New Zealand breaks ground on countrywide broadband network

The New Zealand government is making good on its Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) plan by laying the first section of fiber cable in Hamilton, NZ.

Upon completion, the Hamilton deployment which includes Te Awamutu and Cambridge, will connect over 200,000 people, including about 4,000 businesses, some 650 medical centers and 63 schools. Network buildouts in Tauranga and Wanganui will begin in a few weeks.

Among the first 4,000 businesses that will be able to take advantage of the new network and its improved bandwidth capabilities will be Stainless Design.

Built as an open access network, retail service providers will be able to purchase wholesale capacity on the network to deliver services to their respective business and consumer customers at what New Zealand's Communications minister Steven Joyce said will be competitively priced.

"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," Joyce said in a statement.

For more:
- TeleGeography has this article

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