This report may be cited as

The opinions and discussion contained in this document are for intended for the benefit of the Ministry only and reflect the evaluation undertaken of the NESTF. Please seek specific legal advice from a qualified professional person before undertaking any action based on the contents of this publication. The contents of this discussion document must not be construed as legal advice. The Government does not accept any responsibility or liability whatsoever for any action taken as a result of reading, or reliance placed because of having read any part, or all, of the information in this discussion document, or for any error, inadequacy, deficiency, flaw in or omission from this document.

This report may be cited as:

Ministry for the Environment. 2015. Report of the Outcome Evaluation of the National Environmental Standards for Telecommunication Facilities. Wellington: Ministry for the Environment.

Published in March 2015 by the
Ministry for the Environment
Manatū Mō Te Taiao
PO Box 10362, Wellington 6143, New Zealand

ISBN: 978-0-478-41266-6

© Crown copyright New Zealand 2015

This document is available on the Ministry for the Environment’s website:
www.mfe.govt.nz


Contents

Figures

Executive summary

The regulations were developed to provide a nationally consistent planning framework for the radio-frequency fields of all telecommunication facilities operated by a network operator licensed under the Telecommunications Act 2001, and some telecommunications infrastructure on road reserves that have low environmental impact.

To carry out the evaluation, the Ministry contacted the organisations the NESTF immediately affects. All 61 territorial authorities received an online survey, to which 25 responded. Information was also received from telecommunications industry representatives and an expert in radio-frequency fields.

The table below summarises the evaluation results by indicating whether each of the objectives described in the Cabinet paper has been met. A detailed analysis of each objective is provided in section 4 of this report.

Table S1: A summary of the NESTF evaluation

Objective	Was it met?
Assist in network and equipment design and equipment sourcing for roll-outs	Yes
Create a reduction in compliance costs and timeframes for service providers	Mobile operators: yes Fixed-line: a mixed experience
Reduce the timeframe and lower the costs for the availability of new services to consumers
Contribute to a reduced workload for councils in processing and determining consent applications	Yes
Set an appropriate balance between local participation in community planning and cost-effective national infrastructure investment.	Industry: Yes Councils: 56% of survey respondents said yes

As well as assessing whether the objectives have been met, we looked at whether the NESTF is still fit for purpose. The NESTF requires all telecommunications infrastructure to comply with two sets of standards for radio-frequency fields. One of these standards, NZS 6609:2:1990, has been superseded, and the Ministry has already recommended that this be updated in the NESTF. Councils do not monitor for compliance with these standards, but Vodafone and 2degrees have a voluntary monitoring programme, which shows their facilities comply with these standards.

When looking at the wider regulatory environment for telecommunications, an issue was raised with the code mandated by the Utilities Access Act 2010. The National Code of Practice for Utility Operators’ Access to Transport Corridors (Utilities Access Code) sets out processes and procedures for network operators and corridor managers¹ to interact with each other. Potential conflicts between the NESTF and the ‘reasonable conditions’ set by councils under section 135 of the Telecommunications Act 2001 were raised, but this is not seen as having a major impact because national industries design to NESTF specifications rather than local conditions.

Both councils and industry representatives were asked for their views on the NESTF and what changes they would like to see. A comprehensive list of the issues raised is provided in appendix 5ranging from concerns about the interpretation of certain clauses, which may result in inconsistency in implementation around the country, to issues that would require changes to the NESTF to resolve. While many of these changes could be within the current scope of the NESTF’s objectives, industry representatives also provided a list of changes they would like to see that would widen this scope.

Overall, the evaluation determined that the NESTF has achieved its objectives. However, the telecommunications landscape is evolving rapidly. There is always a risk that regulations will lose their fitness for purpose in such a rapidly evolving landscape, and this risk is evidenced by the issues pointed out by the councils and industry. To ensure the NESTF remains up to date, consideration should be given to a review in the near future.