Rollout of faster broadband to remote East Cape schools complete

All twelve rural schools in remote locations around Gisborne and Wairoa now have faster broadband, as a result of the Government’s broadband initiatives, Communications and Information Technology Minister Amy Adams announced today.

Local communications company Gisborne Net has successfully completed the installation of point-to-point wireless broadband for the 12 schools, under a contract signed with the Government last year.

The 12 Gisborne and Wairoa schools are among 57 across New Zealand which will get faster broadband under the Remote Schools Broadband Initiative, because they are beyond the reach of cost-effective fibre deployment.

The schools will have access to broadband capable of peak speeds of at least 10 megabits per second (about four times faster than previous services).

To date, 39 schools have received faster broadband under the Remote Schools Broadband Initiative.

“Schools are a priority for faster broadband, because of the increasingly important role that technology plays in our children’s education,” Ms Adams says.

“Improving broadband for remote schools will break down the barriers imposed by distance and isolation by giving better access to information, online teaching resources, and video conferencing.

“Many of these schools have until now relied on using satellite broadband and have had to manage with small data caps and slow speeds. This project will make a tremendous difference for students and teachers at these schools.”

All the communities surrounding the schools connected by Gisborne Net have also benefited from the additional coverage the new infrastructure has provided.

More than 90 per cent of the more than 1000 remote rural households in these areas, which are outside the coverage of the Rural Broadband Initiative, have received faster and more reliable broadband as a result of the infrastructure built for the schools.

To ensure this will be an affordable service for the schools, maximum monthly retail prices have been agreed with Gisborne Net as part of the Government’s contract.

The 12 Gisborne and Wairoa schools are: Ngatapa School, Motu School, Waipiro School, Mata Road School, Waipaoa School, Whatatutu School, Rere School, Waerengi-O-Kuri School, Tiniroto School, Ruakituri School, Ohuka School, and Putere School.

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