The shape of our cities is changing, quite quickly.
Gone are the quarter acre paradises of the 1970s and even the half sections so popular in many Auckland suburbs.
Instead, new intensification rules mean we’re building taller homes closer together and, while that is absolutely the right thing to do, as opposed to constantly expanding our cities’ footprints, it does present challenges.
In my own neighbourhood I’ve seen single-storey houses bowled and replaced with three-storey townhouses galore. One full site near me has lost its old house and has eight townhouses, each one three storeys tall. We’re also seeing apartment buildings of eight or even ten storeys popping up in suburbs.
All of this means we have to change how we provide infrastructure support to those new residents. It’s not just about the houses and flats, it’s about ensuring people can live in those properties.
We need more fresh water and sewerage capacity, increased electricity supply, and new roads. We need new schools, new shopping areas, new doctors’ clinics and so much more.
And we also need more telecommunications infrastructure to keep everyone connected.
New Zealand is blessed with one of the highest investment rates in the OECD when it comes to telecommunications. We have three mobile network operators covering around 97% of the population. We have a fibre network that is the envy of many, reaching out to 87% of the population. Telecommunications has become an essential service and a lifeline for millions of New Zealanders across the country.
Every week I receive messages from community groups, local councillors and MPs all asking when they can have more coverage, and what we can do to ensure telecommunications remains operational during natural disasters and major weather events. They’re right to ask. We’ve become dependent on the flow of information in a way that would surprise those living even 50 years ago. Ensuring we can all stay connected is a key driving force for the telecommunications sector.
But all of that telecommunications service requires a telecommunications network, and that means building equipment where people will use it, near where we all live and work. That can be a contentious issue.
The rules around these things are the National Environmental Standards for Telecommunication Facilities (NES-TF for short), which standardise the requirements for telcos across the country. They provide nationally consistent rules for the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure. The standards were first introduced in 2008, substantially updated in 2016, and amended again this year, with the latest changes coming into force on 8 October.
Over the past year we have worked with government to update the rules to reflect the changing face of our cities, advances in technology and the growing demands being placed on our networks.
More people living in smaller areas, and using more connectivity, means we need greater network capacity. That means increased cabinet capacity to store more batteries, which helps reduce outages when the power fails, and taller towers that can provide coverage around increasingly tall, densely built properties.
Today mobile phones are the primary form of communication for almost the entire population. Gone are the days when we would leave home and be out of contact until we returned. Today, customers want connectivity in more places.
We’re no longer satisfied with sending the odd text message or making a quick call, either. Today we make video calls, send emails, stream media and so much more, and we expect to be able to do that whether we’re at home, in the office or on the move.
To do that we need a network, and that means fibre in the ground, cabinets on street corners and cellphone towers that can send and receive all that data.
