SouthPAN helps Central Otago Council cut costs and boost productivity

Achieving high-accuracy mapping while reducing time and costs are just some of the benefits the Central Otago District Council has welcomed following successful testing of the Government’s SouthPAN service. 

SouthPAN, a Satellite-Based Augmentation System or ‘SBAS’ is a joint initiative between Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) and Geoscience Australia. 

The free service improves the accuracy of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) such as GPS, from 5-10 metres to less than one metre, and in some cases as little as 10cm.

The Council tested SouthPAN’s L1 SBAS service and achieved 30-50 cm accuracy. This shows SouthPAN is suitable for about 75 percent of the council’s mapping requirements, at a fraction of the cost of traditional professional-grade GNSS solutions.

Tony Hollows, GIS Lead at the Central Otago District Council (CODC) says SouthPAN helps the council avoid the expensive cost of high-accuracy receivers and subscriptions. 

“It gives us reliable precision for most of our day-to-day work, without needing specialist equipment or training,” says Mr Hollows.

With SouthPAN, councils can collect accurate spatial data direct from satellite, almost anywhere, without relying on mobile networks or costly systems. 

SouthPAN programme director at LINZ, Michael Appleyard, says local and regional councils rely on precise location data to manage infrastructure such as water networks, roads and parks. 

He says until now, achieving this precision often required councils to invest in expensive equipment, software licences, training, and time-consuming data processing. 

The SouthPAN service is open-access and compatible with a wide range of GNSS receivers. This means precise positioning is accessible to more field staff which in turn improves productivity, reduces downtime and supports better quality data for long term planning.

Mr Appleyard says this is good news for ratepayers and he’s hopeful more councils will take up the technology and follow the CODC’s lead:

“SouthPAN can support councils to plan and respond more quickly. Whether it’s maintaining underground utilities, mapping parks and roads, or supporting an emergency response SouthPAN enables quicker, more precise work that saves both time and ratepayer money. 

“The results highlight how SouthPAN gives councils a way to improve asset management without increasing their technology budgets. It supports better data-driven decisions and makes accurate mapping accessible to everyone,” says Mr Appleyard.

SouthPAN services are freely available across New Zealand and Australia. 

Councils and organisations can participate in a free test with LINZ by emailing southpan@linz.govt.nz

Read more about the CODC SouthPAN case study: A cost-effective, flexible and precise positioning solution.