New Zealand - Ultra-Fast Broadband Network - Overview and Analysis

Synopsis

The New Zealand government and the opposition Labor party both support the Ultra-Fast Broadband and the Regional Broadband Initiatives which will shape the telecommunications future of the country. The UFB/RBI will certainly not offer an immediate solution as it will take at least a decade to fully develop the infrastructure changes.

The initiatives have received widespread support. Based on a wholesale-only open network, the new infrastructure will set the country up for the new direction that is being taken in telecommunications – from a telephone, and in recent times an Internet network, to essential infrastructure for a range of other economic and social sectors.

In late 2010 the government announced the first UFB release sites and also provided some loose coverage targets for the RBI. It was also announced that schools, health services and other priority users will connect in 6-7 years, which is earlier than the 10-year completion commitment for the urban rollout. The $300 million figure which BuddeComm believes is insufficient for the rural rollout is still a figure being touted by the government. But the overall policy still lacks the fine details about the demands on the infrastructure from the healthcare, education and energy sectors, all of which are under the direct control of the government. These ‘content’ components need to be developed parallel to the infrastructure.

Table of Contents

• 1. Synopsis
• 2. Key details of the government’s plans
  • 2.1 Background information
  • 2.2 The backbone network
  • 2.3 Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI)
    • 2.3.1 Funding and usage
    • 2.3.2 Proposal for 1Gb/s to schools and 100Mb/s for Fibre-to-the-Farm (FttF)
    • 2.3.3 RBI action by end-2010 in Zone 4
• 3. First UFB winners announced in New Zealand
• 4. BuddeComm high-level analysis
  • 4.1 General comments
  • 4.2 Missing: trans-sector policies
• 5. Broader economic and social benefits
  • 5.1 Fundamental change to the economy
  • 5.2 Economic innovation and national purpose
  • 5.3 Savings can pay for infrastructure
• 6. Crown Fibre Holdings (CFH)
  • 6.1 An infrastructure company
  • 6.2 The role of the CFH
  • 6.3 Analysis on the role of CFH/LFCs
  • 6.4 Service-oriented architecture
  • 6.5 Governance and management
• 7. The role of Telecom
  • 7.1 Learning from similar international projects
  • 7.2 The reality of existing infrastructure
  • 7.3 Telstra and KPN are the international leaders
  • 7.4 Governments need to work with incumbents
  • 7.5 The debate the country needs to have
  • 7.6 UFB and operational separation – Chorus2 and ServCo
• 8. Related reports