What has been achieved so far?

To deliver the Land Mobile Radio (LMR) Network, Tait Systems must first gain permission from land or site owners to build the LMR infrastructure at over 500 sites across New Zealand. This permission includes an agreement between Tait Systems and the landowners, and in certain circumstances, regulatory approval, such as consents. Once a site is acquired, we begin testing procedures and the physical site build. 

Our team has been working hard over the past few months to acquire and build sites in the best possible locations to provide New Zealand’s emergency responders with a radio network that is both robust and reliable.  Some of these sites are in the most technically challenging terrains in the North and South Islands.  

We have also been installing new radios in emergency service vehicles that are compatible with the old network and ready for use when the new network is up and running. 

When do you expect to have acquired and built all sites? 

TSNZ aims to build all sites and install all radio equipment through 2025 and 2026. Once installations are complete, the sites will be handed over to the NGCC team for testing and migration of emergency services to the new network. More details on this can be found on the NGCC website.  

Where are the sites?

The network needs to reach the places where communities might call on emergency services for support. That means sites located across rural and urban New Zealand in a variety of settings, from backcountry hills to city centres.  

Sites can provide coverage for a wide range of distances – up to hundreds of kilometres - depending on the terrain and other conditions. They are designed in line with all relevant safety, environmental and technical requirements, standards, and guidelines. 

What does a typical site consist of? 

For many sites, equipment is being added to existing telecommunications infrastructure. We call this a Co-location. The benefit of co-locating with another infrastructure provider is that we don’t need to add additional infrastructure to the landscape.  

However, sometimes co-locating is not possible, and where a site is required to be built from scratch, it typically consists of a small antenna called dipoles, a pole mounted on a concrete pad, a set of small cabinets to house the technical equipment, and if required, a fence for security reasons.  

Sites are designed to be resilient to New Zealand's weather and natural hazards while having as small an impact as possible on communities and the environment. They are designed in accordance with all relevant safety, environmental, and technical requirements, standards, and guidelines.  

When can the public start using the network? 

The LMR Network is being developed as part of the Public Safety Network, which will be used by New Zealand's core emergency services: Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Wellington Free Ambulance, Hato Hone St John, and New Zealand Police.  

While the general public will not be able to use the new LMR Network, everyone will benefit from the improvements it will deliver to emergency services across the country.