A recent car crash in West Otago at which police, fire and ambulance services had no cellphone reception has highlighted how vulnerable rural residents can be in emergency situations. West Otago ward councillor and St John member Michele Kennedy said emergency services struggled to find cellphone reception when dealing with a 4WD crash in Switzers Rd near Heriot on January 2. While it was unusual that radios did not work and it was not related to cellphone reception, the lack of communication between the services was an issue, Cr Kennedy said. The spokeswoman said Vodafone worked closely with emergency services to review communication requirements and provided zero coverage solutions for emergency situations. About 95% of New Zealand had cell coverage.

Source: Otago Daily Times January 26, 2017 17:10 UTC