Better broadband/cell coverage for Te-Oneroa-a-Tōhē Ninety Mile Beach

The new tower at Te-Oneroa-a-Tōhē Ninety Mile Beach that will give locals and tourists better broadband internet and cellphone coverage at the popular area. Another new tower has been erected at Taipā.

People exploring the Far North’s world-famous Te-Oneroa-a-Tōhē Ninety Mile Beach now have better broadband coverage - and improved connections to the emergency 111 service.

Tourists and residents in Taipā and Te-Oneroa-a-Tōhē Ninety Mile Beach may have noticed a marked improvement in their connectivity after new mobile broadband towers were switched on in both areas in January.

The new mobile broadband tower in Taipā is now providing upgraded broadband capacity to 56 end users, as well as coverage to 43 homes and businesses in the area.

The new tower in Te-Oneroa-a-Tōhē Ninety Mile Beach will enable tourists to connect with local activities and accommodation providers.

Another major plus for people local to those areas is improved connectivity to the emergency 111 network no matter which mobile network they subscribe to, should an emergency occur.

Both towers were built by the Rural Connectivity Group (RCG) under the Government’s Rural Connectivity Programme. The towers went live on January 20 after the collaboration with RCG, National Infrastructure Funding and Financing, and Far North District Council.

The culturally significant Cape Reinga attracts thousands of tourists every year. For Māori, Cape Reinga is the most spiritually significant place in New Zealand

Te-Oneroa-a-Tōhē / Ninety Mile Beach is on the western coast of the Far North and is actually 88 kilometres long, or 55 miles. It attracts thousands of tourists every year.

Its southern end is close to the headland of Tauroa Point, to the west of Ahipara Bay, near Kaitāia. From there it sweeps briefly northeast before running northwest along the Aupōuri Peninsula for the majority of its length. It ends at Tiriparepa / Scott Point, 5km south of Cape Maria van Diemen and about 10km south of Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua.

The beach is officially a public highway and is used as an alternative to State Highway 1 north of Kaitāia.

For Māori, Cape Reinga is the most spiritually significant place in New Zealand. An ancient pōhutukawa tree and a lonely lighthouse mark this special place. It is here that after death, all Māori spirits travel up the coast and over the wind-swept vista to the pōhutukawa tree on the headland of Te Rerenga Wairua.