[Sitting date: 26 November 2014. Volume:702;Page:8. Text is subject to correction.]

8. SIMON O'CONNOR (National—Tāmaki) to the Minister for Communications : What recent reports has she received on the number of end users able to connect to the Government’s Ultra-Fast Broadband and Rural Broadband Initiative?

Hon AMY ADAMS (Minister for Communications): Last week I was pleased to announce that at the end of September 536,000 end users were able to connect, meaning that the ultra-fast broadband build is now 40 percent complete. We have seen a 39 percent increase in connections, taking connections across New Zealand to now more than 10 percent ahead of projections at this stage. A further 2,259 schools are fully fibred and ready for service. Te Awamutu recently became our second fully fibred town after Whangarei. For the rural programme, the build is now 70 percent complete, with 282 towers having been upgraded, 98 new towers having been built, 213,000 premises able to receive fixed wireless broadband, and an additional 75,000 fixed lines having been upgraded.

Simon O'Connor : What additional benefits has the upgrade to rural broadband services brought for New Zealanders?

Hon AMY ADAMS : Over the past 3 months alone we know that on just one mobile network more than 1.2 million unique users used the new Rural Broadband Initiative towers to make mobile calls, showing the versatility of the programme in providing a range of connectivity benefits. Improving mobile connectivity is key to driving productivity, which is why during the election campaign we announced that a further $50 million would be committed to a mobile black spot fund, part of this Government’s nearly $2 billion investment in telecommunications infrastructure.

ENDS

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