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 […]
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.
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.