Datacom, Spark manage impact of storms, flooding on staff and customers

People were trapped in their cars for hours Friday when flooding closed State Highway 1.

Credit: Waka Kotahi – NZ Transport Agency

New Zealand’s two largest ICT service providers are taking steps to protect staff and customers from the impact of ongoing storms and flooding.

Large areas of Auckland were flooded and thousands of homes were evacuated as waters rose and hillsides collapsed. By 8:00 a.m. Monday, nearly two hundred homes were either red- or yellow-taped, restricting or blocking access.

At the time of writing, the confirmed death toll was four.

Datacom reported that its Auckland sites, including its Tahi office in Wynyard Quarter, warehouse and Orbit data center on the North Shore, were all operating as normal.

Given the impact on transport routes, Datacom asked its Auckland team to work from home in the short term if they could, particularly if it was unsafe for them to travel, a spokesperson told Reseller News.

“We are monitoring the situation closely and will continue to provide regular updates to our team,” the spokesperson said.

“Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this unprecedented weather event. With many homes and businesses experiencing flooding and property damage, we have advised our people to let us know if they have been personally affected and need time off work. , or if there is anything we can do to offer help to them and their families.”

Datacom has made donations to food banks across the city to provide the needy with food and household items.

A spokesperson for NZX-listed telco Spark said the company’s leaders had been in touch with their people to ensure they understood how team members were affected and where support was needed.

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The Spark mobile network operated largely as normal across the country.

“We have had a small number of cell sites in the Auckland region due to power loss, but the majority of these sites have had overlapping coverage from surrounding cell sites, so the impact on customers has been minimal so far,” the spokesperson said.

Customers can check Spark’s outage page for live updates on affected sites.

Spark has also opened up its wifi hotspots across New Zealand in response to the weather emergency. People who may be displaced by evacuations or stuck in their cars due to road closures can use Spark’s specially marked phone boxes to connect to the Internet.

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Anyone within range can simply search for the Spark network (called “Spark Wi-Fi Zone”) and click to join, with no authentication required.

The service is available to everyone, not just Spark customers.

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Tags DatacomICT services emergency park