Kia ora Sam Brown,
 
On behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment I
acknowledge your email of 6/01/2026 requesting, under the Official
Information Act 1982, the following:
 
Under the Official Information Act 1982, I request:

1. Any analysis of economic or resilience implications if terrestrial
telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas is abandoned due to
market dynamics, including assessment of whether such infrastructure can
be economically rebuilt if subsequently needed.

2. Any advice regarding whether maintaining multiple technology platforms
(terrestrial and satellite) serves resilience, redundancy, or strategic
interests, versus consolidating on single satellite-based approach.

3. Any assessment of 'path dependency' risks where short-term policy
decisions create irreversible market structure changes that constrain
future options or create long-term consumer harm.

4. Any advice to Ministers on whether government should actively preserve
infrastructure diversity in essential services markets, or whether
allowing market concentration through competitive dynamics is acceptable
for telecommunications.

5. Any analysis of whether terrestrial infrastructure, once economically
abandoned, represents permanently lost optionality for:
   * Future competition if satellite pricing rises
   * Redundancy during satellite service disruptions
   * Data sovereignty and local routing of internet traffic
   * Regional economic development and local employment

Context: I am concerned that current market dynamics may result in
irreversible loss of terrestrial rural telecommunications infrastructure,
and seeking to understand whether government has assessed implications of
this potential outcome.
 
We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible, and no
later than 13/02/2026, being 20 working days after the day your request
was received. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will
notify you of an extension of that timeframe. Please note that the days
from 25 December 2025 to 15 January 2026 (inclusive) are defined as
non-working days in the Act and are not counted in the calculation for the
response due date. This will affect the time period for responding to your
request. If you have any enquiries regarding your request feel free to
contact us via email to [1][MBIE request email].
 
Nāku noa, nā
Ministerial Services
Strategy and Assurance
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
15 Stout Street, Wellington 6011 |  P O Box 1473 Wellington 6140

References

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1. mailto:[MBIE request email]

Kia ora,

 

On 7 January 2026, you requested under the Official Information Act 1982
(the Act) the following;

 

1. Any analysis of economic or resilience implications if terrestrial
telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas is abandoned due to
market dynamics, including assessment of whether such infrastructure can
be economically rebuilt if subsequently needed.

2. Any advice regarding whether maintaining multiple technology platforms
(terrestrial and satellite) serves resilience, redundancy, or strategic
interests, versus consolidating on single satellite-based approach.

3. Any assessment of "path dependency" risks where short-term policy
decisions create irreversible market structure changes that constrain
future options or create long-term consumer harm.

4. Any advice to Ministers on whether government should actively preserve
infrastructure diversity in essential services markets, or whether
allowing market concentration through competitive dynamics is acceptable
for telecommunications.

5. Any analysis of whether terrestrial infrastructure, once economically
abandoned, represents permanently lost optionality for:
    * Future competition if satellite pricing rises
    * Redundancy during satellite service disruptions
    * Data sovereignty and local routing of internet traffic
    * Regional economic development and local employment

 

The lack of a time period could result in the request being refused under
section 18(f) of the Act as the information requested cannot be made
available without substantial collation or research. If you would like to
amend your request to include a time period, such as 27 November 2023 to 6
January 2026, please let us know by 29 January 2026.

 

Ngā mihi

 

Ministerial Services

Office of the Deputy Secretary | Building, Resources and Markets

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

[1]Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment logo for email
signatures.

 

References

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Kia ora,

Thank you for amending your request to be a request for information, as detailed below, between 1 January 2022 and 6 January 2026.

Please note, any clarification or amendment of a request is considered to be a new request for the purpose of calculating the maximum statutory timeframe for response as per section 15(1AA) of the OIA. To that end, the due date for your request is now 20 February 2026.

If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, or if you require any further assistance, please contact [email address].

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/ or freephone 0800 802 602.

Ngā mihi

Ministerial Services

Office of the Deputy Secretary | Building, Resources and Markets

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

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