RNZ Pacific is New Zealand's official international broadcaster and the country's only shortwave station. Launched in its modern form on 24 January 1990 and rebranded from Radio New Zealand International in May 2017, it broadcasts from Wellington studios via transmitters at Rangitaiki, near Taupō. Its 24-hour service carries news, current affairs and sport in English plus news in seven Pacific languages, reaching island nations from East Timor to French Polynesia. Around twenty Pacific partner stations rebroadcast its programmes, and its cyclone watch service provides vital warnings when local stations are knocked off air.
