RNZ National’s Nine to Noon aired a segment on 22 June 2026 about rural broadband, Starlink, and local providers now at risk of closure. It featured Mark Hooper, telecommunications spokesperson for Federated Farmers, alongside myself. Audio © Kathryn Ryan, Alex Stewart, Mark Hooper, RNZ National, Nine to Noon, 22 June 2026. Source: rnz.co.nz. – This […]
Policy submissions, technical reports, industry analysis, and media from WombatNET.
WombatNET’s Alex Stewart expands on his 2nd Jun Herald NOW interview: infrastructure dependency stacking, spectrum constraints on local WISPs, and the TDL funding question.
RNZ Midday Rural News on Starlink and rural broadband. Background on the structural risk, the policy context, and what’s at stake for rural New Zealand.
Spectrum allocated asymmetrically. Direct-to-Cell consolidation across mobile carriers. A national security gap at GCSB and NZDF. Ministerial advice withheld under s9(2)(f)(iv). Part 3 sets out the structural decisions that closed off the rural market.
The Commerce Commission’s independent expert warned of LEO satellite monopoly risk in October 2025. MBIE internal documents from May 2024 described the same market as a monopoly while the formal OIA response said no analysis existed. Part 2 sets out what was known and when.
Between October 2025 and March 2026, 28 OIA requests went to 18 government agencies asking what analysis had been done on rural broadband monopoly risk. Sixteen of twenty-one core questions returned “information does not exist.” Part 1 documents the analytical vacuum.
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If you’re writing about WombatNET, working on a project with us, or just need a clean copy of our logo, this folder has what you’re after. Please use the logos as supplied. Don’t stretch them, recolour them, or put them on a background that makes it hard to read. The photos can be cropped, stylised, […]
In 2019, I visited a rural community that had been begging for better access to connectivity for years. The big telcos had looked at the area, done the math on how many customers they could sign up, and walked away. The community was told they’d need to raise a few hundred thousand dollars themselves before […]
The Commerce Commission has recommended deregulating rural copper services, giving Chorus the ability to retire copper lines well before 2030. While copper is old technology, around 70,000 New Zealanders still rely on it as a lifeline, particularly in places with no mobile coverage or reliable power. Our latest blog looks at what this decision means, the risks for vulnerable communities, and why careful planning is essential to ensure no one is left behind.
How an Australian Warship Interrupted Your Wi-Fi Over the last couple of days, we’ve been tracking a bit of a mystery on our network. Early Wednesday morning, multiple WombatNET internet towers across the Wellington region – even those tucked deep in the Hutt Valley – suddenly started dropping connections. At first, we thought the severe […]
Motorsport events are dynamic, fast-paced, and incredibly exciting – but they can also be notoriously challenging environments for internet connectivity. Due to large event attendance, racetracks often experience slow, overloaded networks, making it difficult for teams to communicate, access critical race data, or stream live events. WombatNET recently had the opportunity to overcome these exact […]