RFUANZ report: 2024 in review

As I write this, 2024 is coming to an end and it provides a good opportunity to reflect on what we have achieved in RFUANZ, and what challenges await in the New Year.

Firstly, I want to thank our committee who work hard behind the scenes to set our agenda and continue to deliver for the benefit of our members and wider industry. Many of you will know the work that goes on to make any organisation successful and I am humbled to have such a great crew to work with. Thanks also to Trinity Matika, our hardworking administrator who does a great job of efficiently keeping the day-to-day ticking over, as well being a driving force behind our events.

On the subject of events, I would like to welcome Mikaela Robinson to the team as Events Coordinator. Events are a key focus for us this year, and Mikaela has hit the ground running and is already starting to make a difference. She takes over from Desiré Morris, who left us after Comms Connect to take up a great new opportunity.

I also want to thank a few others who have moved on from RFUANZ this year. First, Debby Morgan, our long-suffering administrator of 10 years; her focus, dedication, and memory of what happened before colour television will be hard to match. I would also like to thank those committee members that stood down at the AGM this year, Dale Roberts (who had been on our committee for seven years) and Graham Markson. And a shout-out to Justin Wonderlick, our previous Chairman; Justin has left big boots to fill but remains on the committee which is great. He is joined on the committee by Daniel Miller, who has over 15 years’ experience in network engineering, e-commerce platforms, systems administration and wireless communication.

In the September/October issue I wrote about Comms Connect 2024 in Christchurch, the gala dinner and awards night. While this event is an important one in our calendar, there is much more to RFUANZ. In late October, we held an after-work roadshow in Christchurch where Ian Graham spoke on the topic of his book, Combining Systems for Shared Radio Sites. This was a well-attended event that we look forward to taking to Wellington and Auckland in 2025. Opportunities for our members to get together and share ideas are something we are keen to do more of.

We have engaged regularly with Radio Spectrum Management this year. Our members have a number of concerns, a key one being the fee review. At our meeting in November, we were advised that they expect to consult with industry early in 2025; we reiterated that this was of significant interest to our members, and we look forward to participating in the process. Spectrum is another hot topic — including access to VHF frequencies about 174 MHz and what is happening in the GHz space. What is clear is that RSM have limited resourcing, and it is important that we work on behalf of our members to help prioritise our issues onto their roadmap.

E-tec, part of Skills Group, continue to offer their NZ Certificate in Customer Premises Systems (Level 4) Wireless Strand course which has students from across the country, both from large and small organisations. We encourage companies bringing people into the industry, or with staff who are ready to further their technical knowledge, to enrol them into this course. It has been a long time since New Zealand has had such a formal qualification in radio communications and this fills a long-felt gap. Like any course, its longevity relies heavily on getting the numbers through so, as an industry, we need to support it. I was fortunate to be able to meet the Skills team at their networking event in November; it was great to connect with representatives from other industries where they have had similar training challenges and hear how they have been able to develop a skilled workforce for the future.

There is no question that our industry is undergoing change. The predicted obsolescence of two-way radio through the proliferation of cellular telephones hasn’t happened, with what many see as a resurgence in recent years through convergent digital technologies. Intertwining traditional RF with data and emerging technologies to deliver cost-effective and scalable solutions in both public and private sectors is just another day in the office for many in 2024. Would Guglielmo Marconi even recognise what is happening, I sometimes wonder?

2025 will be another big year for RFUANZ. Thank you to our members and supporters; please feel free to reach out at any time and we are always keen to hear how we can work to add value to our industry.

Soren Low, Chairman, Radio Frequency Users Association of New Zealand.