Andrew Taylor
FOUNDING DIRECTOR
Andrew began his telecommunications career with the New Zealand Post Office in 1980, back when operators had to plug cords into holes to connect toll calls. Over the years, he gained extensive knowledge of PABX systems and kept abreast of the technological advancements within the industry. He co-founded Phocal Communications in 1997, which has grown into one of Rotorua’s leading telecommunications companies. Over the years, Andrew has adapted and diversified his skills and expertise. Along with his PABX mastery, he also specialises in video surveillance solutions, data cabling and playing poker.
Ira Te Kani
BUSINESS MANAGER
Ira is Phocal’s rose amongst the thorns. Her even temperament and sharp wit keep the rest of the team in line and her excellent phone etiquette ensures that people ring Phocal more than once. While only officially in charge of accounts, Ira’s reach extends to virtually all areas of business. Her day-to-day jobs span from minor tasks, such as sending out all invoices and managing customer accounts, all the way up to the absolutely crucial, such as ensuring the coffee machine remains fully stocked. Ira originally trained as a secretary and PA, before spending the last 20 years as Business Manager at Phocal.
Tom Moffatt
Telecommunications Technician
After graduating from Plymouth University (UK) with a Bachelor of Science with Honours, Tom travelled the world, avoiding work wherever possible. He then began a 12-year-long primary school teaching career, focusing on integrating technology into classrooms and finding faults in the education system. In 2014, he turned his attention towards telecommunications. He now takes great pleasure in finding PABX faults, setting up VOIP connections and all the other intricacies of this ever-changing industry.
Allen Newson
IT Engineer
Allen first started fiddling with computers when floppy disks were still in fashion. His early IT education came via home-schooling, which essentially involved several years of taking computers apart and putting them back together again. Since then he has accrued more than 20 years’ worth of business experience and spare parts. Nowadays, he specialises in most things, but considers computers, networking and WiFi to be towards the top of his skill-set list.
Dale Mudgway
IT & TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNICIAN
Dale graduated from Toi Ohomai University with straight A’s in Network Engineering and now does the dishes at Phocal. If everyone else is busy we might send him out on the occasional job, but don’t want his knowledge and over-achieving nature make the rest of us look bad. Fortunately for us, his all-round skillset means that he is handy on most jobs, including IT, phones, cabling and security cameras. He can also make a great cup of coffee.