Te Awamutu high-speed broadband rollout completed

MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release

3 October 2014

Te Awamutu high-speed broadband rollout completed

Ultrafast Fibre Limited today announced that Te Awamutu is officially the first town in the Waikato to be fully Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) capable.

According to Ultrafast Fibre Acting CEO William Hamilton, construction of the UFB network in the town was completed on budget and ahead of schedule.

“Te Awamutu is the first of the eight centres where we operate to be fully UFB capable. As a company we are thrilled to improve the way Te Awamutu communicates, works and plays online,” Mr Hamilton said

The uptake of UFB in Te Awamutu sits around four percent, with a significant rise expected following the town’s network completion.

Te Awamutu residents and businesses wanting to connect to UFB can do so through one of 29 broadband retailers offering services in the town.

The completed network in Te Awamutu totals 80 kilometres and includes 60km of underground cable and 20km of overhead cable. In total, the UFB network passes over 5,200 Te Awamutu homes and businesses combined.

The completion of the build in Te Awamutu by Ultrafast Fibre is part of a wider New Zealand government initiative that aims to bring UFB to 75% of New Zealand households by 2020.

Ultrafast Fibre builds, owns and operates the UFB fibre optic networks in Te Awamutu, Hamilton, Cambridge, Tauranga, Tokoroa, Whanganui, New Plymouth and Hawera.

According to Mr Hamilton, Hawera, Tokoroa and Cambridge are not far behind Te Awamutu, with all three towns expected to be fully UFB-capable by early 2015.

“The network in Cambridge is more than 70 percent complete, with UFB passing more than 4,700 premises so far. The build in Hawera and Tokoroa is more than 80 percent complete, with UFB already passing more than 4,000 and 3,400 premises in these towns respectively,” he said.

Ultrafast Fibre began construction of its 3,000 kilometre long Ultra-Fast Broadband network in 2011. Upon completion it will pass a total of around 163,000 premises in eight urban centres across the central North Island, representing around 13% of the national UFB network.

Ultrafast Fibre is a subsidiary of Waikato Networks Limited, which is owned 85% by WEL Networks Limited and 15% by Waipa Networks Limited.

Maps detailing the work being done by Ultrafast Fibre can be viewed at www.ultrafastbroadband.co.nz.

For more information, visit www.ultrafastfibre.co.nz

-ENDS-

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