Telecommunications companies are preparing their networks for a busy holiday season as more Kiwis than ever are expected to travel around rural New Zealand and holiday hotspots compared to any other year.
Over the past decade, $15 billion has been invested across the telecommunications sector, and this has resulted in world-class digital infrastructure throughout New Zealand - however there are still parts of the country where you can go 'off the grid' and disconnect from phone and internet services.
"Kiwis heading to their favourite holiday destinations put pressure on regional and rural mobile towers in a normal year, let alone a year like 2020 where Covid-19 has prevented most from travelling offshore," says Telecommunications Forum (TCF) CEO Geoff Thorn.
"For example, an area like Whangamata might cater to around 500GB of daily mobile data on a normal day. Over Christmas this year that is expected to jump ten-fold to around 5000GB per day. To cater to this, mobile operators are expanding capacity, including putting in place temporary portable cell sites – known as CoWs (cell sites on wheels) or CoPs (cell sites on pellets) where possible."
Mobile networks in the city and fixed broadband networks throughout the country are unlikely to face similar capacity constraints.
The good news is that the ultra-fast broadband (UFB) fibre rollout is now complete in 216 cities and towns across New Zealand.
Over the past year or so, the focus of the UFB rollout has shifted towards smaller communities including many popular holiday locations – bringing them high quality fibre services just like in the big cities.
The industry is making great progress expanding rural coverage, both through the fibre rollout and joint investment in new mobile sites through the Rural Connectivity Group (RCG), which has connected more than 125 rural areas since last Christmas.
Like all infrastructure investments this does take time, and with the increased pressures on capacity this year due to Covid-19 the industry is asking New Zealanders to understand that the coverage they get in very remote parts of the country may not be the same quality as what they get in urban areas.
"The biggest pressure this year will be on mobile networks, we wanted to let New Zealanders know what they can do to help relieve this pressure and stay connected this holiday season," says Geoff.
"It's also important for consumers to be aware of their mobile phone capabilities, such as the need to have 4G VoLTE enabled-devices in parts of the country, to ensure they are getting the best coverage and connectivity."
Being aware of mobile calling and VoLTE