Call signs in New Zealand

Call signs in New Zealand are no longer generally used to identify broadcast stations. However, New Zealand's radio stations were once known by their call signs and would usually broadcast their call signs as a number followed by X, Y, or Z, and another letter (e.g. 1YA). Call signs are regulated internationally by the ITU and nationally by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), formerly the Ministry of Economic Development. The ministry is also responsible for providing policy advice to Government on the allocation of New Zealand's radio spectrum to support, efficient, reliable and responsive wireless telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructure.[1]

In 1924, New Zealand was granted the prefix 'Z',[2] and in 1925 the number of licensed amateur(?) reached 100. In 1927, the International Telecommunication Union Conference in Washington (D.C., USA) established internally agreed upon call sign prefixes – New Zealand was assigned 'OZ'. In 1929 this was expanded to the ZK–ZM letter block, with New Zealand opting for the ZL prefix for land based stations. 'OZ' by 1927 was reassigned to Denmark.[3] In 1969 the ZM prefix was allowed to celebrate the Captain James Cook bicentenary. In 1974 the prefix was allowed again to celebrate the Commonwealth Games, as well as in 1989 when the Games returned. In 1981 the ZL0 prefix was allowed for visitors to New Zealand.

Allocations and assignments

The International Telecommunication Union has assigned New Zealand the following call sign blocks for all radio communication, broadcasting or transmission:[4]

Call sign block Allocation
E5A–E5Z New Zealand – Cook Islands
ZKA–ZMZ New Zealand

While not directly related to call signs, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) further has divided all countries assigned amateur radio prefixes into three regions; New Zealand is located in ITU Region 3, within ITU Zone 60.

There are 4 possible 2-letter prefixes and 40 2-letter/1-number prefixes available to New Zealand operators based on the ITU blocks (ZK, ZL, ZM and E5). This provides for about 720,000 three-character-suffix call signs and significantly more if numerals comprise either or both of the first two characters of the suffix. A further 18.8 million 4-character call signs are potentially available, as well as considerably more when digits are assigned in the suffix.

Of these prefixes, 1 is currently assigned (ZL) for normal amateur radio operation. ZM can be used in place of ZL for short special events (e.g. contests), and E5 calls are issued in the Cook Islands (both North and South Cooks).

Although ZL1 to ZL4 were previously issued strictly according to the operator's location within New Zealand, that is no longer the case.

New Zealand is assigned DXCC entity #170. Primary callsign suffixes can be from one letter to four letters in the A–Y, AA–YZ, AAA–YZZ and AAAA–YZZZ blocks. Temporary special event callsigns may have five or six letter suffixes.

Prefixes Subseries Purpose[5] # issued DXCC Entity #
ZK 1–9 Niue and Tokelau 74 #188
E5A–E5Z North Cook Island, used to be ZK1/N 193 #191
E5A–E5Z South Cook Island, used to be ZK1/S (incl in N. Cook) #234
ZL1 A–Y to AAAA–YZZZ New Zealand 2,306 #170
ZL2 A–Y to AAAA–YZZZ New Zealand 1,985 #170
ZL3 A–Y to AAAA–YZZZ New Zealand 1,011 #170
ZL4 A–Y to AAAA–YZZZ New Zealand 664 #170
ZL5 A–Y to AAAA–YZZZ Antarctica 1
ZL6 A–Y to AAAA–YZZZ NZART 15 #170
ZL7 A–Y to AAAA–YZZZ Chatham Islands 6 #034
ZL8 A–Y to AAAA–YZZZ Kermadec Islands 2 #133
ZL9 A–Y to AAAA–YZZZ Sub-Antarctic Territories 2 #016
ZL 10–100 Temporary Commemorative Callsigns #170

Use of 'ZM'

The ZM prefix can be substituted for ZL for contests and commemorative events, at the discretion of the licensee.

Single-letter call signs

ZL licence holders may apply for up to one secondary single-letter call sign, such as ZL1W. A "stand-down" period of six months applies in regard to the reallocation of temporary call signs to the same licence holder or club. However, the call sign may be reallocated for further 12-month periods without stand-down, provided the licence authority receives at the time of the application (which must be made prior to the expiry of the then current 12-month period) evidence to the licensing authority's satisfaction that a temporary call sign is being used on a regular basis.

Two-numeral call signs

The E5 prefix for the Cook Islands produces two-numeral callsigns when the separating numeral is attached. The 'E51' prefix is most often used.

Five- and six-letter call signs

Temporary callsigns may be issued with up to 6-letter suffixes, such as ZL1ABCDEF. Such callsigns may be allocated for up to 12 months, typically for special events and notable anniversaries.

Allocation of temporary call signs in the ZL10 to ZL100 Series

A licence holder with a primary or secondary callsign in the ZL1 to ZL9 series may be allocated, as a temporary callsign for a period not exceeding 3 months, a ZL10 to ZL100 prefix to commemorate their anniversary as an active amateur (or the establishment of the club). For example, the holder of ZL1WZZ celebrating 40 years in amateur radio may be allocated, for a 3-month period, the callsign ZL40WZZ.[6]

Nomenclature
Radio dials like this one from a vintage Philco (circa 1953) included New Zealand call signs.

All radio stations call signs started with ZL, although this was excluded when broadcast.

The number referred to the geographical area:

1 North Island north of Taupō
2 North Island south of Taupō, Nelson and Marlborough
3 South Island north of the Waitaki River, excluding Nelson and Marlborough
4 South Island south of Waitaki River

The first letter referred to the type of station:

X Private commercial stations
Y Radio New Zealand non-commercial stations
Z Radio New Zealand commercial stations (now part of New Zealand Media and Entertainment)

For private stations, beginning with X, the final letter in the call sign was usually the first letter of the name of the station or the name of the town the station was based in or simply a letter chosen by the station.

For non-commercial stations beginning with the letter Y, the four main centres (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin) had YA stations, the second largest centre at the time was typically assigned a YZ station such as 3YZ in Greymouth and 4YZ in Southland, this was for National Radio. For other regions the final letter was typically the first letter the location. The Concert Programme in the four main centres was assigned YC and at this stage only broadcast in the main centres though the Concert Programme was relayed onto other stations during evenings.

The last letter was either the first letter of the location, (e.g. 1ZH in Hamilton and 4ZG in Gore) or was assigned in order with ZB going to the four main centres (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin) and ZA going to the second largest region at the time such as 1ZA Taupo, 2ZA Palmerston North, 3ZA Greymouth and 4ZA Invercargill.

This system of allocating call signs was for AM radio stations only; the very few FM radio stations that were operating had 3 letters in the call sign, the first number remained the same. Radio stations that were originally on AM but began broadcasting on FM often kept the AM call sign name or an additional letter was added to the existing call sign name. Some examples are 2ZM in Wellington became 2ZZM (but at this point branded as ZMFM) and 1XX in Whakatane became 1XXX but remained branded as One Double X. Call signs for these stations were often abbreviations of the stations' brand names. The FM call signs assigned to Concert FM usually followed the format of the area number, the first letter of the city or region and then the letters CP (Concert Programme), for example 1ACP in Auckland and 4DCP in Dunedin. National Radio was not broadcasting on FM when stations were allocated call signs so no call signs were ever allocated to National Radio's FM frequencies.

List of call signs

The following is a list of some of the call signs assigned to radio stations prior to 1990 when New Zealand stopped assigning call signs to radio stations.

AM stations

Radio stations that originally broadcast on an AM frequency.

Call sign Station Location Original AM frequency Call sign Meaning Notes
1XA Auckland 1476AM Radio Hauraki—holder of the first comm. licence
1XB Auckland 950AM Radio Bosom - later became Radio B then subsequently bFM. March 1975.
1XC Coromandel 1030AM C = Coromandel Radio SAM - Short term station run in 1978. Frequency changed soon after to 1170AM. In 1980, 1XC was assigned to Radio Contact in Hamilton - a station at the Waikato University. Now Radio Rhema Tauranga 540AM.
1XD Auckland 1476AM Radio Trackside
1XG Auckland 1251AM Radio Rhema
1XH Hamilton 1310AM H = Hamilton Commenced 1949 - became 1ZH in 1968. In 1988, 1XH was reassigned to Radio Rhema in Hamilton on 855AM.
1XI Auckland 1332AM I = Radio i Originally Radio i and later Easy Listening i, known as Easy Mix before the network closed down in 2012
1XK Tauranga 1440AM Now Moana Radio
1XM Mount Maunganui 702AM
1XN Whangarei 970AM N = Northland Started in 1949. In 1981, 1XN was issued to a short term station called Radio Nambassaland which ran for 5 days during the Nambassa Festival at Waitawheta, near Waihi. Now Radio Pacific Rotorua 1548AM.
1XP Auckland 1593AM P = Radio Pacific The original Radio Pacific station, now LiveSport.
1XT Tauranga 1368AM T = Tauranga Village Radio 1XT
1XW Hamilton 954AM W = Waikato Originally issued to R. Waikato as the third private licence in mid-1970. R. Waikato became R. Pacific 954 AM. then LiveSport, later TAB Trackside. SENZ now uses 954 AM. How the call sign ever switched to Rhema's "The Word" on 576 before calls were abolished is mysterious.
1XX Whakatane 1242AM What began as 1XX/R. Whakatāne now uses the slogan/brand One-Double-X.
1YA Auckland 756AM Radio NZ National network, located at 74 Shortland Street New Zealand's first purpose-built public radio facility that was later the site for New Zealand's first official television broadcast in 1960 and is now home to The University of Auckland's Gus Fisher Gallery. As a protected heritage feature, the transmitter mast remains on the roof
1YB Auckland Commenced in 1923. Became 1ZB in 1933.
1YC Auckland 882AM C = Concert Formerly used for Radio NZ Concert programme
1YD Auckland 1250AM Commenced Jan 1926. Became 1YQ in June 1926.
1YE Kaikohe 981AM Radio NZ National network
1YK Kaitaia 837AM K = Kaitaia Radio NZ National network
1YQ Auckland Commenced June 1926. Became 1ZQ August 1926.
1YT Taupō 1314AM T = Taupo Radio NZ National network, was 1ZT's frequency, then used as 1YT, this frequency is no longer used, now on 101.5FM
1YW Hamilton 1143AM W = Waikato Radio NZ National network
1YX Whangarei 837AM Radio NZ National network. Originally 1YX in Auckland - July 1933 - then became 1YC September 1948.
1YZ Rotorua 1188AM Radio NZ National network
1ZA Taupō 1494AM Originally on 1500 when founded in 1964, Radio Lakeland rebranded as Classic Hits 96.7 in 2001 and The Hits Taupo in 2014.
1ZB Auckland 1080AM Originally 1ZB and then Newstalk 1ZB now Newstalk ZB (the first Newstalk ZB station)
1ZC Rotorua 1350AM Originally on 1520, Radio Geyserland moved to 1350 in early '65, rebranded as Rotorua's Classic Hits 97.5 in 1993 and The Hits Rotorua in 2014
1ZD Tauranga 1008AM Opened simply as 1ZD/1000, Radio B.O.P. rebranded as Classic Hits 95 BOP FM in 1993 and The Hits Bay of Plenty in 2014. Now Newstalk ZB.
1ZE Kaikohe 1215AM Relay of Radio Northland programme which is now The Hits Northland
1ZH Hamilton 1296AM H = Hamilton Originally 1XH/1310 and later ZHFM rebranded as Waikato's Classic Hits 98.6 ZHFM in 1993 and The Hits Waikato in 2014
1ZJ Auckland Commenced November 1930 - close December 1938.
1ZK Kaitaia 1026AM K = Kaitaia Relay of Radio Northland programme which is now The Hits Northland
1ZM Auckland (originally Manurewa) 1251AM M = Manurewa Originally 1ZM or 1251ZM. Classic Hits 1251 from 1987 to 1989. Frequency taken over by Radio Rhema in 1989 with Classic Hits 1251 moving to 97.4FM rebranded as Classic Hits 97FM.
1ZN Whangarei 1026AM Originally Radio Northland, Classic Hits Northland from 1993 and The Hits Northland from 2014
1ZO Tokoroa 1413AM Originally Radio Forestland, Classic Hits Forestland 96.4 from 2001 and The Hits South Waikato from 2014.
1ZQ Auckland Commenced August 1926 - closed March 1933.
1ZR Auckland Commenced December 1930 - closed December 1933.
1ZS Auckland Commenced January 1931 - closed June 1934
1ZT Turangi 1386AM T = Turangi Relay of Radio Lakeland, rebranded as Classic Hits 96.7 in 2001 and The Hits Taupo in 2014.
1ZU Taumarunui 1512AM King Country Radio from 1966, rebranded as Classic Hits King Country Radio in 2001. Closed down in 2010.
1ZW Te Kuiti 1170AM W = Waitomo Originally Radio Waitomo - became Classic Hits Radio Waitomo, subsequently renamed back to Radio Waitomo - station closed permanently in 2005.

FM stations

Stations that originally broadcast on an FM frequency or existing stations that were assigned a new call sign after beginning broadcasting on FM.

Call sign Station Location Call sign Meaning Notes
1KCC Northland Originally KCC FM, now More FM Northland.
1MJK Auckland MJK = Magic Used for Magic 91FM in Auckland. Station no longer operating and frequency used for 91ZM
1ROQ Auckland Used for 89 Stereo FM. Station no longer operating and frequency used for Newstalk ZB
1STU Auckland STUdent radio Used for 95bFM Auckland
1ACP Auckland A = Auckland CP = Concert Programme Used for Radio New Zealand Concert
1KIW Waikato KIW = Kiwi Used for 89.8 Kiwi FM. Station no longer in operation and frequency used for 89-8ZM
1WCP Waikato W = Waikato CP = Concert Programme Used for Radio New Zealand Concert
1GEY Rotorua GEY = Geyserland Used for Radio Geyserland, became Rotorua's Classic Hits 97.5 in 1993 and The Hits Rotorua in 2014
1KIS Taupō Used for KIS FM Taupo, now More FM Taupo
1TRR Taupō T = Taupo RR = Radio Rhema Radio Rhema Taupo

AM stations

Radio stations that originally broadcast on an AM frequency.

Call sign Station Location Original AM Frequency Call sign Meaning Notes
2XA Levin 1602AM Originally assigned to 1200 in Whānganui, which became 2ZW. Call sign then allocated for Radio for the Print Disabled, based in Levin
2XG Wellington 1503AM, now on 972AM. Call sign allocated for Radio Rhema.
2XM Wellington 1161AM M = Maori Originally for private station 1180/Gisborne till the owner's death in early 60's, when 1180 became 2YW. Call sign allocated to Te Upoko O Te Ika on the former 2ZM frequency
2XO Wellington 1233AM Call sign allocated when BBC World Service was on air in Wellington in the 1990s, frequency now used by Radio Live
2XP Wellington 711AM P = Pacific Call sign allocated to Radio Pacific's Wellington frequency, now B Sport
2XQ Wellington 1323AM Call sign that was allocated for Radio Aotearoa when on the air in early 1990s in Wellington
2XS Palmerston North 828AM Originally used for 2XS, Call Sign for 2XS became 2XXS after switching to FM. 2XS used for Magic 828 & 98.6FM which is now The Breeze Manawatu
2XX Kapiti 1377AM Originally 2XX now More FM Kapiti
2XW Wellington 1080AM then 891AM W = Wellington or Radio Windy Originally Radio Windy now The Breeze Wellington
2YA Wellington 567AM Radio NZ National network
2YB Wellington 783AM Call sign used for Access Radio Wellington
2YC Wellington 657AM C = Concert Formerly used for Radio NZ Concert programme
2YM Palmerston North 1449AM Radio NZ National network
2YX Nelson 1116AM Radio NZ National network
2ZA Palmerston North 927AM Originally 2ZA, rebranded Manawatu's Classic Hits 97.8 ZAFM in 1993, rebranded as The Hits Manawatu in 2014.
2ZB Wellington 1035AM Originally 2ZB, now part of Newstalk ZB
2ZC Napier 1278AM Originally Bay City Radio, rebranded as Hawke's Bay's Classic Hits 89.5 in 1994, rebranded as The Hits Hawke's Bay in 2014
2ZD Masterton 846AM Originally Radio Wairarapa became Classic Hits Wairarapa 90.1 in 2001 and The Hits Wairarapa in 2014.
2ZE Blenheim 1539AM Call sign was originally used for the Blenheim frequency of Radio Marlborough, which became Classic Hits Marlborough 96.9 in 2001 and The Hits Marlborough in 2014. Today a station in Eketahuna called 2ZE operates. The E = Eketahuna, this station is a private station was never part of Radio New Zealand's Commercial group of stations.
2ZF Picton 1584AM Call sign for Picton frequency of Radio Marlborough, known as Classic Hits Marlborough 96.9 since 2001 and The Hits Marlborough since 2014.
2ZG Gisborne 945AM G = Gisborne Originally 2XG/1160, 2ZG The Coaster, became Gisborne's Classic Hits 90.9 ZGFM in 1993, rebranded as The Hits Gisborne in 2014.
2ZH Hāwera 1557AM H = Hawera Originally as a relay station for Radio Taranaki, Radio Taranaki began broadcasting on 90.0FM in 1991 and became Taranaki's Classic Hits 90FM in 1993 and The Hits Taranaki from 2014. The 1557AM frequency was used for Newstalk ZB from 1993 to 2005 and is now used for Coast.
2ZK Hawkes Bay 765AM Started as 77ZK or Radio Apple, frequency later used for local station 96FM and now used for ZM
2ZM Wellington 1161AM M = Music Now part of ZM
2ZN Nelson 1341AM N = Nelson Originally 2XN/1360. Used for Radio Nelson which became Nelson's Classic Hits 90FM in 1993 and The Hits Nelson in 2014.
2ZP New Plymouth 1053AM P = New Plymouth Opened as 2XP/1370 in the late 40's .Became 1ZP Radio Taranaki. Radio Taranaki began broadcasting on 90.0FM in 1991 and became Taranaki's Classic Hits 90FM in 1993 and The Hits Taranaki from 2014. Frequency has been used for Newstalk ZB since 1993.
2ZW Wanganui 1197AM W = Wanganui Opened as 2XA/1200 in the late 40's Originally used for 2ZW which later became River City Radio. Station became Classic Hits River City FM in 2001 and The Hits Whānganui from 2014.

FM stations

Stations that originally broadcast on an FM frequency or existing stations that were assigned a new call sign after beginning broadcasting on FM.

Call sign Station Location Call sign Meaning Notes
2NRG New Plymouth NRG = Energy Assigned to Energy FM when station began broadcasting. Station branded as More FM Taranaki.
2ZZP New Plymouth P = New Plymouth Assigned to Radio Taranaki when station began broadcasting on FM, 2ZP used for AM frequency. Station branded as Taranaki's Classic Hits 90FM from 1993 and The Hits Taranaki since 2014.
2HCP Hawkes Bay H = Hawkes Bay CP = Concert Programme Radio New Zealand Concert
2BAY Hawkes Bay BAY = Radio Hawkes Bay Originally used for Radio Hawkes Bay which became HOT 93FM and later More FM Hawke's Bay
2ZZK Hawkes Bay Originally used for 77ZK Radio Apple as 2ZK, FM call sign was 2ZZK and station was later branded as Greatest Hits FM96 and later Classic Rock 96FM. Station was replaced with Radio Hauraki and later ZM.
2SON Hawkes Bay SON = Son FM Used for Son FM
2MCP Manawatu M = Manawatu CP = Concert Programme Radio New Zealand Concert
2MMM Manawatu Radio Control
2MZM Manawatu M = Manawatu ZM Original call sign for ZMFM when relay from Wellington was established. Later replaced with 2QQ FM in 1989 and then reverted to 91ZM in 1997.
2XXS Manawatu Used for 2XS FM in Palmerston North after switching to FM now More FM Manawatu
2ZZM Wellington M = Music Call sign used for ZMFM Wellington after switching to FM
2WCP Wellington W = Wellington CP = Concert Programme Radio New Zealand Concert
2VUW Wellington VU = Victoria University W = Wellington Radio Active
2FFF Nelson Used for Fifeshire FM, now More FM Nelson
2NCP Nelson N = Nelson CP = Concert Programme Radio New Zealand Concert
2STA Blenheim Used for Easy FM, now The Breeze Marlborough

AM stations

Radio stations that originally broadcast on an AM frequency.

Call sign Location Original AM Frequency Call sign Meaning Notes
3XA Christchurch 1260AM A = Avon Radio Avon, this station merged with C93FM which was closed down in 2001. FM frequency was replaced with network station Solid Gold. Solid Gold was rebranded as The Sound in 2012.
3XG Christchurch 1575AM Radio Rhema Christchurch
3XP Christchurch 1413AM Still operating today as Radio Ferrymead
3YA Christchurch 675AM Radio NZ National network
3YC Christchurch 963AM C = Concert Formerly used for Radio NZ Concert programme
3YW Westport 1458AM W = Westport Radio NZ National network, still broadcasting on 1458AM
3YZ Greymouth 918AM Radio NZ National network, FM only now
3ZA Greymouth 747AM Used to broadcast Radio Scenicland which became Scenicland FM in November 1992, then West Coast's Classic Hits Scenicland FM in 2001 and The Hits West Coast in 2014.
3ZB Christchurch 1098AM Now part of Newstalk ZB
3ZC Timaru 1152AM Originally Radio Caroline, became Classic Hits 99FM in 1995, South Canterbury's 99FM in 1997 (after leaving the Classic Hits network) and Classic Hits 99FM in 2001 (after rejoining the Classic Hits network) and The Hits South Canterbury from 2014.
3ZE Ashburton 873AM Originally 3ZE, became Ashburton's Classic Hits 92.5 ZEFM in 2001 and The Hits Ashburton since 2014.
3ZM Christchurch 1323AM M = Music Now part of ZM
3ZO Twizel 1485AM Twizel call sign for relay of Radio Caroline programme, discontinued in the 1990s.
3ZR Reefton 1521AM R = Reefton Used to broadcast Radio Scenicland which became Scenicland FM in November 1992, then West Coast's Classic Hits Scenicland FM in 2001 and The Hits West Coast in 2014

FM stations

Stations that originally broadcast on an FM frequency or existing stations that were assigned a new call sign after beginning broadcasting on FM.

Call sign Station Location Call sign Meaning Notes
3CCP Christchurch C = Christchurch CP = Concert Programme Radio New Zealand Concert
3CCT Christchurch Plains FM
3FMX Christchurch Used for C93FM Christchurch, station no longer in operation and frequency used for Solid Gold
3RDU Christchurch Used for RDU-FM
3ZZM Christchurch M = Music Call sign used for ZMFM Christchurch after switching to FM

AM stations

Radio stations that originally broadcast on an AM frequency.

Call sign Location Original AM frequency Call sign Meaning Notes
4XA Central Otago 531AM A = Alexandra Originally Radio Central now More FM Central Otago
4XC Queenstown 1359AM Originally Resort Radio now More FM Queenstown
4XD Dunedin 1431 and 1305 AM D = Dunedin The very first radio station in New Zealand Radio Dunedin
4XE Wanaka Radio Wanaka
4XF Southland 1224AM F = Foveaux Radio Originally Foveaux Radio and later Foveaux FM now More FM Southland. The 1224AM frequency has been used to broadcast LiveSport since 2007.
4XI Southland 1548AM I = Invercargill Original frequency for Radio Rhema Southland used for tests in 1987
4XL Southland 1404AM Radio Rhema Southland
4XO Dunedin 1206AM Originally known as 4XO now More FM Dunedin
4YA Dunedin 810AM Radio NZ National network
4YC Dunedin 900AM C = Concert Formerly used for Radio NZ Concert programme
4YQ Queenstown 1134AM Q = Queenstown Radio NZ National network and was once used as a relay of the 4ZB programme.
4YW Alexandra 639AM Radio NZ National network and was once used as a relay of the 4ZB programme.
4YZ Southland 720AM Radio NZ National network
4ZA Invercargill 864AM Used to broadcast 4ZA, began broadcasting on 98.8FM in 1991. 4ZA became known as Classic Hits ZAM since 1993 and The Hits Southland since 2014. The 864AM frequency has been used to broadcast Newstalk ZB since 1994.
4ZB Dunedin 1044AM Originally 4ZB. Became ZBFM when the station began broadcasting on 89.4FM, rebranded as Classic Hits 89FM in 1993 and The Hits Dunedin in 2014. The 1044AM frequency has been used to broadcast Newstalk ZB since 1994.
4ZG Gore 558AM G = Gore Originally Hokonui Radio or 4ZG now known as Hokonui Gold
4ZW Oamaru 1395AM W = Waitaki Originally Radio Waitaki. Began broadcasting on 89.4FM in 2001 coinciding with the rebrand as Classic Hits Radio Waitaki. Became The Hits Oamaru in 2014. The 1395AM frequency has been used to broadcast Newstalk ZB since 2001.

FM stations

Stations that originally broadcast on an FM frequency or existing stations that were assigned a new call sign after beginning broadcasting on FM.

Call sign Station Location Call sign Meaning Notes
4SKI Queenstown Used by Q92 FM Queenstown, now The Breeze Queenstown
4DCP Dunedin D = Dunedin CP = Concert Programme Radio New Zealand Concert
4SAO Dunedin Radio One
4ZZB Dunedin Call sign used for 4ZB FM frequency, station branded as ZBFM after switching to FM, followed by Classic Hits 89FM in 1993 and The Hits Dunedin in 2014.
4SCP Southland S = Southland CP = Concert Programme Radio New Zealand Concert
4KYG Invercargill KYG = Knox Youth Group Crossfire FM - a short term broadcast during 1990 by a city youth group.

Maritime Radio

Coastal radio stations operated by the New Zealand Post Office to serve shipping traffic were allocated callsigns consisting of the ZL prefix and a single letter. The only remaining coastal station as of 2018 is Taupo Maritime Radio ZLM, operated by Kordia on behalf of Maritime New Zealand.[7]

Call Sign Station Period of Operation Notes
ZLA Awanui Radio 18 December 1913 – 10 February 1930[8] NZA until 5 July 1912, then VLA until 31 December 1928
ZLB Awarua Radio 18 December 1913 – 30 August 1991[9] VLB until 31 December 1928
ZLC Chatham Islands Radio 18 September 1913 – 30 August 1991[10] VLC until 31 December 1928
ZLD Auckland Radio 24 October 1912 – 30 September 1993[11] NZK until 5 July 1912, then VLD until 31 December 1928
ZLM Taupo Maritime Radio Unknown, but still in operation Operated remotely from Maritime Operations Centre, Avalon, Lower Hutt[12]
ZLQ Scott Base January 1957 – March 1992 NZPO (Later Telecom New Zealand) provided HF voice & telex links to New Zealand until commissioning of Satellite Earth Station in 1992 - ZLQ still used for local, deep field & back up intercontinental HF SSB communications [13]
ZLW Wellington Radio 26 July 1911 – 30 September 1993[14] NZW until 5 July 1912, then VLW until 31 December 1928
ZLX, ZLZ Himatangi Radio 9 November 1953 – 30 September 1993[15]

See also

References
  1. Radio Spectrum Management
  2. http://www.nzvrs.pl.net/ccc/Orbell/milestones%20etc.pdf
  3. "International Prefixes Starting With Letters". Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  4. International Telecommunication Union country call sign assignments Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "PIB 46 Radio Operator Certificate and Callsign Rules EDITION 009" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  6. "New Zealand Radio Operator Certificate and Callsign Rules Part B, Section 4". Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  7. Radio Handbook (PDF) (Fourth ed.), Wellington, New Zealand: Maritime New Zealand, 2016, p. 47
  8. "Awanui Radio ZLA". maritimeradio.org. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  9. "Awarua Radio ZLB". maritimeradio.org. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  10. "Chatham Islands Radio ZLC". maritimeradio.org. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  11. "Auckland Radio ZLD". maritimeradio.org. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  12. "Taupo Maritime Radio ZLM". maritimeradio.org. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  13. http://www.comnap.aq/atom
  14. "Wellington Radio ZLW". maritimeradio.org. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  15. "Himatangi Radio ZLX/ZLZ". maritimeradio.org. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
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