During a power cut to your premises, unless you have a power back-up device connecting the modem/router and phone, portable wifi, fibre connections and landlines that are not traditional copper landlines but rather ones that operate over the internet will stop working. Even if you have a copper landline, if you are using a cordless phone or a managed medical or safety alarm including a call bell without a battery backup, they will also fail in the event of a power cut. Without power or battery backup, you will be unable to call emergency services on 111 via your Wireless Nation landline phone service or call for help using a managed medical or safety alarm, including a call bell.

In an event such as a power cut, you could use a mobile phone if you are in mobile phone coverage to call 111 emergency services. We recommend keeping your mobile phone fully charged at all times. Alternatively, you might have some sort of electricity backup, such as a battery, UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) device or power generator to keep your portable Wifi, fibre modem and internet-based phone service running during a power cut.

Regardless of what type of landline service you have, whether that be the traditional copper landline from a different provider, or a voice landline service using electronic technologies from Wireless Nation, if you have a cordless home phone then that will also need a separate source of power to run. Using a phone which does not require power avoids this issue, and can be used to make calls over a copper landline during a power cut, as well as a voice service using electronic technologies provided you have battery backup for your internet.

If you are a “vulnerable” consumer under the definition of the Telecommunications Act 2001 and the “111 Contact Code”, you might be entitled to an alternative means to contact 111 in a power cut at no cost to you. A landline service provider cannot deny or terminate your residential landline phone service on the basis that the provider knows or suspects you are, or may become, a “vulnerable” consumer.

To qualify as a “vulnerable” consumer, you must be a consumer of a residential landline service who:

• Is at particular risk of requiring the 111 emergency service due to either:
  ○ health; or
  ○ safety e.g. family violence; or
  ○ disability e.g. physical or intellectual impairment); and
• Does not have the means to contact the 111 emergency service that can be operated for a minimum period of 8 hours in the event of a power failure.

Someone can apply for this on your behalf. You can also apply in advance if you have evidence that you will become a vulnerable consumer. You will need to show supporting evidence of this in the form from either:

• A completed Electricity Authority ‘Notice of Potential Medically Dependant Consumer (MDC) Status’ form, which includes a certification from a DHB, private hospital or GP. Go to Electricity Authority: Medically dependent and vulnerable customers 
• A protection order
• A letter from a health practitioner (e.g., a GP)
• Documentation of impairment (e.g., an ID card)

A nominated person can be:

• If the health or disability category has been ticked in the form, then a health practitioner (such as a GP) could be a nominated person.
• If the safety category has been ticked, then a police officer, a currently registered social worker, a lawyer (with a current practising certificate), or a family court judge could be a nominated person.

You will not qualify if you:

• have access to a mobile phone and your premises have adequate mobile phone network coverage, or
• your services are already protected by an uninterruptible power supply to maintain a means for contacting the 111 emergency service in a power failure, or
• You have a managed medical or safety alarm, or
• your premises receives a copper landline service.

An application form must be filled in full and submitted to us via email to support@wirelessnation.net or via letter to Wireless Nation Ltd., PO Box 91359, Auckland 1142.

You can find the application form here.

Once we receive a completed form, we will accept or decline your application as a vulnerable consumer within 10 working days and give you an overview of the dispute resolution process. If it is declined, we will inform you of the reason. If it is accepted, we will provide you with an alternative means to contact 111 as soon as reasonably possible.

We can consider an application to be ‘withdrawn’ if the vulnerable consumer (or someone on their behalf) rejects an appropriate means supplied by us which complies with the requirements set out in section H of the Code.

How will Wireless Nation use this information on the application form?

Wireless Nation will only use the information collected on the form to process an application. Beyond this, Wireless Nation has a requirement to securely store this information as required by the Code in the event we are asked by the Commission to provide information supporting an application. This requires us to store your information for a period of 5 years or more after you stop being a Wireless Nation customer; or 5 years from when  your application is accepted, withdrawn or declined; or 5 years from when the person stopped being a vulnerable consumer.

If you send us additional information in support of your application (for example a certificate confirming your medical status) we will record that we have seen and reviewed these. We will then destroy any supporting documents you have sent us. Therefore, it is important that you only send us copies of these documents and you keep the originals safe yourself.

If you or a consumer at your premises disagree with the decision or a dispute arises about any rights or obligations under the 111 Contact Code you can lay a complaint with us via:

Email: support@wirelessnation.net
Phone: 09 280 3672

Failing a resolution with us, you can lay a complaint primarily with the Telecommunications Dispute Resolution Scheme at www.tdr.org.nz or 0508 98 98 98 or the Commerce Commission at https://comcom.govt.nz/make-a-complaint.

NZ Relay is an excellent service to help deaf, hearing impaired, blind or speech impaired persons with critical information.

You can view a copy of the 111 Contact Code yourself online at www.comcom.govt.nz

Devices will be provided to customers based on the vulnerable consumer’s needs and mobile coverage availability. This could be a very basic mobile without a sim card that can still call 111, or if a mobile device is not suitable, then a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) may be provided.