Telecom is now delivering 4G to its customers in Whakatane and Rotorua as it looks to expand its service.

Telecom, soon to be Spark, says the 4G network will strengthen the high-quality mobile experience customers already receive through Telecom's national WiFi and 3G networks.

Cellphone users will be able to hook into the Telecom's new 4G network.

Retail CEO Chris Quin says as more people begin to use smart devices for things like watching video, downloading books, uploading photos and getting the most out of their music on Spotify, data speeds are going to become more and more important.

'4G will allow you to do all these things in seconds, and we think these faster speeds will quickly become the 'new normal” for New Zealanders, just as 3G speeds did when they were introduced a few years ago.

'If you're a Telecom customer living or visiting Rotorua and Whakatane and you have a 4G-capable phone, you're likely to see increased speed when you're in our new 4G area. We want to give New Zealanders access to the technology they need to get on and do more, and our 4G rollout is a crucial part of this.”

Chris says so far Telecom customers who regularly use the 4G network generally did not dramatically increase their data consumption.

'Anyone concerned about going over their data allowance could track their usage over the MyTelecom portal or Telecom's smartphone app, or set up a data cap to kick in when their allowance runs out.

'They could also use the smartphone app to top up their account or save their precious data by using one of Telecom's 12 WiFi hot spots in Rotorua or five WiFi hot spots in Whakatane.”