Another cell tower has been the subject of vandalism, this time in Porirua in the early hours of this morning.
In a statement to 1 NEWS, police confirmed that a small fire had to be extinguished by Fire and Emergency NZ, with further inquiries into the blaze ongoing.
The attack is just the latest in a spate of vandalism towards cellphone towers across the country.
Yesterday saw two towers set ablaze in Auckland, while another tower was attacked in Mangare on Tuesday.
During the past six weeks, there have been 10 instances of towers being attacked in Auckland alone, with 15 across New Zealand in total.
The New Zealand Telecommunications Forum (TCF) yesterday said it supports the country’s three mobile operators - Vodafone, Spark and 2degrees - in urging community members to report any suspicious activity near cell sites.
The cell tower fires have been said to be connected to people motivated by conspiracy theories related to 5G mobile networks and Covid-19.
Tony Baird of Vodafone NZ said each attack has a negative impact on keeping customers connected.
“These attacks are infuriating and can have real connectivity impacts for New Zealanders – meaning people could have reduced mobile phone and internet coverage in an area with a damaged cell site, which is a real issue, particularly in South Auckland,” said Mr Baird.
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