Satellite Broadband Solution for Rural Residents

Satellite Broadband Provides Solutions for Frustrated Rural Residents

Media release, 26 September 2007, BayCity Communications, Christchurch, New Zealand: There is no excuse for rural New Zealanders to be disadvantaged in comparison with their city cousins, by not receiving broadband services to their properties, according to general manager of BayCity Communications, Duncan Boennic.

Boennic says that disadvantage should no longer be simply accepted as something that could only be changed through expensive and time consuming installations of fibre optic or copper wire terrestrial phone services, or wireless towers using radio or cellular technology.

"Right now, today, New Zealanders already have access to high quality broadband via satellite services – in fact almost every location in the country should be able to access communications beamed from the IPSTAR satellite."

BayCity Communications is the National Service Operator for the IPSTAR1 satellite, contracted in March this year to deliver wholesale access to the two-way telecommunications services delivered by the newest and largest comms satellite in orbit.

"In the past few years, satellite services on the old Optus satellite were largely one way, slow and unreliable but IPSTAR's launch in 2006 by Shin Satellite has brought a new dimension to satellite based telecommunications," he says.

The delivery of satellite broadband through providers Farmside, Orcon, ICONZ, Snap, Wireless Nation and Natcom ensures that a range of plans and pricing options are available to consumers.

One of the major issues to be addressed is the initial cost of setting up a satellite connection, no matter what the location.

According to Boennic, this is where the government can step in to the equation and match steps already taken by the Australian government in the form of their Broadband Connect subsidy programme.

"If the New Zealand government is serious about providing equality of access to broadband services for all New Zealanders, we believe there are steps they can take to very quickly make these services available and more affordable for everyone."

Residential suppliers of satellite broadband in New Zealand generally have two structures for installation and the cost of the satellite dish – either a higher upfront charge that includes the price of the dish followed by the monthly cost of services, or a one-off installation cost and then a monthly access fee plus services that effectively covers the price of the equipment.

"We believe that satellite broadband services would become even more accessible for all New Zealanders if there was a subsidy that assists with the cost of installing the dish on a customer's roof, or contributes towards the cost of a dish for each property."

"Effectively, the dishes themselves are the equivalent of Telecom's network – once they are installed the service is rapidly up and running, immediately delivering all the benefits broadband has to offer."

Price wise, the cost of supplying the dishes and installation to a community is extremely competitive with any alternative technologies which all require the construction of new or extended physical networks, be it wireless towers or fibre optic cables.

With the TSO (Telecommunications Service Obligations) currently under review, the opportunity exists for rural residents to help make a case for subsidised satellite broadband services in their areas by sending a letter or submission to the Ministry of Economic Development before the October 15 deadline.

Boennic says now is the time for rural communities to truly make their voices heard and demand access to broadband services that are already available and easily delivered.

ENDS

About BayCity Communications Ltd

BayCity Communications is the National Service Operator for a range of satellite based communication products throughout New Zealand, including broadband Internet, Voice over IP, IPTV and satellite TV. BayCity Communications has exclusive access to the IPSTAR telecommunications satellite in New Zealand and is contracted to provide New Zealand service providers with a range of wholesale bandwidth. The IPSTAR satellite was launched in 2006 and is the largest two-way communications satellite of its kind. Visit www.bccnz.com for more information.

About The BayCity Group

The BayCity Group leads New Zealand in the innovation and supply of rural productivity and access solutions. Ranked “Most Exciting Telecommunications Company” 2006, NBR Survey, the BayCity Group now includes Farmside, BayCity Communications and BayCity Technology.

ENDS

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