Critical telecommunications equipment was unloaded off aircraft and replaced with other gear, on flights into regions cut off by Cyclone Gabrielle.
A new report into the emergency response says decisions were made about other items being more essential.
The report from the industry's Telecommunications Forum calls on the government to put a top priority on restoring comms in future emergencies.
It says this did not happen during Gabrielle.
Phil Pennington spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.
