A man facing arson charges in New Zealand has refused to answer questions asked by the judge.

As reported by RNZ, 41-year-old Daniel Miller kept quiet when asked questions by Judge Catriona Doyle during court earlier today (January 26).

He refused to answer questions, declined to acknowledge whether he understood the proceedings, and asked Doyle if she was using her full and legal name.

Miller, who is representing himself in court, was slapped with arson charges in October of last year following a spate of cell fire attacks in Wānaka.

The attacks were reportedly carried out over several months, with Miller also charged in relation to the Lindis Pass cell tower arson in early July.

A cell tower in Wānaka hosting One NZ equipment was knocked offline in early October after a fire. A Connexa cell tower was also damaged but remained online.

This followed two fires in September that knocked two cell towers offline, impacting cell coverage for both One NZ and Spark customers. Another tower, outside of town on State Highway 8 at Lindis Pass-Tarra Road, was damaged in July.

Wānaka is a ski and summer resort town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand, located at the southern end of Lake Wānaka.

Miller is set to remain in custody until an expected trial later this year.

DCD has covered the impact of attacks against telecoms infrastructure in Issue 58 of DCD>Magazine. Read more here.