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All clear: Vodafone, Spark lines good to go following ChCh quake
Mon, 15th Feb 2016
FYI, this story is more than a year old

New Zealand's main telco companies scrambled yesterday to ensure network coverage was maintained following the earthquake in Christchurch yesterday.

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the South Island city yesterday, followed by blanket news coverage.

Chorus confirmed no network damage following a thorough assessment, the company said last night.

“Chorus has carried out a thorough assessment of its fixed line network following the 5.7 earthquake in Christchurch today,” it said in a statement.

“The network is operating as normal however it will continued to be assessed to ensure there are no issues.

The company said Chorus' Christchurch buildings are continuing to be assessed.

The earthquake did affect Spark coverage, however. The telecommunications firm said 10 cellular towers were out, causing network issues.

The company advised its customer to stick to text messages and data instead of trying to make voice calls.

Spark confirmed via Twitter that its network was up and running last night.

Over at Vodafone, the telco said that while there was some initial congestion, the Vodafone network was clear with no known network issues.

The company said its technicians “will continue to monitor everything to make sure you are fully able to contact family and friends'.

Vodafone said it sent its Christchurch call centre teams home and diverted calls to other centres.

Likewise, 2Degrees reported via its Facebook page that its network remained stable throughout, despite an increase in usage on the mobile network immediately after the quake.