Mayor welcomes ultra fast broadband announcement for Wanganui - 7/12/2010

Mayor Annette Main today welcomed the announcement that Wanganui will be one of the first cities to receive ultra fast broadband under the government’s $1.35 billion initiative.

Communications Minister Steven Joyce said that Crown Fibre Holdings has signed deals with lines firms Northpower and UltraFast Fibre Ltd - owned by WEL Networks - to begin laying fibre optic cable. Wanganui is part of the area covered by UltraFast Fibre Ltd.

“Ultra fast broadband will give a huge advantage to communities in terms of business opportunities, and benefits for individuals,” Ms Main said.

“It has been a long time coming and I’m delighted the announcement has finally been made. The previous council and our staff have worked long and hard to ensure Wanganui is one of the first recipients of ultra fast broadband and I thank them for their commitment.

“Thanks also to everyone in our community who has supported our bid for ultra fast broadband. We received a great response to our ‘Wanganui - First in Fibre’ campaign which enabled the community to register their support.

“The Wanganui Education Loop has also supported the council in driving the project forward and identifying the benefits for our city.

“While the finer details are not yet known, we hope that Wanganui will be one of the very first – if not the first community – to receive ultra fast broadband.”

UltraFast Fibre is expected to begin deploying fibre early next year.

For the household user, ultra fast broadband will mean faster speeds at lower cost (download of 30 MB/second and potentially up to 100 MB/second). There will be no connection fees for urban households and schools. Businesses will have the advantage of being able to send and receive very large computer files which are currently unmanageable.

Announcements on rural broadband initiatives are expected soon.