An ''astronomical'' rise in mobile data consumption in the Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes districts is causing headaches for Telecom customers, particularly in Wanaka.
The resort's population has soared in recent days with the annual influx of summer holidaymakers and the arrival of about 10,000 music fans for the relocated Rhythm and Alps music event, being held in the Cardrona Valley yesterday and today.
People trying to use their mobile devices on the Telecom network experienced heavy congestion, with calls not connecting or dropping out mid-conversation, delayed text messages and no internet access.
The same problem arose in Wanaka last Christmas-New Year and at other peak times earlier in the year on both the Telecom and Vodafone networks.
However, Vodafone has since quadrupled the capacity of its Wanaka network.
Telecom New Zealand media and public relations manager Lucy Fullarton confirmed last night the problems occurred despite measures carried out before Christmas to to increase capacity in the Queenstown Lakes area, including Wanaka, in anticipation of the holiday period''.
''However, we have seen data consumption increase astronomically in the area - it is up by 600% on last year - as smartphones become more prevalent and people begin to use them in new and innovative ways.
''Public events like the Rhythm and Alps music festival really drive consumption ... because people now send videos and photos to each other.''
Mrs Fullarton said Telecom wished to ''sincerely apologise'' to its customers who were experiencing problems.
Vodafone New Zealand external communications manager Michelle Baguley said Vodafone had no overloading or capacity issues and the network was performing well yesterday, despite the increased traffic.
