New Zealand - Ultra-Fast Broadband Network - Overview and Analysis - Background Report - 2010

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.

This report is not updated anymore and is provided for reference purposes. More recent information is available in other reports from the BuddeComm site: www.budde.com.au including New Zealand - Ultra-Fast Broadband Network - Overview and Analysis.

Companies mentioned

Companies mentioned in this report include –Telecom, Chorus, Crown Fibre Holdings, Vodafone, Northpower Ltd, Ultra Fast Fibre Limited.

Hot topics and technologies mentioned

Hot topics and technologies mentioned in this report include – Fibre, Ultra-Fast Broadband Network, wireless broadband.