GIS Geek - What's done / what's next?

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#3415129 15-Sep-2025 13:08

Could be interesting to understand if the datasets in this article could be pulled in at all?

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/spark-and-one-nz-launch-realtime-phone-outage-service/FWSFJSSUVNH37EGRA6Q7VGHWB4/

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#3415130 15-Sep-2025 13:18

Does anyone know if it's anything more than what is on these pages? https://one.nz/help/network-status/ https://www.spark.co.nz/online/help/outages ?

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#3415137 15-Sep-2025 13:45

mentalinc:

Could be interesting to understand if the datasets in this article could be pulled in at all?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/spark-and-one-nz-launch-realtime-phone-outage-service/FWSFJSSUVNH37EGRA6Q7VGHWB4/

The phrasing of the article makes it sound like they're providing a more detailed dedicated (and combined) feed directly to the Civil Defence/Fire/Police/etc organisations and potentially not a public offering.

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#3415209 15-Sep-2025 16:31

stubbed:

Does anyone know if it's anything more than what is on these pages? https://one.nz/help/network-status/ https://www.spark.co.nz/online/help/outages ?

Yes - it's live, and also includes predicted / planned outages, too.

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#3415212 15-Sep-2025 16:35

Gut reaction - Not something I'd integrate with, would need to scrape the data and really it's probably best to just leave the telcos do that side of things themselves.

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mentalinc

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#3415216 15-Sep-2025 16:45

Was hoping would be a proper xml/json style file which you could easily ingest to mark a tower as offline. but yes scraping is not going to be a good outcome.

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#3415217 15-Sep-2025 16:46

mentalinc:

Was hoping would be a proper xml/json style file which you could easily ingest to mark a tower as offline. but yes scraping is not going to be a good outcome.

Expecting too much openess from telcos.

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#3415221 15-Sep-2025 17:03

Looking at the Press Release linked in the other thread it looks like my assumption was correct, it's a dedicated feed for Emergency Services.

It looks like it's to help support the Public Safety Network that was established prior, which One and Spark contribute to (my read is that Emergency Services can roam between the two networks, potentially treated as a private MVNO essentially?).

The outage maps that are publicly available are too vague, and often (my experience at least) don't cover issues that affect RCG/RBI towers to be too useful.

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#3415337 16-Sep-2025 12:41

I have a contact at LandSAR I'll reach out to but I highly suspect there's nothing here that can be shared or consumed publicly. The Telcos can rightly argue that outages are commercially sensitive and they're free to share, or not anything about them. As others have implied and I agree, I suspect the requirement to do this was baked into the PSN requirements. You'll only win this work if you provide this.

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#3415340 16-Sep-2025 12:50

Is there enough data available to do a potential heat map/predicted coverage from each tower?

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#3415387 16-Sep-2025 14:30

I covered that a bit previously here. tl;dr, it wouldn't be accurate because only the telcos know antenna + power configuration. I could only assume 360 degrees + assumed power + frequency propagation + topography. Interestingly, the Aussie ACMA data is way better here because they require everyone to register every transmitting device, and it has to have antenna + power configuration, so could probably do something more valuable for Aussie.

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#3415616 17-Sep-2025 13:56

snj:

Looking at the Press Release linked in the other thread it looks like my assumption was correct, it's a dedicated feed for Emergency Services.

It looks like it's to help support the Public Safety Network that was established prior, which One and Spark contribute to (my read is that Emergency Services can roam between the two networks, potentially treated as a private MVNO essentially?).

The outage maps that are publicly available are too vague, and often (my experience at least) don't cover issues that affect RCG/RBI towers to be too useful.

Hourua (Spark and One NZ Joint Venture) is the cellular part of the Public Safety network, with the other part being the digital P25 LMR radio network currently being built for all emergency services. It's sort of like an MVNO network with a PSN SIM card, but each device has a Home network on either One NZ or Spark, and when the signal drops completely, it will then roam on the alternative network, giving emergency services an estimated 6% more coverage with both networks and their respective coverage maps. The network also has what they call QPP features (Quality, Priority and Pre-emption), which give the devices priority on the network. This outage feed is emergency service specific currently, as emergency services are increasing using smart devices and for the like of Fire and Emergency, they respond to some volunteers and staff via apps on the mobile networks and increasingly use tablets in their trucks, and the same with ambulance services, and every Police officer has an iPhone, so the maps mean they can take safety precautions to respond or commincate with staff other ways if they know both or one of the networks are down.

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#3425305 16-Oct-2025 10:35

I find it incredible how public organisations do not recognise the work some people do - I will put myself in that position but also @stubbed.

Sure, telcos should make it clear and this is a good step. But there's a service that makes it easier for consumers to find out more in a single place...

The Commerce Commission has welcomed steps taken by New Zealand’s three mobile network providers to improve their coverage maps and ensure clear “exit rights” when coverage falls short of expectations.

The Commission’s Retail Service Quality Manager Andrew Young said the industry has responded positively to Commission guidelines issued last year, with providers now standardising their coverage maps and offering stronger protections for consumers.

“Consumers told us they wanted to use coverage maps to compare providers but found this difficult because the maps weren’t consistent. We’re working with industry and have fixed that problem,” Mr Young said.

“All providers now use the same coverage descriptors and thresholds, which makes comparisons easier and more reliable. On top of that, consumers are backed up by a clear exit right across all providers if real-world coverage doesn’t match what was promised,” Mr Young said.

Mr Young said consumers can now see three key improvements:

Standardised coverage maps: All providers are now using the same descriptors – good, moderate and limited – with agreed signal strength thresholds. This makes it much easier for consumers to compare providers on a like-for-like basis.
Improved accessibility: Coverage maps are now easier to find, with direct links from provider websites and related plan information.
Exit rights across the board: All providers now give new customers a clear right to leave without penalty if there is a material gap between the coverage shown on a map and the consumer’s real-world experience.
Mr Young said these improvements mean consumers can place more trust in the coverage information provided by their telco and have stronger protections if things go wrong.

“This is a win for consumers. The industry has worked constructively with us to land practical changes that make it easier for Kiwis to compare, choose, and switch mobile providers. It’s a great example of industry and the Commission working together collaboratively to improve outcomes for consumers,” Mr Young said.

Background

The Telecommunications Act gives us powers to improve Telecommunications retail service quality (RSQ) including customer service, faults, installation, contracts, product disclosure, billing, switching, service performance, speed and availability. These provisions direct us to monitor RSQ and make information available in a way that informs consumer choice. They also give us the ability to review industry RSQ codes, provide guidelines to the industry on RSQ matters, and create Commission RSQ codes.

The Commission developed its coverage guidelines following strong feedback from consumers who reported difficulty comparing mobile providers and frustration when coverage did not meet expectations. Recent consumer satisfaction surveys showed nearly one in five residential consumers and nearly one in three SMEs were dissatisfied with their mobile coverage.

The three mobile network providers (Spark, OneNZ and 2degrees) worked together to agree coverage map standards as directed by the Commission’s guidelines.

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#3425776 17-Oct-2025 13:30

Yep, definitely an odd one. I will give credit to RSM though, they often direct people to GIS Geek.

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#3478553 6-Apr-2026 18:35

Query: Any recommendations on what I should recommend people to use to confirm Cell ID details their handset is connected too?

Android:
Secret menu *#*#4636#*#* clips at 5 characters so doesn't work for all towers.
Cellmapper: Works, but you have to enable horrible permissions to see anything.

iPhone:
Secret menu *3001#12345#* works well but only provides Cell ID, not Area etc.

I've installed a bunch of apps but not seeing anything basic that's not crap. Anyone know of something?

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