When a group from St James church in Auckland came to our client 2degrees with a challenging problem to solve, our telecommunications team jumped into action.

The church, in the Auckland suburb of Kohimarama, had reached out to our team to request the removal of a redundant cell tower on their grounds.

The tower had been sitting unused since the liquidation of its former owner in 2016. The church had sought assistance after noticing personnel doing preparatory work for a Ventia job installing a more modern 2degrees tower in a nearby street.

After looking into the job, it became apparent that this was a complex task that would cost more than the local community would be able to manage. One of the biggest challenges, from both a cost and management perspective, was the need to undertake the work at night due to traffic management. 

Not to be discouraged, our client 2degrees and the Ventia team came together to hatch a plan. The plan involved collaborating with a number of partners who could provide their expertise (some free of charge) to deliver an outcome for the community. 

^{The removal of the redundant cell tower had to take place at night due to traffic management.}

Ventia sponsored a crane and operator from NZ Cranes to remove the tower and our subcontractor partner MRT assisted with cutting down the old ducts and the tower's concrete base. Ventia subcontractor Total Link also played an important role by testing the power to the cabinet, free of charge, to ensure it wasn't live. 

2degrees Chief Technology Officer Martin Sharrock said that they were really pleased with how the project was managed. 

A big thank you needs to go to Ventia for their expertise and commitment to getting this done right.

"All in all, it's a great result for St James and the community, and we were thrilled to be able to play a part."

Ventia Project Manager Mara Bester said that the team took great pride in tackling the challenge of removing the old infrastructure.  

"It was such a great outcome to not only deliver something for a local community group, but to have done it in such a collaborative way with our client and other partners," she said.  

^{The team of collaborators were happy to help the local community. Ventia sponsored the crane and operator from NZ Cranes.}