Aurora Energy has expressed disappointment at not being selected for the roll-out of the Government's ultra-fast broadband (UFB) initiative in Dunedin which instead would form part of Telecom's nationwide build.
Chief executive of the Dunedin City Council-owned energy company, Grady Cameron, said Aurora was disappointed at missing out on the opportunity to own its fibre future and to accelerate the deployment of a locally-owned, open-access fibre network in the city.
"Aurora Energy was a priority bidder in negotiations to deploy UFB in Dunedin. Being selected for those negotiations confirmed that we had a credible and attractive offer for Government consideration."
The company had considerable local knowledge and technical expertise in UFB deployment with the success of its existing Flute network in the city, he said.
Aurora would now focus its attention on working constructively with Telecom to achieve the best outcome for Dunedin homes, schools and businesses.
"We will be talking to Telecom in the coming weeks to offer our expertise and local capabilities to ensure a successful and timely UFB in Dunedin," Mr Cameron said.
The New Zealand Regional Fibre Group, of which Aurora was a member, still believed its members had a critical part to play in New Zealand's fibre network, chief executive Vaughan Baker said.
Some members might be considering partneringwith the contract UFB partners.
The Government would partner with Christchurch City Council-owned company Enable Networks.
"Our model has always been based on collaboration in building open-access fibre networks in our communities - which many of our members are doing right now," Mr Baker said.
Forsyth Barr broker Peter Young said infrastructure company Vector had also missed out on the Auckland UFB project.
"While Vector was competitive throughout the bidding process, we believe the biggest issue it could not overcome - and had no control over - was the lack of credible regional bids.
"This effectively meant the Government had little choice but to choose Telecom as Telecom is unlikely to have accepted rolling out fibre to the regions but not Auckland."
