Connecting What Matters
Connecting What Matters Universal Communications Group is at the forefront of where the telecommunications industry is heading today. We speak to co-CEO, Dillip Kanji, about how the company is pioneering the future of connectivity across the Asia Pacific region Writer: Ed Budds | Project Manager: Joshua Mann
2 | APAC Outlook Issue 82
I
n the realm of telecommunications (telecoms) and technology, New Zealand (NZ) is moving from one era into the next. The nation has essentially finished the build phase of its domestic fibre story, with uptake now above 75 percent and the retirement of its copper network imminent. That is a profound shift for an
UNIVERSAL COMMUNICATIONS GROUP TECHNOLOGY
industry that has spent 15 years defined by rollout. The work is no longer just about laying new fibre – it is about migration, provisioning, sustaining a network at scale, and doing it whilst customer expectations keep climbing. Demand is a further trend on the rise, whereby average residential data use has passed 690 gigabytes (GB) a
month and business use is growing at nearly 20 percent a year. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence (AI) workloads, cloud, and video are pushing traffic in a way that will drive densification, edge capacity, and mobile investment for the next decade. Networks that were designed for a different consumption pattern are being asked to do far more.
Across the Pacific, the picture changes again – subsea investment and multilateral funding have opened the door, but the last mile is still missing in many island nations, and that is where digital equity is won or lost. For a company like Universal Communications Group (UCG), being involved in the Pacific nations and going full circle as it has done APAC Outlook Issue 82 | 3
UNIVERSAL COMMUNICATIONS GROUP TECHNOLOGY
in NZ is critical. UCG is a telecoms infrastructure business that has been operating in Australia since 1990 and in NZ since 2014. “We are headquartered in Auckland, and today we operate across NZ, the Pacific Islands, and the Philippines. We remain a founder-led business with Rafael Luna, who founded UCG and is still actively involved in the business and with whom I share the CEO role - and that same leadership team will continue to run the business as
we become part of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)listed GenusPlus Group (Genus),” introduces Dillip Kanji, co-CEO.
BROAD OPERATIONAL SPECTRUM Today, UCG delivers the full lifecycle of network infrastructure – strategic consulting, land access and approvals, survey and design, construction, installation and commissioning, and ongoing operations and maintenance
— all wrapped in its own project management and delivery systems, including its proprietary siteTRAX® job management platform. “In practice, that means we take a client from a line on a map to a live, maintained network without handing them between three different contractors,” Kanji explains. The company’s anchor client in NZ is Chorus, where it holds a longterm Field Services Agreement for approximately 50 percent of the population.
HOW DID YOU FIRST BECOME INTERESTED IN THE TELECOMS INDUSTRY? Dillip Kanji, co-CEO: “I graduated from the University of Auckland in 1992, and I have not worked outside telecoms for a single day since. “After a vast and varied career spanning many roles and geographies, I joined UCG in 2018 as Business Performance Officer, became Chief Operating Officer in 2019, and was appointed Co-CEO in April 2025. “What has kept me here for more than three decades is that the industry keeps reinventing itself. Analogue to digital, copper to fibre, and now connectivity as critical national infrastructure rather than a consumer convenience. “What draws me to the design, cabling, and construction side specifically is that it is where engineering meets the physical world. Software gets the headlines, but somebody still has to secure the land access, survey the route, dig the trench, haul the cable, splice the fibre, and keep it running for the next 30 years. “Having started my own career doing exactly that work, I have never lost respect for the people who do it, and I have never forgotten that health, education, commerce, and emergency response all sit on top of it.”
4 | APAC Outlook Issue 82
“Beyond that, we work with a range of clients including World Bank-funded projects across the Pacific. We have been very active in Micronesia, Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and, more recently, Samoa,” he sets out. Collectively, UCG has connected more than one million premises to high-speed internet, and currently employs around 150 staff across six offices in NZ, approximately 80 resources based out of the Philippines, and is supported by a broader deliver partner network across its operating regions.
BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP UCG’s Chorus Field Services Agreement encompasses its longterm contract covering network build and maintenance across Auckland and the greater Auckland region. It is the backbone of the company’s NZ portfolio and, more
“Chorus is a demanding client and appropriately so, given they are custodians of critical national infrastructure. They have pushed us to be better in safety, quality systems, and data, and we are a materially stronger company because of that relationship” – D I L L I P K A N J I , C O - C E O , U N I V E R S A L C O M M U N I C AT I O N S G R O U P
importantly, it is where UCG proves its operating model every single day at metropolitan scale. “Our relationship with Chorus began in 2014, when we were awarded work connecting multidwelling units in Auckland and Wellington under the Ultra-Fast Broadband programme,” Kanji recalls. “That was a narrow, technically difficult scope, but we took it because we believed that if we solved the hard
problem well, the rest would follow, which it did, but slowly and on merit,” he adds. This work grew into a ten-year design and construction agreement for multi-dwelling units and, in April 2022, into the seven-year Field Services Agreement for Auckland and the surrounding region, plus threeyear North Island provisioning. Then, in February 2025, the relationship was extended again. APAC Outlook Issue 82 | 5
Serving New Zealand’s Demand for Reliable Infrastructure Operating within the utility network construction and maintenance sector, Data Stream NZ Limited delivers safe, compliant, and reliable network infrastructure work across New Zealand The utilities and telecommunications (telecoms) industries are crucial to modern infrastructure, forming the indispensable digital and physical backbone that powers today’s society, ensuring economic stability, and delivering modernisation efforts. The companies that meet these growing demands are pivotal to daily life, enabling essential services to run smoothly and power the world. One such company that is a stalwart in this crucial industry is Data Stream NZ Limited (Data Stream NZ), based in Auckland, New Zealand.
Established in March 2016 by Krunal Patel – the company’s sole director and shareholder – Data Stream NZ was founded to serve the country’s expanding need for reliable utility and telecoms network infrastructure. Carrying data, power, and communications to homes and businesses, this physical connection is only growing more crucial by the day.
As an owner-operated business, Data Stream NZ combines the responsiveness of a small team with the discipline of a registered contractor. More than a decade since its founding, the company’s focus remains the same – delivering safe, compliant, and dependable network infrastructure work, one project at a time.
Data Stream NZ started from a base in Blockhouse Bay in West Auckland, quickly building a reputation for hands-on network construction and maintenance work. In 2021, the company relocated to South Auckland on the Manukau Harbour, positioning itself to serve the fast-growing communities of Auckland and the wider area whilst continuing to support clients across New Zealand’s South and North Islands.
Data Stream NZ’s approach comprises four pillars: • Safety first – Work carried out to New Zealand health and safety and industry standards. • Reliability – An owner-operated team that is accountable for every job. • Local knowledge – Based in Auckland and serving surrounding regions. • Long-term relationships – Built through consistent, quality delivery since 2016.
These values enable the company to continue to serve the industry with unparalleled dedication, world-class results, and a passion for continued innovation to provide clients with the most modern products and services.
ADDRESSING A GROWING DEMAND Data Stream NZ has proudly been serving clients across Auckland and parts of the North and South Islands for over a decade. Operating within the utility network construction and maintenance sector, the company’s services are vast. They include telecoms and fibre network construction, installation, and maintenance; underground and overhead cabling, ducting, and trenching; network connections, upgrades, and fault repairs; and site works supporting utility and infrastructure providers. Additionally, for Data Stream NZ’s endto-end utility pole services, it offers installation and removal of streetlight and power poles; over 11 years of direct experience in utility pole projects; and significant project experience working with major companies. This is alongside the company’s fibre optic network services, which include fibre installation provisioning, maintenance, and fault rectification and experience managing major fibre faults, such as inside and outside plant work streams in Auckland.
Equally, Data Stream NZ provides specialist equipment and plant operations. The company boasts fully certified and experienced elevated work platform (EWP) and insulated buckettruck operators, with two bucket trucks at its disposal. To increase capability, it also has crane trucks and certified operators for handling and installing complex infrastructure assets for minor and major civil works and trenching. With additional Internet of Things (IoT) device installation and commissioning, telecoms auditing, utility pole auditing and testing, and traffic management solutions, Data Stream NZ is an undeniable powerhouse and partner in the utility and telecoms sector.
STRONG PLATFORM FOR A STRONG FUTURE Having led Data Stream NZ for over 10 years, Patel is responsible for the company’s operations, client relationships, and the quality delivered across the scope of work it undertakes for all major players in the industry. Specifically, Data Stream NZ is currently working in collaboration with Traffica Roading Services on an innovative initiative aimed at minimising road accidents and improving safety for all road users by replacing traditional streetlights with advanced, technologydriven solutions. Additionally, Data
Stream NZ has partnered with Telco Contracting Limited – New Zealand’s first business-only telecoms company to offer an international guarantee on every connection supplied from ADSL2+ through to HSNS Superior Fibre – to provide utility pole auditing and testing alongside telecoms auditing of manholes and pits. Another prime example is the company’s work with Universal Communications Group in Sydney, Australia, which helps network operators create and maintain faster, more reliable telecoms networks. Here, Data Service NZ delivered hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) and multi-dwelling unit (MDU) projects. The company has the capability to create future workforce and employment opportunities. As it continues to expand its operations and take on new projects, Data Stream NZ is building its workforce and particularly interested in providing opportunities to new migrants willing to undertake training and develop a career in the infrastructure, utilities, and telecoms sectors. It believes its diverse range of projects and specialised capabilities provide a strong platform for training, upskilling, and long-term employment. Contact Data Stream NZ today to discuss current and future workforce requirements and explore potential opportunities to work together.
datastreamnzltd@gmail.com
“What I would say about that journey is that it was never won on price – it was won on consistency, on transparency when things went wrong, and on cultural fit. Chorus is a demanding client and appropriately so, given they are custodians of critical national infrastructure. They have pushed us to be better in safety, quality systems, and data, and we are a materially stronger company because of that relationship,” Kanji attributes. Today UCG remains one of their major delivery partners, a responsibility that the company takes as an obligation rather than an entitlement. Contracts get renewed on performance, not history.
FUTURE TARGETS Looking ahead, UCG’s focus is firmly set on growth and diversification, and doing both without loosening its grip on safety and quality. “Concretely, that means four things.
Firstly, deepening our position in NZ as the market moves through copper retirement. That migration is a significant body of work over the next two years, and we intend to carry a meaningful share of it,” Kanji elaborates. “Second, broadening our client base: formalising and growing our scope with some of the other clients we have in NZ. “Thirdly, scaling the Pacific,” he adds. UCG has proven it can deliver in some of the hardest environments in the region. The company sees a developing pipeline of multilateralfunded connectivity work across the islands and wants to be the delivery partner of choice. “Fourth on the agenda is commercialising augmentAI® beyond our own operations. We built it to solve our problem, but the problem is universal in critical infrastructure, and we see a potential
“We have spent a decade quietly building credentials which involved connecting more than a million premises, earning a long-term contract with NZ’s largest operator network, taking domestic engineering into the Pacific, and building certified systems that stand up to the toughest client audits in the country” – DILLIP KANJI, CO-CEO, U N I V E R S A L C O M M U N I C AT I O N S GROUP
UCG CSR INITIATIVES UCG believes that the most meaningful corporate social responsibility (CSR) is embedded in the work itself rather than sitting alongside it. • The clearest example is the company’s Pacific Programme. Connecting Tuvalu, Kiribati, and the outer states of Micronesia is not a commercially straightforward business, but it is genuinely transformational for those communities, and UCG structures those projects around local employment and skills transfer so capability stays behind when it leaves. Digital equity in the Pacific is something UCG cares about well beyond the mere contract value. • Closer to home, the Christchurch Red Zone project is another point of pride for the company. Over 550 redundant Chorus poles have been removed from an area that has been through more than its share, and none have been sent to landfill. The timber now stands in a community park where families gather. That took Chorus, Christchurch City Council, and UCG’s field crews all deciding the easy disposal option wasn’t good enough. It represents a broader push to reduce the footprint of a business that runs a large vehicle fleet across the country.
8 | APAC Outlook Issue 82
UNIVERSAL COMMUNICATIONS GROUP TECHNOLOGY
On Time. On Budget. Built to Last.
Est. 2022 · 20+ years combined experience · In-house plant & TM fleet
TELECOMMUNICATIONS · POWER · WATER · CIVIL
Infrastructure delivered end to end, by one accountable team. Founded in 2022 with over 20 years of combined industry experience, JGT Limited delivers telecommunications, power, water and civil projects across New Zealand, backed by our own in-house plant and traffic management fleet.
DELIVER THE COMMITMENT
HYDRO EXCAVATION
TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
Fibre Optics
Hydro Excavation
Traffic Management
Directional Drilling
Civil Works
Installation, blowing and splicing
Non-destructive digging
Comprehensive TM services
For power, water and fibre
Telecom infrastructure
+64 22 175 1292
opportunity to offer the technology to other participants in the critical infrastructure sector. If we can get these priorities right, the commercial results follow. If we get them wrong, no amount of revenue growth compensates,” Kanji cautions.
POISED TO EXCEL UCG has flown under the radar for a long time, and to some extent that has been deliberate. “We have spent a decade quietly building credentials which involved connecting more than a million premises, earning a long-term contract with NZ’s largest network operator, taking domestic engineering into the Pacific, and building certified systems that stand up to the toughest client audits in the country,” Kanji prides. That work doesn’t generate headlines – nobody writes about a fibre splice that held for fifteen years, but it is the reason UCG can now do the more visible things, such as exporting
jgttelecomltd@gmail.com its own AI technology, winning AsiaPacific innovation awards, and taking on work in markets where it would not have been credible five years ago. It is also why Genus (ASX: GNP), the Australian end-to-end specialist in essential power and communications infrastructure, has agreed to acquire UCG. Completion is expected at the end of October 2026, subject to customary approvals. “There is a strong strategic fit between the two businesses,” Kanji says. “UCG brings deep telecommunications capability, longstanding customer relationships, and proven delivery across NZ and the Pacific, whilst Genus brings complementary communications and power infrastructure capability, scale, and an established Australian platform. Together, we have a much broader capability and are wellpositioned to pursue growth across
www.jgtlimited.com Australia, NZ, and the Pacific. “For our clients, the important thing is continuity. The same leadership, the same people, and the same systems will continue to deliver the work, but now with the broader capability and scale of Genus behind us,” he affirms. The quiet phase built the foundation. The next phase is growth and diversification – more clients, more markets, and more of UCG’s own technology in the field, now with an ASX-listed group behind it. “We are now poised and ready to be a bit less invisible,” Kanji concludes boldly.
Tel: +64 9347 1498 talk-to-us@ucg.co.nz
www.ucg.co.nz
APAC Outlook Issue 82 | 9
Tel: +64 9347 1498 talk-to-us@ucg.co.nz ww.ucg.co.nz
PRODUCED BY APAC OUTLOOK MAGAZINE