The Christchurch network remains significantly affected by physical disruption and ongoing power issues, particularly in the eastern parts of the city.

UPDATE:

Telecom has delivered 33 generators to Christchurch with assistance from the New Zealand Air Force. These are being deployed to network sites that are still without mains power.

More than 10,000 calls were made yesterday from Telecom’s free payphones across Christchurch. 260 payphones in and around Christchurch are enabled with free calling for local, national and mobile calls, however in line with previous advice, we do ask people to keep calls to a minimum to preserve the integrity of the network for emergency personnel.

So far we have seen a good response to Telecom’s ‘Analogue’ campaign that asks people to donate their analogue landline phones from around the country to distribute to those in need in Christchurch. These ‘old fashioned’ corded analogue phones plug straight into a jack-point and don’t require mains power. We are asking people to drop spare analogue phones in to any Telecom store during retail opening hours.

Three WiFi Hotspots in Christchurch available for free. These WiFi sites are at Telecom Riccarton Mall, Café Zero (Cashmere Rd), and the Westpac Centre (Addington).

REQUEST FROM CHORUS:
Chorus has asked Canterbury residents who are experiencing disruption to their landline or broadband service, to contact the company that provides their internet and phone services directly to log a fault. This will help Chorus to ascertain the true extent of network damage, enabling them to restore service as quickly as possible.

ADVICE FOR PEOPLE IN CHRISTCHURCH:

• Change your voicemail message to let callers know the time, date and their location and, if possible, alternate contact details to provide some reassurance should mobile phone batteries go flat given the difficulties with power supply.

• Minimise the use of mobile phones, and use text messages instead of calls when possible to free up the network for emergency response workers and to minimise the drain on backup batteries and generators.

• Where possible, use corded landline phones that plug directly into the wall as these do not require power.

• 260 payphones in and around Christchurch are enabled with free calling for local, national and mobile calls.

• Free WiFi spots are also available at Telecom Riccarton Mall, Café Zero (Cashmere Rd), and the Westpac Centre (Addington).

• Telecom Retail customers can get their Telecom landline number diverted to another Telecom landline number for free. To enable this, residential customers can call us on 120 and business customers can call us on 125.

• Customers with friends or family with a prepaid Telecom mobile can call 0800 32 32 32 and top up their prepaid credit on their behalf.

For previous updates, please go to: http://www.telecom-media.co.nz/

ENDS

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