MEDIA RELEASE - At the request of Vodafone Fiji, the Vodafone Foundation has responded quickly to deploy a team of specially trained personnel with communication equipment to establish an Instant Network and assist with recovery.
Vodafone Fiji reached out to Vodafone New Zealand on Monday 22 February, following an initial assessment of the damage to the communication network infrastructure.
While cell coverage remained largely intact in the capital Suva and several major towns around the country, the cyclone caused damage to a number of sites around the country. A mains power outage also impacted cell coverage.
Vodafone Fiji have now restored services to larger towns like Nadi and Sigatoka and the repair to cell sites and restoration of services in smaller towns and communities is now the focus of activity.
The re-establishment of a communications network is critical for the recovery efforts, particularly as many of Fiji’s outer island communities are completely cut off and yet to receive aid.
Vodafone Foundation Instant Network team leader, Lise Mackie said, “Our first priority is to establish a communication link between Fiji’s islands to help officials and relief coordinators assess and report on the damage.
“This will also support a communication link back to family throughout the Pacific, in New Zealand and Australia, which will hopefully alleviate anxiety for many who still don’t know whether their family members are safe”.
Instant Network, contained in a series of suitcases and supported by a mobile generator, is capable of supporting a local communications network (mobile and internet services). It is able to be set up and switched on almost immediately and operates by connecting via satellite.
The New Zealand-based Instant Network team is comprised of staff from all part of the business, who are specially trained for emergency and disaster situations.
The Vodafone Foundation Instant Network team includes Lise Mackie as team leader, and network engineers Rob McLennan and Callum Ferguson. This is the first deployment for Callum, the second for Lise (previously deployed to Vanuatu following Cyclone Pam) and the third deployment for Rob - now considered a veteran.
The team came together late on Monday night to coordinate equipment and flew out early yesterday (Tuesday) on one of the first Air New Zealand flights to resume operations into Nadi.
The team have landed safely in Nadi and transported equipment on to Suva, connecting with Vodafone Fiji representatives. Suva will serve as their operations base where they will test equipment and satellite links before making a full assessment of the final location of the Instant Network.
As the team works within isolated Fijian communities to establish communications, Lise Mackie will be providing regular updates, detailing the team’s progress as well as personal insights and local stories. Lise’s blog posts will be available on the Vodafone Community webpage: www.vodafone.co.nz/fiji
The rapid deployment of the Vodafone team and equipment would not have been possible without the full support of Air New Zealand.
Air New Zealand has also committed to assisting with travel arrangements for a subsequent team of personnel, to be deployed later this week.
Additionally, a team of five people will head to Fiji to work closely with Vodafone Fiji and focus on longer term infrastructure needs. Three of the team members from Vodafone have previous experience working in Fiji and provide electrical expertise as well as radio engineering and microwave engineering expertise. Two Downer team members will support the team as riggers, capable of climbing the cell sites and conducting repairs.
To follow the Instant Network team that are in Fiji at the moment, and to stay up to date with repairs and rebuild progress, check out the blog posts and photos on the Vodafone Community webpage.
