Spark, one of the country's telecommunications providers, has been working tirelessly to restore connectivity in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Teams have been working through the night to restore services and have provided an update on their progress.
Spark has restored an additional 18 sites since the last update.
This includes four sites in Northland, four in Hawke’s Bay, and two in Gisborne.
The company has also managed to bring Te Puia Springs back online and expects to have basic connectivity (calls and texts) up and running in Wairoa soon.
However, there are still challenges to be overcome; fibre cuts around Gisborne are proving to be more difficult to fix due to the significant damage to the locations and access issues. As a result, it will take longer to restore full services, including internet access.
Despite the challenges, Spark's teams are continuing to work with their partners on solutions.
The company expects to see more services return on Saturday and they are committed to restoring full connectivity as soon as possible.
