The Rural Connectivity Group (RCG) is a joint venture by

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

mobile network operators –

One NZ One New Zealand (formerly known as Vodafone New Zealand) is a New Zealand telecommunications company. One NZ is the largest wireless carrier in New Zealand, accounting for 38% of the country's mobile share market in 2021. Corporate history ...

Spark Spark commonly refers to: * Spark (fire), a small glowing particle or ember * Electric spark, a form of electrical discharge Spark may also refer to: People * Spark (surname) * Jessica Morgan (born 1992; formerly known as Spark), female singe ...

and

2degrees Two Degrees New Zealand Limited, trading as 2degrees, is a New Zealand full service  telecommunications provider. It's the third-largest wireless carrier in New Zealand, with 1.6 million subscribers as of May 2021. Since launching its  mo ...

. Crown Infrastructure Partners has contracted with the Rural Connectivity Group to bring 4G mobile and wireless broadband coverage to rural New Zealand under the Rural Broadband Initiative Phase Two and the Mobile Black Spot Fund. The RCG has built over 500 new mobile cell-sites, delivering high speed wireless broadband to at least 30,000 additional rural New Zealand households. This will increase New Zealand's mobile land coverage area by up to 25 per cent, and deliver mobile calling and data service to a further potential 780 kilometres of New Zealand's state highways. It aims to provide high-speed broadband to the greatest possible number of rural users and improve mobile on state highways and at key visitor destinations. All three mobile network operators will share spectrum, network equipment and have one set of antennae on each tower, using

Multi Operator Core Network Multi is a shortened form of "multiple". It may refer to: * Alternate character, in online gaming * Multi two diamonds, a contract bridge convention * Multirhyme, a synonym for feminine rhyme used in hip hop music * Multi (''To Heart''), a charac ...

(MOCN) technology.

Coverage and rollout

In June 2018, one site had been installed at Haast on the West coast of the South Island. It was fast tracked due to lobbying from locals citing safety issues. It is only 3G initially (with satellite back-haul) and will be later upgraded to 4G when suitable infrastructure is available. The original contract builds were due for completion by the end of 2022 however the new schedule (May 2018) aims to have them substantially finished by the end of 2021 – a year earlier than previously planned. The 500th tower was installed at

Anawhata Anawhata is a beach on the coast of New Zealand west of Auckland. Geography Anawhata Beach is located along the West Coast of West Auckland, between the Tasman Sea and the Waitākere Ranges. It is located south of Te Henga / Bethells Beach, ...

in July 2024, marking a major milestone for the project.

References

{{Reflist Internet in New Zealand