The ultra-fast broadband (UFB) rollout is picking up pace, with the first fibre laid in Auckland and plans to link up more than 50,000 premises throughout the country over the next year.
UFB contractor Chorus would lay fibre over the next 12 months in parts of Ashburton, Auckland, Blenheim, Dunedin, Masterton, Napier, Palmerston North, Rotorua, Taupo and Wellington, Communications Minister Steven Joyce announced today.
The announcement comes after Telecom was in May awarded the contract to build nearly three-quarters of the UFB in exchange for operationally separating its network arm Chorus.
About 1.1 million homes, more than 100,000 businesses, over 1300 schools and more than 6000 medical facilities would benefit from the rollout of more than 25,000km of fibre over the eight-and-a-half year UFB project, which would cost the Government some $1.3 billion.
Today's plans would see fibre rolled out to more than 50,000 premises.
The announcement comes as Mr Joyce and Chorus workers today laid the first fibre in Auckland.
Some 17,500 Auckland premises would be covered in the first year, with plans to deliver fibre to more than 1.4 million Aucklanders when the rollout was complete.
Mr Joyce said today's deployment plans showed excellent progress was being made on a project that would ultimately transform the New Zealand economy.
"This initiative will see 75 percent of New Zealanders connected to broadband speeds of 100Mbps or better. That's about 50 times the speeds currently available in our major centres."
UFB provided opportunities for businesses to work in new ways, schools to connect students to resources around the world, and specialist medical expertise to be available in more places through technologies such as high-definition video conferencing, Mr Joyce said.
Fibre to the door would also be available in homes, driving increased connectivity and access to new media, he said.
"Wholesale prices will be as low as half the price of current offerings for business services and residential customers will enjoy a vastly improved service for as much as they currently pay, or less."
Chorus chief executive Mark Ratcliffe said today marked a major step in delivering fast broadband.
"We're eager to work with partners and communities to bring our fibre network closer to more New Zealanders than ever before," he said.
Chorus was working with retail service providers to develop and launch new UFB wholesale services in the deployment areas from next year, and was opening up access to its existing business fibre services at reduced prices.
That meant businesses could begin to connect to Chorus' existing fibre services ahead of the UFB network deployment.
