Vector added to Auckland broadband negotiations

Thursday 17th February 2011

Both network company Vector and Telecom are now in prioritised negotiations with government agency Crown Fibre Holdings (CFH) over the rollout of the Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) initiative in Auckland.

CFH confirmed today it had decided to negotiate with Vector for the Auckland candidate area, having announced in mid-December it was holding priority negotiations with Telecom for the $1.5 billion UFB initiative in Auckland and much of the rest of the country.

Vector met many of the Crown's key criteria in areas such as access prices, funding, industry experience and financial backing, CFH chairman Simon Allen said today.

"Auckland is attractive for UFB investment in terms of its population and likely demand profile, with a preponderance of businesses, health premises and schools. It is great to have two parties, Telecom and Vector, actively seeking to become the Crown's partner for this candidate area," Allen said.

Communications and Information Technology Minister Steven Joyce said that having CFH in advanced negotiations with Vector meant there were now two strong candidates in the picture for Auckland.

Vector chief executive Simon Mackenzie said Vector's proposal was to deliver fibre to the door of every premise in Auckland within eight years.

"Vector can build a world class fibre network quickly and is ready to start as soon as these negotiations are concluded."

NZPA

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