Hello everyone and welcome to what will soon become another busy year!
There has been plenty going on with RFUANZ and here are a few key things our members will be interested in.
Radio Spectrum Management
We recently met with RSM to discuss various industry topics and our collaboration on future projects such as the G-band, RRF, training and more. At present, the Fees Review is going through the Cabinet process and more will be known in the early part of 2026. Thank you to those who provided feedback which formed a key part of our submission on this topic.
Register of Radio Frequencies (RRF) – One of the key areas of concern from our members is the RRF and some of the challenges with onboarding clients, realme login etc. RSM are aware of these issues and have done a lot of work over the past year to make for a more usable platform while dealing with key security and other considerations. Onboarding new license holders is a key issue for our members, and RSM have this on their backlog. We are hoping to work with them this year to get visibility of the issues as they see it and help prioritise on behalf of our members.
If there are particular areas of the RRF that are causing issues for you or your clients, please reach out.
And a shout out. At our recent meeting, RSM commented on the relatively low number of land mobile issues they are called to investigate, and how quickly issues that do come to their attention are dealt with. Everyone reading this will be aware of our obligations to ensure sites are suitably licensed and operated in accordance with those licences (not to mention the legal implications of non-compliance). This is a positive reflection of the industry so well done.
RFUANZ Awards
Firstly, a congratulations to Ian Gardiner who won our Lifetime Service Award and to all of those who were recognised at our sold out 2025 gala dinner and awards evening. There is a real depth of talent in our industry, and we are humbled to be able to honour this at our annual event.
Nominations are now open for our 2026 awards and you can find details of the categories and details of how to nominate on our website. If you know someone in the industry who you believe would be deserving, please take the time to nominate them.
And a note for nominators, while the process is not onerous, please take the time to make sure you do the nominee justice. In some cases, we have seen nominations that assume the judges know the nominee as well as the writer which makes it very difficult to objectively assess. Please reach out to events@rfuanz.co.nz if you would like some pointers.
2026 Gala Dinner
And that brings us on to the 2026 Gala Dinner and Industry Awards. This year Comms Connect is moving from Christchurch to Wellington and we are looking forward to the opportunity to host our dinner in the Capital City. Full details and booking information will soon be available on our website. 2026 is the 35th year of RFUANZ and we look forward to celebrating this with you.
Sips ‘n’ Snacks
Following on from the successful Roadshow events early in 2025, RFUANZ has started to host after work Sips ‘n’ Snacks. We held two events toward the end of 2025, one in Christchurch and the other in Auckland where members could come together to enjoy a social chat accompanied by snacks and a beer or lemonade. This is a great opportunity to network and discuss industry (and other!) matters. Thank you to everyone who came along, and to Bart Rushton from Storm Spectrum, our 2025 Platinum Sponsor who came to both events.
Thank you to everyone who has made 2025 such a successful year for RFUANZ, and we look forward to catching up with you again during 2026.
