Providing cellphone coverage to the Lindis Pass Alpine Highway and other remote tourist routes seems firmly stuck in the too-hard basket.
In response to Otago Daily Times inquiries, Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism John Key has indicated the Government is not willing to get involved.
''It is up to telecommunications companies to decide how widespread cellphone coverage is,'' a spokeswoman from Mr Key's office emailed this week.
Telecommunications companies have already ruled out the prospect because there are too few residents to make it economically viable.
The Lindis Pass - which averages 1500 cars per day - has a 57km ''black hole'', where motorists who have problems are unable to use their cellphones to call for assistance.
The spokeswoman for Mr Key said she understood it would be ''very challenging to improve coverage in this remote and sparsely populated area''.
Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean said the lack of cellphone coverage on the Lindis Pass was a concern and she would like to see Vodaphone and Telecom doing more.
''I was not aware that cellphone coverage was so poor on this important route.
''If we're serious about attracting more tourists to this country, we need to provide telecommunications services that go beyond the Third World.''
It was ''all very well'' for telecommunications companies to argue expansion was based on residential customer numbers rather than mobile users, Ms Dean said.
''But, based on the remoteness of this highway and the heavy usage by overseas tourists, I think there's a very real argument for that formula to change.''
Tourism Industry Association New Zealand advocacy manager Geoff Ensor said there were many areas in New Zealand without cellphone coverage, and the association urged rental vehicle operators to inform visiting drivers about New Zealand driving conditions.
The spokeswoman for Mr Key said the introduction of 4G (fourth generation) mobile networks could bring about a general improvement in rural cellphone coverage.
In rural areas, 4G was likely to run in conjunction with the 700MHz radio spectrum, due to be auctioned by the Government later this year.
''We are currently consulting with industry on the spectrum auction rules, including how best to achieve increasing cell coverage in more rural areas,'' the spokeswoman said.
Telecom's head of corporate communications, Richard Llewellyn, said because of the 700MHz band's lower frequency, it would operate over longer distances.
''This makes the 700MHz band particularly suited for rural service as operators can economically provide better services using fewer cell sites and equipment.''
The speed of the 4G ''rural roll-out'' would depend on its commercial viability, Mr Llewellyn said.
Telecommunications Users' Association of New Zealand chief executive Paul Brislen said use of the 700MHz band could extend a tower's range to 90km in every direction compared with the 60km of the existing system.
However, he held out no hope of cellphone coverage being extended to the Lindis Pass.
The problem was the $120,000 cost of cellphone towers and the cost of connecting them to the network by a fibre-optic cable, Mr Brislen said.
''You are not likely to get much of anything in the middle of nowhere.''
New Zealand did have towers that used digital microwave radio instead of fibre-optic cable, but while these were suitable for voice communication they were not suitable for 4G, and were being rapidly phased out, Mr Brislen said.
