Media Advisory – Canterbury Aftershocks, 5pm Update

Vodafone’s mobile network in Canterbury is operational following the aftershocks today, although 27 sites are operating on back-up power, 2 sites are operating just with 3G capacity and 7 sites are not operating at all.

The sites that are down are in Sydenham, Southshore, Hagley Park, New Brighton Road, Shirley, Waltham, Avondale North, McCormacks Bay and Woolston Cellsites on Wheels (COWs) and extra generators are now being deployed around the region, by the technology team who will be working throughout the night Vodafone technical staff are visiting inaccessible areas via helicopter to assess the damage.

All Vodafone retail stores are closed until damage has been assessed, and Vodafone’s temporary headquarters in Hornby has also sustained structural damage.

All Vodafone people in the Canterbury region have been contacted and are safe.

Some customers experienced delays receiving txts between Vodafone and other networks immediately following the major aftershocks. Although this backlog is clearing, it may take a little more time to clear completely. New txt messages are getting through.

Until power is restored across Christchurch, we recommend people txt rather than call, and only use their phone for emergency calls to preserve both battery power of their handset as well as reduce capacity on the network. A full list of tips on how to make best use of telecommunications during an emergency is available here: <

Ongoing updates are also available on Vodafone’s Forum www.vodafone.co.nz/forum and on twitter @VodafoneNZ.

Our thoughts are with the entire Canterbury community.

ENDS

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