West Coast Lifelines Vulnerability and Interdependency Assessment Supplement 7: Communications Lifeline Assets West Coast Civil Defence Emergency Management Group August 2017 IMPORTANT NOTES Disclaimer The information collected and presented in this report and accompanying documents by the Consultants and supplied to West Coast Civil Defence Emergency Management Group is accurate to the best of the knowledge and belief of the Consultants acting on behalf of West Coast Civil Defence Emergency Management Group. While the Consultants have exercised all reasonable skill and care in the preparation of information in this report, neither the Consultants nor West Coast Civil Defence Emergency Management Group accept any liability in contract, tort or otherwise for any loss, damage, injury or expense, whether direct, indirect or consequential, arising out of the provision of information in this report. This report has been prepared on behalf of West Coast Civil Defence Emergency Management Group by: Ian McCahon BE (Civil), David Elms BA, MSE, PhD Rob Dewhirst BE, ME (Civil) Geotech Consulting Ltd 21 Victoria Park Road Rob Dewhirst Consulting Ltd 29 Norwood Street Christchurch 38A Penruddock Rise Christchurch Westmorland Christchurch Hazard Maps The hazard maps contained in this report are regional in scope and detail, and should not be considered as a substitute for site-specific investigations and/or geotechnical engineering assessments for any project. Qualified and experienced practitioners should assess the site-specific hazard potential, including the potential for damage, at a more detailed scale. Cover Photo: Telecommunications cabinet hit by fallen power pole, Kaikoura earthquake 2016. Photo from Chorus. West Coast Lifelines Vulnerability and Interdependency Assessment Supplement 7: Communications Lifeline Assets Contents 1 OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................................. 1 2 ASSET DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................................... 5 2.1 CHORUS ...................................................................................................................................... 5 2.2 VODAFONE .................................................................................................................................. 6 2.3 SPARK ......................................................................................................................................... 6 2.4 2 DEGREES .................................................................................................................................. 7 2.5 KORDIA ....................................................................................................................................... 7 2.6 TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIERS FORUM................................................................................. 7 3 VULNERABILITIES ................................................................................................................... 8 3.1 EARTHQUAKE VULNERABILITIES ................................................................................................ 8 3.2 TSUNAMI AND MAJOR STORM VULNERABILITIES ..................................................................... 10 3.2.1 Tsunami .......................................................................................................................... 10 3.2.2 Major Storm .................................................................................................................... 12 3.3 OTHER VULNERABILITIES ......................................................................................................... 14 3.4 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................. 14 4 UPGRADES AND IMPROVEMENTS ..................................................................................... 15 Figures Figure 1.1: Telecommunication Fibre Optic Network Figure 1.2: Northern West Coast Telecommunication Buildings, Cabinets, and Cell phone and Microwave Towers Figure 1.3: Southern West Coast Telecommunication Buildings, Cabinets, and Cell phone and Microwave Towers Figure 3.1: Primary Fibre Optic Cables Serving the West Coast Figure 3.2: Tsunami Scenario Inundation Area - West Coast Figure 3.3: Major Storm Scenario Inundation Area - West Coast West Coast Tables Table 3.1: Telecommunication Vulnerabilities Communication Lifeline Assets Supplement 7 Communications Lifeline Assets 1 OVERVIEW This supplement provides a summary of the communications assets with descriptions of the assets managed by the different providers. It explores the vulnerability of the assets to three major disasters: major earthquake, major storm and a large tsunami. Details of the earthquake, storm and tsunami scenarios used to probe asset vulnerabilities are provided in Supplements 2, 3 and 4 of the report. It is important to note here that the scenarios are NOT real events nor are they predictions and should not be used as such. The scenarios have been prepared only to probe the lifeline assets to identify vulnerabilities and to give an indication of the general magnitude of the sorts of natural disaster that could conceivably happen. The report looks at recovery rather than the immediate response during the first week following a disaster. Vulnerabilities that impact on the immediate response have been included for completeness. However the focus is on vulnerabilities that delay recovery. These are summarised, and upgrades and improvements are suggested for addressing them. Communications lifelines include telecommunications, radio and satellite. On the West Coast telecommunication equipment is owned by a number of operators: All the fixed line network including fibre optic and copper cables, and cabinets are owned and operated by Chorus. These, plus some UHF radio links, provide Plain Old Telephone Services (POTS), throughout the region. There are three telephone exchange buildings. Greymouth is the primary exchange. The buildings are owned and operated as follows: o Westport: Owned and used by Chorus, and Spark leases space in the building. o Greymouth: Owned and used by Spark, and Chorus leases space in the building. o Hokitika: Owned by Westland District Council, and Chorus and Spark lease space in the building. The microwave tower network is owned and operated by Kordia. Cell phone towers are owned and operated by Spark, 2 Degrees and Vodafone. All cell phone towers are linked into and rely on the Chorus fibre optic network. The telecommunication network provides land line or POTS to all households on the West Coast. Local POTS calls can be made independently of the fibre optic network provided the exchanges are functioning. There is cell phone service in West Coast’s populated areas between Karamea and Fox although coverage can be patchy between centres. There is no cell phone coverage between Fox and Makarora. Cell phone calls, text messaging and paging rely on the fibre optic network. Final 1 August 2017 Communication Lifeline Assets Supplement 7 The West Coast telecommunications fibre optic network is shown in Figure 1.1 and buildings, cabinets, and cell phone and microwave towers are shown in Figure 1.2 and 1.3. The communications assets are important as they are required for: Voice communication and messaging, e.g. text messaging, Almost all financial transactions (apart from cash and cheques), Access to the internet, and Monitoring and control of some infrastructure assets, e.g. some water and wastewater treatment plants and pump stations. Figure 1.1: Telecommunication Fibre Optic Network (Source: Chorus 2017) Final 2 August 2017 Communication Lifeline Assets Supplement 7 Figure 1.2: Northern West Coast Telecommunication Buildings, Cabinets, and Cell phone and Microwave Towers1 1 Three exchange buildings not shown. Information on microwave tower locations from Kordia. Information on Buildings, Cabinets, and Cell phone from the following website: https://gis.geek.nz/celltowers. Final 3 August 2017 Communication Lifeline Assets Supplement 7 Figure 1.3: Southern West Coast Telecommunication Buildings, Cabinets, and Cell phone and Microwave Towers2 Satellite phone technology has become simpler and is now similar to cell phones to operate. There are two satellite phone operators providing service to New Zealand; Iridium and Inmarsat. Iridium has 66 satellites orbiting the globe. Inmarsat has three satellites in fixed positions on the equator; the closest satellite to New Zealand is over Papua New Guinea. Iridium is the main service provider on the West Coast.3 CDEM hold a register of satellite phone holders on the West Coast. There is wide coverage over the West Coast by a number of Very High Frequency (VHF) operators. Radio communications are highly complex with many independent operators all having their own frequencies and operating several hundred radio repeater sites, some of which are shared. Radio 2 The three exchange buildings not shown. Microwave tower locations information provided by Kordia. Information on Buildings, Cabinets, and Cell phone from the following website: https://gis.geek.nz/celltowers. 3 Information on Satellite providers provided by Wright Satellite Connections Ltd, 8-10 Fitzherbert Street, Petone 5012. Telephone 04 576 2251 Final 4 August 2017 Communication Lifeline Assets Supplement 7 operators include councils, contractors,