The impact of two global disasters and a common interest in communications led to two innovative projects being launched in Napier last night.
In a packed function at the Napier War Memorial Centre a state-of-the-art emergency communications trailer was unveiled, together with the city's first free WiFi service.
The enclosed trailer with a satellite dish is a high-tech unit that will enable emergency response teams to continue vital communications in a disaster.
The unit takes just five minutes to set up and provide communication via satellite, 3G mobile, wireless and UHF anywhere in the country.
It can be deployed at a moment's notice and helicoptered anywhere. It's the first of its kind in New Zealand and a step up from other local authorities who relied solely on connection to one service.
Recent tragedies in Canterbury and Japan highlighted the importance of efficient communication with emergency services.
Napier Civil Defence manager Angela Reade said the trailer could provide immediate telephone and internet access for four people via satellite in an event. "The trailer's capabilities expand from there, depending on the scale of the event. The services can be escalated by connecting to the cellular network, enabling communication for response teams as they arrive.
"It allows emergency management to continue with its response, while allowing council to continue business as usual. It basically becomes a central hub to deliver council services," Mrs Reade said.
The idea for the project spawned from a plan by three Napier businessmen to put free WiFi into the inner city, setting Napier apart to have the first WiFi before any other city in New Zealand. The network, which went live last Friday, covers upper Emerson and Tennyson streets up to the i-SITE on Marine Parade.
With founding directors Paul Hughes from Neocom, Andrew Friedlander from FX Networks Communication and Big Save Furniture founder Ray McKimm who roped in four other Big Save Furniture colleagues Tom McKimm, Craig Salter, Mike Emery and Mark Melvin, the group formed the company Revolutionz.
Out of the WiFi idea, and following from the major earthquake disasters in Christchurch and Japan, they saw an opportunity to expand into disaster relief and set up the emergency communications trailer for Napier.
Working closely with Napier City Council chief executive Neil Taylor and emergency management, and with the support of local business, it took six months for both ideas to be taken from concept plan to reality.
The trailer unit was made in America, but future trailers would be assembled in Napier and there was an opportunity to export to Australia and the South Pacific.
Director Paul Hughes said what excited him most were the job opportunities the venture would bring when local suppliers were used to manufacture the units. "It's a pleasure to be part of it. I feel it's a social responsibility and if we can use the resources we have got to help the local community, at a simple cost, we're very happy to help."
Napier Mayor Barbara Arnott said it was a fantastic example of private public partnership and "a pretty good result to build that capability for the Napier community".
She said there were multiple benefits for Napier in tourism and day-to-day communications with the ability to access free WiFi with the added security of maintaining communications in an emergency.