from the team leader david ware
Instead of looking towards Australia for creative ways to solve the road toll, I think
our transport minister should be looking towards Bolivia.
If you ever get the opportunity to go to Bolivia – go. It’s gotta be
one of my favourite countries. And surprisingly, we Kiwis have a lot
in common with the Bolivians culturally. Take our attitude to alcohol.
While Americans drink to be happy and Poms drink to forget, Bolivians
(like Kiwis) drink to power-vomit at 3am. I tell you, there’s not a lot
of difference between downtown Wellington and La Paz on a Saturday
night. It’s a great town.
But it’s the Bolivians’ attitude to road transport that I want to discuss.
Instead of looking towards Australia for creative ways to solve the road
toll, I think our transport minister should be looking towards Bolivia.
The Bolivians have just introduced their first drink driving law. This
(of course) provoked a massive protest by the country’s bus and school
transport service drivers. For two days and two nights, mobs blockaded
the main roads in defence of their right to be pissed while operating
public transport. Drivers flouting the boycott were threatened, and
some were pulled out of their vehicles and beaten.
Actually, protesting is a national pastime there and as a tourist I found
it a great way to bond with the locals – there is a certain camaraderie
that comes from being tear-gassed together – but I digress.
My favourite Bolivian traffic control scheme (and I promise you I’m
not making this up) is to place youths dressed as zebras in the middle
of the busiest roads. City officials assume that drivers will behave
differently if the welfare of a child in a cute costume is at stake.
meet the team: kb
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and just by looking at
his photo you can tell what we think of our GM Commercial, Kevin
Brown. Although he doesn’t come into work everyday wearing spandex
with ‘KB’ (as he is affectionately known) emblazoned on his
chest, we still regard him as TeamTalk’s ‘Mr. Incredible’.
As one of the longest-serving TeamTalkers, KB has
been with us since the very beginning – more
than 15 years. He has been involved in so many
different parts of the business over the years
that we’ve lost track, but these days he’s
settled into his role as GM Commercial.
“My job involves taking an interest
in any major supplier or customer
negotiations and contracts, plus
looking after the marketing and
pretty much anything else that
needs doing,” says KB.
ISSUE 50 : OCTOBER 2010
Unfortunately, collisions remain common,
such as one in December, when a bus with
faulty brakes crashed into one of these
two-legged creatures (who survived). But
overall, the scheme has been generally hailed
as a success. The youth are often juvenile
offenders and street kids, with limited
representation, so I guess it’s potentially
killing two birds, so to speak. Drivers,
however, hate the zebras.
They’ve got another great scheme that could
catch on here. For 10 Bollivianos (a couple of
dollars) a Catholic priest will bless your car.
First with holy water and then the ceremony
switches gears and beer, sparkling cider and 96%-proof alcohol (brewed
from sugarcane) are brought forth, to both swig and spray on vehicles
(more anointing). People hug one another and make toasts and launch
firecrackers. It’s a lot of fun to watch and a lot cheaper than insurance.
So there you have it. Maybe a bit more divine faith and an absence of
sobriety on our roads are what’s required here…
On a slightly more serious note, this is our 50th newsletter – I assumed
you didn’t want any self-congratulatory clap-trap from me. Catch you
next time.
“Because I’ve been around the traps for a while, I know a few people
and how to get stuff done.”
Starting out his career as a Telegraph and Data Technician at the old
New Zealand Post, KB returned to New Zealand after an extended stint
overseas to join Telecom’s Management and Marketing teams.
In 1995, he left Telecom to band together with his old mate David
Ware, who had just started a small mobile radio outfit.
“What really appealed to me about TeamTalk was the good bastards
who were working there. What’s kept me here is the crazy pace of the
business, the flexibility and the great things we do for our customers.”
Because he’s been through all the ups and downs this business has
seen, KB’s experience has given him insight into what works in this
business and what doesn’t, and he’s learnt the hard way from his
mistakes.
“After working here for such a long time, any mistakes I’ve made have
had plenty of time to catch up with me. It’s living with both the good
and bad decisions that has given me the experience to make the right
moves. Or at least, the less-wrong moves.”
my how we’ve grown... It’s our 50th edition of TeamTalks, so we’re waxing nostalgic

A POTTED HISTORY OF
TEAMTALK
In the beginning, David Ware got annoyed. Frustrated by the
poor service and lack of reliability from telecommunications
companies, he set out to create his own. And he called it
TeamTalk. And David saw that it was good.
Biblical references aside, TeamTalk was born by humble means
with a big ambition: to be the best little telco in the world.
Minor hindrances such as no money, staff or infrastructure were
just a few of the challenges that were overcome, building a
mobile radio business that would compete directly with Telecom
mobile radio.
Mustering together some of his mates and drawing up a
gav and brent’s big
business plan, David managed to convince a venture capital adventure of ‘06
firm from the US to bankroll the venture and TVNZ to support
it with infrastructure. So on 10 August 1994 TeamTalk broadcast We really do put our money where our mouth is when it comes
its first radio signals from two sites each in both Auckland and to disaster recovery on our networks – which, in the case of the
Wellington. South Island’s Big Snow of ’06, meant a bit of an adventure for
From the beginning it was always going to be a case of David vs our Customer Engineers Brent and Gavin, who got to spend a few
Goliath (pun intended) in the battle with Telecom. Outgunned thousand dollars on helicopter hire fees.
by Telecom’s Fleetlink network with 100 sites nationwide, our
tiny four-site network really didn’t look like it was set to make Our Southern Passes Channels are a series of repeaters linked in a
much of a challenge. But by steadily growing the network and chain that run through the Arthur’s and Lewis Passes, providing
remaining committed to customer service, the next few years coverage for the commercial vehicles that use those roads daily.
saw TeamTalk beef up and look like a more worthy competitor. These repeater sites are all run on batteries, charged by substantial
By the end of the millennium, things had been running solar systems. These systems are designed to last for weeks, even
smoothly and it looked like easy sailing ahead, or at least that’s when the sunshine is scarce.
what the management team believed. At the request of their US
backers, the original management team had all moved to Brazil After the first big snowstorm in mid-June that year, these sites
to establish a mobile radio network similar to TeamTalk. In their hadn’t had any sun in about 15 days and we decided that we
absence things began to slip a bit, and when they returned in couldn’t risk another bad weather front without ensuring the
1999 they were surprised to learn TeamTalk hadn’t made any batteries were able to recharge.
headway in the market. Even more concerning, though, was the So, it was a case of ‘up, up and away’ in a helicopter for Gavin and
news that their US backers had filed for bankruptcy, leaving the Brent. Armed with snow scrapers, shovels and de-icing sprays, plus
business in a bit of a sticky situation. all their arctic survival equipment and plenty of winter woollies,
By refocusing the company back to being the ‘best little telco in they visited the Southern Passes sites, de-icing solar panels and
the world’ and finding new investors, TeamTalk was in a position clearing banked-up snow from our sites.
by mid-2001 to measure up to the old foe. On 14 May 2001
TeamTalk purchased Fleetlink and all of Telecom’s other mobile “Each winter, we spend a fair bit of time flying into many of our
radio assets, a move that seemed impossible in the beginning. South Island sites. It’s just part of our job – to make sure the
networks will keep working, no matter what the weatherman
In 2004 the public was finally able to take a stake in TeamTalk throws at us. It’s just another day at the office for us,” said Gavin.
after we successfully listed on the NZX, allowing us to begin
expanding into different areas of business. It wasn’t until 2006
that we found just the right sort of start-up to invest in, a
small wireless broadband company called Araneo.
After getting a taste of broadband with Araneo, we wanted
more. So later in the year we bought a 67% stake in the
Wellington-based fibre-optic company CityLink. Last year, we
took it to 100% investment.
It’s taken 16 years to get us to this point in our story and it’s
been a wild ride so far. A lot may have changed, but some
things will always be the same, like the fact that we will do
whatever it takes to be the best little telco in the world.
and going back to where it all began. Here’s a snapshot of life at the ‘best little telco in the world’.
keeping the life flight
trust on-air in the air
We all know that TeamTalk’s CEO, David Ware, likes to horse
around a bit, but back in 2002 it got him in some serious trouble
when he was thrown from his horse at his remote Wairarapa
property, breaking his neck.
David was airlifted to Wellington Hospital on the Westpac Rescue
Helicopter and since then TeamTalk has been supporting the Life
Flight Trust by supplying radios to their three aircraft, as well as
airtime, at no cost.
The Life Flight Trust provides two forms of services to sick and
injured New Zealanders, which couldn’t be done without radio
communications.
The Westpac Rescue Helicopter provides life-saving rescues for
people in accidents where time is of the essence and access to the
injured people is difficult by road.
The Air Ambulance service acts as a flying intensive care ward,
transferring critically ill patients to tertiary hospitals around the
country for the specialist care they need.
“We fly approximately 1,500 people every year and respond to
around four emergencies every day,” says Candy Coe, Marketing
and Fundraising Manager at Life Flight Trust.
“Many New Zealanders owe their lives to this service and we know
TeamTalk’s support makes a real difference to each of those lives.”
The Life Flight Trust estimates that TeamTalk’s support saves them
up to $20,000 a year.
“TeamTalk’s support is purely philanthropic and this is quite rare
for a company,” says Candy.
“We do include their logo on our helicopter, which is our way
of saying thank you and giving something back, but it’s not
something TeamTalk asks of us. We really can’t thank them
enough.”
If you would like to support the Life Flight Trust, visit www.
lifeflight.org.nz to find out more. Remember, one day you might
need their help, just like David did.
“we fly approximately 1,500 people
DID YOU KNOW?
every year and respond to around four
emergencies every day”
teamtalk’s creative
dispute resolution
Back in 2003, TeamTalk made international headlines when we
took a novel approach to solving a business dispute and, as David
explains, it was more than just a stunt.
“I was about to seek an injunction to prevent MCS Digital using
our network, but decided it was a costly exercise that wasn’t
helpful long term to our business or our customers. We could have
battled on and on and the only winners would have been the
lawyers,” says David.
“So I offered MCS Digital a concession to their demands, but their
CEO, Allan Cosford, had to pin me to the table in an arm wrestle
first.”
Once the media got wind of David’s plan, they really went to
town covering it. Over two dozen radio stations around the world
pursued David for interviews, as well as numerous newspapers,
magazines and TV networks, including CNN and the BBC.
Even the serious German magazine ‘Der Spiegel’ hopped on board,
printing a full-page article about TeamTalk and our particular
brand of corporate philosophy.
“Both the local and international media rallied with great interest
and reported very accurately the serious business implications
for TeamTalk, all noting we stood to lose between $200,000 and
$300,000.”
Even though David went on to lose the arm-wrestling battle,
he insists he won the war. “We later purchased MCS Digital’s
network, and not just as a way of saving face for me; it was a
good business move.”
Do you remember when
Telecom had Spot the
Dog as their mascot? Well
TeamTalk had a mascot too.
This is Spike, the no-holds-
barred mutt who’s not
afraid to fight other dogs.
These days Spike has moved
on and Luca, who lives
under the boss’s desk, has
moved in, and although he’s harmless, he’s definitely huge.
not living in the past: our earthquake response
When Christchurch’s massive 7.1 earthquake struck on Saturday 4
September, our TeamTalkers, like the rest of the South Island, were
woken by the terrifying shaking. Their responses, however, were a
little different from many others in the city. Quickly, they made sure
their families were okay, and then they got straight on with ensuring
the essential (and potentially life-saving) communications services
TeamTalk provides were operating as they should.
The extremely important Ambulance New Zealand network was of
utmost concern, because any outages to that could have meant the loss
of life. Customer Engineer Gavin Sargent, however, is well-prepared for
emergencies and can access damage to the network from his house.
“After I fired up my generator at home, I was quickly onto all the
networks, FleetLink, ActionNet, LocalNet and of course the priority
one, Ambulance network, to check sites were carrying traffic,” says
Gavin. “Most sites in the area had lost power but their diesel generators
had kicked in, which meant all networks were fully operational.”
Our GM Commercial, KB, also had a rapid response. His close proximity
to the Christchurch office meant he was very quickly onsite to check
for any damage to our building and important equipment.
“It took about an hour for me to get over the initial shock of the thing,
check my family was okay and get into the office. But after that I was
straight on the phone to Stacey in Wellington to check the networks.
Stacey and several others remained on the helpdesk all day supporting
the Christchurch team,” says KB. “Once I arrived at the office I was
relieved to see that only superficial damage had occurred, besides some
smashed computer screens.”
Because of our strong focus on disaster recovery, the network survived
fully intact. Although power was severed, the back-up generators
when christchurch’s massive 7.1
earthquake struck on saturday 4
september, our teamtalkers, like the rest
of the south island, were woken by the
terrifying shaking.
started just as they should, so everything kept working.
“After I established that the network was okay,” said Gavin, “I
contacted key customers such as the Christchurch City Council and
local power authority, Orion, to make sure their communications
were still operational. While I was checking with Orion, they wanted
to know how long our generators could be operational, because they
didn’t want to lose their comms.”
With the network still in operation, a lot of effort was concentrated
on the ‘what if’ questions. Not knowing if power would be restored
quickly meant our back-up plans to maintain operations needed to be
quickly implemented.
“Because we couldn’t get diesel from Lyttelton for the generators, we
worked together with Telecom and Kordia to come up with a plan to
bring a small tanker from Timaru,” explains Gavin. “The idea was to
then sling the 40-gallon drums under a helicopter and fly it up to the
sites. In the end Orion prioritised establishing power to our sites, so
all but one site were running off mains power by midnight Saturday.”
It’s been a tough couple of weeks since then for everyone in
Christchurch, and in reality most of the recovery work on
Christchurch has yet to begin. Our ‘whatever it takes’ attitude is even
more important in times like this. So to all our Canterbury clients
affected by the emergency, please let us know if there’s anything we
can do to help you get your business back on track.
teamtalk’s dedicated ‘network status’
website page shows real-time network
information in the event of an emergency.
www.teamtalk.co.nz/network-status
HOUR HOTLINE
www.teamtalk.co.nz