The allocation and licensing of radiocommunications in New Zealand is the responsibility of the Ministry of Economic Development under the provisions of the Radiocommunications Act 1989. Initially sold under a tender system, a process of Internet auctions was begun in 1996. New technologies are impacting spectrum use and management. There is a general shift away from hard-wired voice and data services to various types of wireless delivery, some of which operate most effectively in public park spectrum. Spectrum arrangements were made in 2005 to accommodate Ultra-Wideband technology, a new wireless technology developed to transmit large amounts of data over very short distances. In 2008 Telecom New Zealand was approved to acquire the management rights for radio spectrum between 2520 and 2540 GHz.
