Patchy cell phone coverage in a Christchurch area is set to improve, following lobbying from a local MP.

McLeans Island has suffered bad reception for years, affecting businesses, visitors, and residents.

MP for Ilam Sarah Pallett said “the lack of adequate cell phone coverage has had a daily impact on businesses and users of the area.

I have been particularly concerned by the health and safety issues, the limitations on businesses and organisations, and the impact on large and small-scale events.

Most concerningly, I had received reports from users that they were frequently unable to make an emergency call, and that people were therefore sometimes not able to receive timely medical care.”

Pallett said “The Equestrian Centre was profoundly affected as thousands of their visitors from across the country were unable to stay in contact with homes and businesses when they attend days-long events.”

“Orana Park has missed multiple media opportunities as their network coverage couldn’t support a live feed”

Pallett said she’s received word from Spark that the company has committed to building a new site to resolve the connection issues in the McLeans Island locality. 

The Ilam MP has been engaging with the community and liaising with Spark on behalf of residents, businesses and recreational site-users on an ongoing basis working towards a solution.

A Spark spokesman told Chris Lynch Media “we have had great engagement from local MP Sarah Pallet and we are talking to a number of local landowners who are open to assisting with the process.

Because we are in the early stages of the build process, we do not have a date of when the site will be built and operational, but at this stage, it will be part of our FY24 build programme which spans from July 2023 – June 2024.”

Our partner Connexa will be tasked with acquiring and building this site the spokesman said.