Australian warship takes rural fixed wireless broadband offline
Primo spots FWB outage as HMAS Canberra passes Taranaki
Primo managing director Matthew Harrison says a visiting Australian warship took a number of his company's fixed wireless broadband access points offline as it passed down the Taranaki coast.
In a LinkedIn post Harrison writes:
'This morning, an Australian warship took out many 5GHz wireless networks across parts of New Zealand.
From around 2am, we started seeing our 5GHz APs drop off the Primo network - DFS hits firing off all down the coastal area of Taranaki as the ship's radar swept the area.'
DFS or Dynamic Frequency Selection is a way 5GHz WiFi devices can increase their performance by using unlicensed frequencies. Military radar systems use the same frequencies and, as Harrison reveals, this can override civilian applications.
Primo is a broadband provider servicing the Taranaki region. It operates fixed wireless broadband networks and has some fibre.
'We've never seen anything like it here before'
Harrison says other wireless ISPs were affected. He says Inspire Net Limited in the Manawatū and TPNet NZ in Nelson also reported outages.
He says this wasn't a mere blip: 'It was full-scale, military-grade radar triggering built-in safety protocols designed to protect airspace… and it rolled across our network in sync with the ship's movement.'
The incident underlines the need for New Zealand Radio Spectrum Management to speed up the release of frequencies in the 6 GHz band.
Spark says cloud adoption stalling thanks to security, skills concerns
New Zealand cloud adoption may be surging ahead, but Spark warns businesses' ability to make best use of the technology often fails to keep up.
Spark's State of Cloud 2025 report surveyed 400 IT decision makers. It found many organisations are not investing in the
governance oversight and technical skills needed to make the most of cloud technology.
The report found the majority (70 percent) of New Zealand businesses believe cloud is 'critical to their future strategy and growth'. Yet only a third (34 percent) have
well-established processes and infrastructure in place.
Spark makes a credible sales pitch for cloud services:
'Businesses that fail to prioritise cloud as part of their core strategy may struggle to keep pace with competitors who are already leveraging cloud for scalability, agility, cost optimisation, and are therefore more able to respond quickly to market demands and emerging trends.'
It goes on to say that cloud is essential for AI and other emerging technologies. However, two thirds (67 percent) of those surveyed say their cloud infrastructure could be better leveraged. One in ten say their current cloud setup is inefficient and hinders business goals.
Mark Beder, Spark's enterprise and government customer director, says there's a danger that organisations treat cloud as an IT issue.
He says: 'New Zealand businesses risk being unable to scale innovation and realise ROI from advanced technologies. It's time to bring cloud into the boardroom and recognise it as the next competitive edge for businesses.'
Chorus upgrades outage map
Chorus says its Internet Outage map is now smarter and clearer after a series of upgrades.
Dan Kelly, the company's general manager of access, says its an important tool to update customers: 'On the rare occasion there is an outage, we also know how important it is to customers to know we're aware of the fault and are working to fix it. Ensuring everyone can rely on their internet connections is our top priority.'
The improvements include a clearer and more precise view of outage areas so customers can immediately see if they are affected.
Customers can now dig deeper for more detailed outage information. This includes live status updates, an explanation of the issue and details on what's being done to fix it. There are also estimates of the time and date services will be restored.
In normal times, maps get around 1000 views a day. Kelly says this rises fast when there is a major disruption.
'During Cyclone Gabrielle, the outage map saw a sharp increase in usage, with 43,583 views in just one week.'
You can see the map for yourself at: www.chorus.co.nz/help/tools/internet-outages-map
2degrees, Datacom pair to chase enterprise accounts
Datacom managing director Justin Gray and 2degrees chief business officer Andrew Fairgray.
A 'preferred supplier' partnership between 2degrees and Datacom will see the two companies formalise an arrangement previously used to offer enterprise and government customers a one-stop shop. Together they can offer an entire technology suite covering IT, networking, cloud, cybersecurity and mobile.
For Datacom, the deal means being able to offer customers a more complete range of services. The company's managing director Justin Gray says mobile, a 2degrees speciality, is now a key part of contract discussions.
Gray goes on to say the partnership opens the door to new opportunities: 'It's simple, but smart, and I am confident it will help us both win business... A preferred mobile and IT services partnership between Datacom and 2degrees represents the coming together of two organisations that share a mutual goal'.
Freeview adds high-definition TV for satellite users
Freeview says it now offers high-definition television on its satellite service. The company says this is possible because it has upgraded its satellite TV technology to DVB-S2, a second generation broadcast standard with more bandwidth.
Broadcasters have to update their transmission systems to make use of HD. Freeview GM Leon Mead says TVNZ was the first to upgrade to HD.
At the time of writing TVNZ 2 and Duke offer HD nationwide while TVNZ 1 offers HD in Northland and Auckland. Elsewhere it offers improved picture quality.
In other news...
Spark in line for $47m windfall from Hutchison takeover
The NZ Herald's Chris Keall writes about a transaction in Australia which could reap Spark a much needed cash injection. However the story goes on to say Spark may be able to do better if it doesn't take the offer currently on the table.
IDC slashes worldwide phone forecast
IDC has cut its forecast for worldwide phone shipment growth from 2.3 percent earlier this year to 0.6 percent, which is effectively a flat market. It puts the blame on economic headwinds and notes the continued uncertainty from the US over tariffs is not helping.
The Download Weekly is supported by Chorus New Zealand.
Australian warship takes rural fixed wireless broadband offline was first posted at billbennett.co.nz.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kiwiblog
9 hours ago
- Kiwiblog
Was anyone held accountable?
Radio NZ reports: After spending $23m but failing to modernise the births, deaths and marriages registry, officials are having another go. The Department of Internal Affairs has written off $22.9m on the project abandoned last year, returned an unspent $58m to the Crown and remains locked in a dispute with the Australian company DWS over the contract it terminated in late 2023. 'Although some of the work completed will be able to be used for a future civil registration system replacement project, from an accounting standards perspective, it [decided] should impair (write off) all capital costs incurred to date,' DIA told RNZ. So $23 million wasted. Has anyone been held accountable for the failed project?
NZ Autocar
13 hours ago
- NZ Autocar
Wealthy Aussie buys $1m Cadillac Celestiq EV
An Australian collector has bought one of the world's most exclusive cars, but there's a catch to ownership. They cannot drive the opulent electric Cadillac on Australian roads. The well-to-do enthusiast splashed out on a Cadillac Celestiq that starts from $US358,000. However, the price can virtually double depending on which option boxes are ticked. Crafted as an American alternative to Rolls-Royce, the Celestiq employs meticulous attention to detail in creating an American luxury car that's competitive at the highest echelon. Cadillac says it can customise just about any aspect of the Celestiq, apart from one. It can't build the vehicle in right-hand drive. Aletha Israels, a Celestiq Concierge employed by Cadillac to keep its special customers happy, said a collector flew from Australia to Detroit to customise their dream machine. 'The intention was for the vehicle to be delivered to the States for him, not to Australia,' she said. 'A lot of our clients fly in and out on the same day in private jets.' The 5.5m dual-motor large swoopy sedan weighs in at just under three tonnes, but with dual motors and AWD its 488kW and 877Nm output can propel it to 96km/h in 3.7sec. It has usable battery capacity of 111kWh and suggested range of 485km.
Otago Daily Times
13 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Collins coy over possible Aukus pact review
Defence Minister Judith Collins. Photo: RNZ The Defence Minister says there's no reason for New Zealand to comment on reports the Pentagon is reviewing the Aukus defence alliance. A US defence official told Reuters the review was part of ensuring the security pact was aligned with US President Donald Trump's America First agenda. The strategic pact between the US, UK and Australia had long been a talking point in New Zealand, with consecutive governments pondering whether to join parts of the alliance. Aukus was formed in 2021 to address shared worries about China's growing power. Under the pact, Australia would be armed with nuclear submarines at a cost of $A350 billion ($NZ377 billion). In a statement, Defence Minister Judith Collins said the US review was about Aukus Pillar One, which New Zealand had never been a part of. New Zealand has had ongoing discussions about joining Pillar Two of the alliance, but any decisions on whether to join Pillar Two would be a matter for Cabinet, Collins said. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has not received any reports or advice on what the Trump administration reviewing the Aukus security pact might mean for New Zealand. Luxon told RNZ he was not concerned the review could spell the end for Pillar Two "It's been left very open-ended. We're exploring Pillar Two - it's been to be honest quite slow going. "We are yet to be invited to partipate in Pillar Two." Luxon said the review was for Australia, the US, and the UK to work through. Australia was last week told by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to significantly boost its defence spending. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would not be dictated to on defence spending. He he noted Australia's defence spending was already set to increase from 2 percent to 2.3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the next eight years. Collins has denied any allies have put pressure on the government to up defence spending. Foreign Minister Winston Peters previously said New Zealand's trading partners would judge us if we did not "step up" and play our role by increasing defence spending.
