Accidental Outage: Australia’s Largest Warship Briefly Knocks Out NZ Wi-Fi

In a gesture celebrating the strong ties between Australia and New Zealand, their respective capital cities, Canberra and Wellington, have established a sister city relationship. As part of these festivities, the HMAS Canberra, the Royal Australian Navy’s largest warship, was making a goodwill visit to Wellington. However, as the 230-meter vessel transited the Cook Strait on Wednesday, it inadvertently caused a temporary disruption to internet and radio services in surrounding New Zealand regions, according to an ABC News report.

Local internet service providers quickly pinpointed the source of the issue: the HMAS Canberra’s powerful navigation radar interfered with 5GHz wireless access points that link the wired and wireless segments of their networks. These devices are equipped with a built-in failsafe mechanism that immediately shuts down the access point upon detecting radar interference. This is a crucial safety measure designed to prevent any potential disruption to radar systems used in the country’s airspace.

Upon detecting the outage, the relevant government agencies promptly alerted the New Zealand Defence Force, who in turn contacted their Australian counterparts. The crew of the HMAS Canberra swiftly responded by switching the ship’s radar to an alternative frequency, which immediately resolved the widespread disruption to wireless internet and radio services.

#HMASCanberra #NewZealand #CookStrait #RadarInterference #InternetOutage #NavalVisit #continentsurfer

Want to know more?