Australian warship takes rural fixed wireless broadband offline
Article – Bill Bennett
Australian warship disrupts wireless networks, Spark warns cloud adoption is stalling, Chorus updates its outage map, and 2degrees teams with Datacom. Plus: Freeview adds HD, and telcos react to proposed right-to-repair laws.
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.
At Reseller News, Rob O'Neill dives deep into responses to the Green Party's right-to-repair legislation. While the idea is well-intentioned, it could have far-reaching effects and cause more problems than it solves.
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.
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