Our History
Ashley Communications is a modern company with a long history in the South Canterbury and North Otago regions.
The original company, Ashley's Electronics Ltd, was founded in the mid 1930's and among other things charged batteries and sold bicycles. The focus then shifted to televisions, and then changed direction again during the 1970's when we became a Tait mobile radio dealer.
In 1984 David Thomson purchased the business from the original Ashley family.
The Government deregulation of the radio industry in 1989 cleared the way for Ashley's Electronics to move from not just providing two way radio equipment but also providing radio network services and at this point the company began to develop its own high level repeater sites. From then our network has kept on expanding and we are proud to be able to offer bespoke radio network solutions to our customers today.
Kevin & Tom Ashley
Ashley Electronics Ltd changed hands again in 2020 to the current owner Carl Garner, and was renamed Ashley Communications Ltd to better reflect the main focus of the business.
In November 2021, Ashley Communications expanded south and acquired what was Jackson and Wills communications in Invercargill.
Jackson and Wills also has a rich history, dating back to 1947 where Doug Jackson and Maurice Wills first started the company and were the first to bring commercial VHF radio to Southland.
In February 2023, Ashley Communications acquired what was Central Radio Services in Dunedin. CRS have been around since 1989, operating analogue and digital radio networks across Central Otago