Telcos on alert as conspiracy theories fuel 5G tower attacks

Cell tower attacks gather momentum

Cell phone towers at Manurewa, Porirua and near Kaitaia have been damaged by attackers convinced 5G cellular technology is behind the Covid-19 epidemic.

The local attacks echo events overseas. In the UK 33 towers have been destroyed or damaged. Similar attacks have taken place in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe.

British telecommunications engineers have been both physically and verbally assaulted. This includes threats to kill. Also in the UK telephone polls have been wrapped with barbed wire to stop engineers from working.

The wrong target

In many incidents the attacks have not been on actual 5G infrastructure. The tower that was attacked in Northland is owned by the Rural Connectivity Group which only works with 4G and 3G.

The tower was, at the time of the attack, lying on the ground waiting to be erected. The RCG says it was racing to install a number of rural towers before the Covid-19 lockdown began so that New Zealanders in more remote areas would have voice and broadband connectivity while confined to home. It will now be months before people in that area get coverage.

While the attacked tower was covered by the building contractor's insurance, it is possible premiums will rise for all cellular carriers as a result of these attacks.

State of alert

Mobile carriers say they are now on a high state of alert.

Spark issued a statement saying it has been working with the police over threats made to its sites.

It says: "Since the end of March, there has been vandalism, including arson attempts at a few of our cell towers.

"While the damage was fairly negligible, one event caused an outage of mobile and wireless broadband services in the surrounding area."

Vodafone says it has also had threats and is constantly monitoring its site. It says the police has the GPS locations of all cell sites and has stepped up patrols watching for suspicious activity.

120 jobs go as 2degrees cuts costs

2degrees is to cut its workforce by 10 percent or 120 people as part of a cost cutting programme. Chief executive Mark Aue says the company's revenue has already been affected by Covid-19 and there is no indication how long the disruption could last.

He says: “We’re starting those difficult discussions with our people now and out of respect for them won’t be providing more detail until we’ve had time to fully consider their feedback.”

Aue says 2degrees will continue to invest in its mobile and broadband networks. Other cost cutting measures include a reduction in capital expenditure. Non-essential projects will be deferred. There will be a recruitment freeze and 2degrees plans to renegotiate supplier rates and vendor costs.

Vodafone reports surge in voice calls, video conferences

Vodafone says voice calling on its networks has climbed more than 60 percent since the start of the lockdown. Mobile and fixed data use is up by over 20 percent.

The telco says its Rural broadband Initiative traffic is up by more than 25 percent during in peak periods and by 40 percent at off peak times. Meanwhile international roaming has fallen to one percent of pre-lockdown levels.

It says more than 1000 staff members use video conferencing and internal video conferences have increased by 688 percent since the lockdown.

Network for Learning launches study from home safety filter

Network for learning has developed a free safety filter that lets children work from home without encountering disturbing online content. The filter blocks access to a range of unsafe and inappropriate websites including pornography and malware or phishing scam sites.

The filter is part of a "Switch on Safety" initiative that N4L is working on with Netsafe and the Ministry of Education.

Laptops being provided to children from less well off families by the Ministry of Education will come with the filter pre-installed.

2degrees contracts with Ministry of Education

A contract between 2degrees and the Ministry of Education will see the telco provide fixed and wireless broadband as part of the distance learning programme. The services aim to help bridge the digital divide and will also support wi-fi calling.