Copper landlines in parts of rural Whanganui to be shut down by next March

About 1800 rural landlines around the country will be shut off by next March, mostly in Ruapehu and the Marlborough Sounds.

Forty-eight copper landlines will be shut down in rural Whanganui by next March, with telecommunications infrastructure company Chorus’ entire copper network ending by 2030.

Community relations lead Jo Seddon said the company’s multi-access radio equipment had been in place for a long time and was breaking down.

“We beam the signal to a tower and it goes out across a copper network to more remote areas in the country,” she said.

“But we can’t source parts for it and our [technicians] are retiring.”

Seddon said new technicians no longer trained with the network because better technologies were available, including fibre.

Speaking to the Whanganui Rural Community Board, she said the decision did not mean “the end of the landline”.

“Myself, I’m not connected to a fixed line but have a landline that works through a wireless internet service provider [WISP].

“People can also use Starlink [satellite]. It provides a voice service.”

About 1800 rural landlines around the country would be shut off by next March, the majority in the Ruapehu district and the Marlborough Sounds, Seddon said.

Board chairman David Wells said he thought the entire copper network should be shut down before 2030 and if Chorus made cost savings, they could be used to help rural residents connect with more up-to-date technology.

“When I drive to town, I sometimes see two vans parked outside one of [Chorus’] roadside boxes, clearly fixing problems,” he said.

“I know there are only a handful of people using the service provided by those boxes.”

Earlier this month, Chorus chief executive Mark Aue said between operating and capital cost savings, there were potential cash flow benefits of more than $50 million from exiting copper by 2030.

However, Chorus had not discussed subsidies for those moving from copper in rural areas and “self migration is always taking place”, he said.

Wells said most people on traditional landlines believed they worked when there was a power cut, but that was not the case.

Whanganui Rural Community Board chairman David Wells.

According to Chorus, some older landline phone services over its copper network may continue to work for a short time but they depend on the local cabinet having power to function.

All active cabinets have batteries but they only provide limited back-up and will not always work in an outage.

Speaking to the Chronicle, Wells said to his understanding, the days of rural residents being completely reliant on the copper network were over.

“Most of us are pretty technology-savvy, but I still feel the rural community board has a role in helping those who are not up to speed,” he said.

“Copper technology is outdated and there is no need for anybody to be using it.”

Wells said he had been using the Inspire Net WISP service for a number of years but recently made the switch to Starlink.

His area, Mangamahu, also had cellphone reception.

“[Inspire Net] have towers all around the ridges and I think there are very few places in our rural areas that can’t get it.”

Seddon said those affected by the shutdown would receive a letter and could call a number to speak to “dedicated people in Auckland who will talk them through it”.

“We also have regional managers who can come out and talk to them in person,” she said.

“If required, we are happy to hold a community meeting.

“We know that it can be scary, especially for older people, but once it’s all set up, they won’t notice any difference.”

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present, his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.