Vodafone New Zealand added or upgraded 124 base stations in high-use locations in the first six months of 2020 to keep up with growing data demand across the country.

In a statement, head of platforms Sharina Nisha said the sites were concentrated in areas with the highest demand or the sharpest increases in data consumption.

The upgrades are located across urban and rural areas and mainly added capacity to 4G and 4.5G sites. The moves are part of the operator’s efforts to prepare towers for the launch of 5G.

Nisha said the investment to increase capacity is designed to meet New Zealander’s soaring appetite for data, including “streaming YouTube and TikTok videos or joining work video conferences on the go”.

Mobile data use increased more than 40 per cent a year “for the past few years, with the trend set to continue as 5G becomes more widespread”, she said.

“We expect wireless broadband demand to continue to ramp up, so we’re planning our mobile network investments to outpace growing demand for these digital services.”

The operator switched on 5G in parts of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown in December 2019.