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Digital Inclusion

New Zealand rolls out fibre-optic network

By Pia Rufino | 25 August 2011

The government, and Telecom’s network arm, Chorus, has deployed the first fibre in Northern New Zealand as part of the government’s Ultra-Fast Broadband initiative (UFB) that will see 75 per cent of New Zealanders connected to broadband speeds of 100Mbps.

Communications and IT Minister Steven Joyce said UFB will see fibre rolled out to more than 50,000 premises around New Zealand in the next twelve months including schools, hospitals and businesses.

Chorus’ NZ$3.5 billion (US$2.88 billion) fibre-optic network will connect around 17,000 premises in Auckland, the largest and most populous urban area in the country over the next year.

The full rollout which is expected to finish in eight-and-a-half years will deliver 25,000km of fibre enabling connections to 1.1 million homes, over 100,000 businesses, more than 1300 schools and over 6,000 medical facilities.

The project would enable three quarters of New Zealanders to connect to broadband speeds of at least 100Mbps in the urban areas which is about 50 times the speeds currently available in major centres.

“The deployment of this new digital technology will be the most transformative infrastructure project New Zealand has seen since reticulated electricity. It will change the way we work, the way we learn, the way we receive healthcare and the way we live our lives,” Joyce said.

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