-demand service Lightbox to broadband subscribers to encourage people towards online entertainment and uncapped broadband deals.

Vodafone is on "shaky ground" in raising its fibre internet prices along with copper-line broadband charges, says InternetNZ.

The country's three biggest internet companies are planning to charge customers more from next month and the general manager at one of them doesn't think broadband will ever be as cheap as it was....

The battle of video-on-demand is stepping up as Spark's Lightbox announces a new studio deal with one of the world's biggest content providers.

Online TV service Lightbox and Coliseum Sports Media have signed a 50:50 partnership but at this stage they are not promising lower prices.

Vodafone and Spark chiefs Russell Stanners and Simon Moutter have put aside competition to partner up and build the transtasman telecommunications cable along with Telstra.