The WombatNET Story
Locally Driven, Locally Backed.
WombatNET delivers dependable connectivity and internet solutions to Wellington’s rural fringes, valleys, hills, and coastal areas. Being locally based, we have an edge – we know the region, and when something needs sorting, you deal with a friendly face – a neighbor, not a call centre. We show up when you need us.
About WombatNET: Our Story
2019 - Our Journey Begins
WombatNET’s founder Alex Stewart was 13 when he visited Turakina Beach near Whanganui and got talking to locals who’d been told by a major telco that they would need to collectively fork up $250,000 to connect their community. He went home and started researching whether there was a better way. There was. A small trial followed, beaming internet from a farmhouse down to a woolshed on a rural property near Whanganui. It worked.
In 2019 as he turned 14, Alex’s idea was selected by the Rural Innovation Lab as one of four projects chosen from over 50 applications, supported by Massey University, The Factory in Palmerston North, and Microsoft.
2020 - First tower, first connections
WombatNET’s first WombatWireless™ X tower went up on private land outside Upper Hutt in early 2020. Just as COVID-19 hit, we began connecting customers across Mangaroa and Te Mārua. The model was straightforward: speedy fixed wireless broadband at honest prices – for places the main providers hadn’t bothered with.
2021 - Recognition
WombatNET won Best Emerging Business at the Wellington Gold Awards, making Alex, at 16, the youngest recipient in the awards’ history dating back to 1999. Alex also received the Young Wellingtonian of the Year award presented by Victoria University.
For a business that began with a lot of people saying no, including established companies who weren’t keen on working with a teenager, it was a decent marker of how far things had come in two years.
Today
WombatNET now covers the entire Wellington region outside of Wairarapa. Where our own fixed wireless networks don’t reach, our established carrier partnerships mean we can still connect customers under the WombatNET umbrella, no matter where they are.
The connectivity landscape has changed considerably since WombatNET’s founding in 2019. The platforms people depend on are more complex, the risks around privacy and security are higher, and the gap between well-connected and underconnected communities keeps mattering more.
Alongside running the network, we engage with government, make submissions, and say publicly when the policy settings aren’t working for rural New Zealand, doing our bit to ensure communities can keep up, safely and on fair terms.
Dependable connectivity shouldn't be a privilege for those lucky enough to live in the right postcode. If you're in one of the areas we cover, we'd like to help.
Our Offerings
We go where others don't.
Home & Business Broadband
Reliable broadband for homes, farms and businesses, in areas the main providers don’t prioritise.
Plans are straightforward and support is local, which means reaching someone who actually understands your needs.
Networks & Critical Infrastructure
WombatNET designs and maintains networks to connect critical operations including community infrastructure, pumping stations, environmental monitoring, and disaster response services.
When downtime isn’t an option, we build accordingly.
Custom Connectivity Solutions
Sometimes the standard options just don’t fit. Remote sites, unusual requirements, temporary deployments, IoT and community CCTV infrastructure.
If you have a connectivity headache that needs sorting, you’ve come to the right place.
Strategic Partners
Our internet allies 💪
We proudly support and collaborate with a network of regional and national partners to promote the delivery of outstanding digital outcomes for Wellington and the wider community.
