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Government negotiating with Telecom, Vodafone on rural broadband

Monday 7th February 2011

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The Government has started commercial negotiations with Telecom and Vodafone to provide improved rural broadband services, Communications and Information Technology Minister Steven Joyce says.

Last November Telecom and Vodafone submitted a joint proposal to the $285 million Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI) tender and in December three proposals were short-listed for evaluation.

Today Joyce said the joint Vodafone/Telecom proposal was based on proven existing technology, and provided the Government with confidence it could be deployed.

The joint bid involved an extension of Telecom's fibre network to deliver fixed wireless and fixed wire broadband to 252,000 rural customers, and the construction of 154 fibre-connected cellphone towers to enable fixed wireless broadband to rural customers as well as improved mobile coverage, and the direct connection of 719 rural schools to fibre networks.

"The joint proposal was the only one that increases mobile coverage, and it will ensure serious competition in the last mile with many rural customers being able to choose from fixed wireless, ADSL2+ and mobile broadband," Joyce said.

Negotiations will be carried out during the first quarter of 2011 with the rollout due to be finished by 2016.

Joyce wants contracts signed with Telecom and Vodafone for their separate parts of the proposal by the end of this quarter.

"Should that not prove possible for any reason, the Government reserves the right to re-tender for the contract."

Strict open access rules would be included in any contract, and would promote healthy competition in the rural wholesale and retail broadband markets, Joyce said.

Other providers who had not been successful in the tender would be able to provide services using the Government-funded infrastructure.

Currently 20% of customers in rural New Zealand have access to speeds of at least 5 Mbps (megabits per second). That would rise to 86% of rural households and businesses, with 95% of rural schools receiving an ultra-fast connection.

 

NZPA



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