Phone and internet providers are improving infrastructure while repairing services for Christchurch. Photo / APN
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Christchurch's phone and internet providers are restoring, upgrading and remapping their infrastructure to meet the needs of quake-struck businesses and residents.
Vodafone, Telecom, 2degrees and TelstraClear say they were impressed with how their networks handled the tremors, with the main disruption coming from power outages.
The failure of the electricity
supply and a spike in phone traffic placed significant strain on networks after February 22.
Major telcos shipped in more than 100 power generators to support cell sites and phone cabinets to restore service across the city.
Nearly three weeks on, telcos are directing their attention to upgrading their infrastructure to meet the needs of a city trying to return to normality.
TelstraClear was rerouting service from the damaged CBD to spots where businesses were moving to.
"What we're focused on is getting out customers relocated and getting services to them, particularly our business and government customers. We've been coming up with innovative ways to get our communications through different [network] routes," said TelstraClear's head of networks and services, Brenda Stonestreet.
"Our strategy is reroute away from the access points [in badly damaged areas] to more robust points," she said.
Telecom's network arm, Chorus, is also strengthening its network in pockets where more businesses are opening.
"Obviously, people won't be going into the CBD for a long time, so we're working with customers on where they would go, what new business parks could look like, and what services they might want," said Chorus' head of field services, Ed Beattie.
Chorus had fixed more than half of the 200 cable faults caused by the quake and was taking the opportunity to put in fibre lines where it could, Beattie said.
Vodafone was also upgrading its infrastructure and installing new systems.
"We're looking at [putting in] the latest technology so the network becomes upgradeable to 4G. We're looking at using latest technology cell-towers to give customers the best experience going forward," said the company's chief technology officer, Sandra Pickering
The telco was trying to learn from the disaster to make its network more robust, she said. It was diversifying things like power and transmission and looking at how it could best accommodate things in the future.
