Australian Warship Accidentally Blocks New Zealand’s WiFi
An Australian navy warship is taking the spotlight away from an event supposed to celebrate sister city relationship between Canberra and Wellington after it appears it accidentally blocked wireless internet and radio services in New Zealand. HMAS Canberra, one of the Royal Australian Navy’s largest ships, was sailing to Wellington to participate in the Wellington–Canberra sister city celebrations, an event which is aimed at fostering collaborations across areas like tourism, education, and creative sectors.
The hallmark of this year’s celebration was expected to be the Freedom of Entry parade through Wellington. In the parade, over 300 Australian and New Zealand defense force personnel were on Saturday marching through the streets of Wellington.
On Wednesday, however, the 230-meter Canberra stole the spotlight after its sophisticated navigation radar interfered with 5GHz wireless access points — devices that bridge wired and wireless networks — in regions on both New Zealand's North and South islands, according to media outlet ABC. The New Zealand Defense Force notified their Australian counterparts of the blocking in the Taranaki and Marlborough regions, prompting the problem to be rectified.
“On becoming aware, HMAS Canberra changed frequencies rectifying the interference. There are no ongoing disruptions,” said an Australia Department of Defense spokesperson.
Wireless internet and mobile telecommunications company Primo was among those affected. The firm’s MD Matthew Harrison, termed the widespread disruption caused by Canberra as a dramatic example of just how fragile New Zealand’s spectrum environment.
“This wasn’t just a blip. It was full-scale, military-grade radar triggering built-in safety protocols designed to protect airspace. It rolled across our network in sync with the ship’s movement. We’ve never seen anything like it here before,” he wrote in a post on LinkedIn. “It’s not every day a warship takes your gear offline.”
Commissioned in 2014, Canberra is the flagship of the Australian navy. The ship is capable of transporting more than 100 ground vehicles, four landing craft, up to 18 helicopters and more than 1,000 troops, in addition to its crew of more than 400.
Its presence during the sister city relationship celebration was meant to cement the friendship between the two countries’ defense forces that has endured for over a century. Both famously fought together as the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I. The members of that corps were known as “Anzacs.”