Rural strategy has support of NZRFG

Rural strategy has support of NZRFG

Members of the New Zealand Regional Fibre Group are backing the Government’s commitment to extend the reach of ‘fast’ broadband to rural areas.

While welcoming a shift in stance from the Government to place more importance on community-wide broadband connectivity, the NZRFG is pleased that now extends beyond simply providing fibre connections to 97% of schools.

However, the group says the targeted performance level of the broadband proposed is substantially less than that which will be delivered in urban areas under the Government’s ultra-fast broadband initiative.

The NZRFG believes it is possible to deliver ultra-fast broadband to rural users as well as urban.

The group has been vocal in its push for broader rural communities to be on a par with proposed urban connectivity speeds of 100Mbit/s, and claims it can achieve such a target for much of the rural landscape, subject to Government contribution.

“While we applaud the explicit extension of the Government’s rural broadband initiative beyond fibre to schools to include communities, we believe the entire rural community deserves to benefit from the performance of fibre wherever possible,” says NZRFG spokesperson and Unison chief executive Ken Sutherland.

“This will work best with regional solutions and key to that success is ensuring a nationally co-ordinated, regionally based fibre rollout to agreed national technical standards.”

The vote of confidence in the Government’s expanded rural broadband policy comes as some members of the 19-strong group push on with their own fibre network builds into rural New Zealand.

And Mr Sutherland says the NZRFG is looking forward to collaborating with other broadband service providers and rural communities to develop the most appropriate fast broadband solution for those areas.

“We still believe that alternative funding models maybe required beyond the current level of Government grants to deliver ultra-fast broadband to rural New Zealand,” he says.

Despite the looming prospect of Government funding, the likes of Electricity Ashburton and Northpower (both NZRFG members) are laying the groundwork infrastructure for fibre to the farm connectivity.

In fact, Northpower has already constructed fibre in Dargaville - a town not included in the Government’s preferred 33 urban candidate areas - as part of an ongoing investment in its fibre network. Only last week Northpower announced its first residential fibre to the door build in Whangarei.

Electricity Ashburton network manager Brendon Quinn says his company is amidst a 240km fibre undergrounding project which already has farmers tapping into it. He says they are ecstatic to have ultra-fast broadband speeds, after being on dial up for years.

Meanwhile, Mr Sutherland says because NZRFG members are largely community owned and have extensive existing lines networks throughout New Zealand’s rural landscape, they are well placed to continue adding fibre to their infrastructure.

“The rural economy is the economic backbone of New Zealand - with primary product exports contributing $20 billion of our $50 billion export revenue annually – and clearly the Government recognises that. That’s why we believe fibre provides the gateway to economic productivity that rural New Zealanders need. It is critical infrastructure for our economic future.”

Under the UFB initiative, 75% of New Zealanders will benefit from broadband fibre connections of 100Mbit/s within 10 years – although the NZRFG has consistently stated it proposes take fibre connectivity to almost 80% of New Zealanders.

ENDS

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