Counties moves into broadband

By ADAM GIFFORD

Some Pukekohe business and residential customers could be getting high-speed broadband internet before Christmas from their electricity lines company.

Counties Power chief executive Neil Simmonds said work had started on a $20 million broadband network including both fibre and wireless, which will be marketed under the brand Wired Country.

Pilot sites should be live by the end of the year, and customers through the Franklin region should be able to sign up by Easter, making it one of the first regions to get real competition in the local loop.

"We are experts at network and infrastructure development," Simmonds said, "and it makes perfect sense for us to move into the area of building a leading communications network, to support the supply of superior voice and data services to the local community."

More than one service provider will have access to the network, creating a competitive environment. In that respect Counties Power is exporting the electricity industry model to telecommunications.

He said Counties Power wanted to prevent its region falling on the wrong side of the digital divide.

Counties Power owns 3000km of lines and supplies more than 25,000 residents and businesses on the southern fringes of Auckland. It is owned by a community trust.

"It is no secret that the Counties area has had problems with telecommunications services in the past. Counties Power has suffered as much as the next person or business here," Simmonds said.

"So, we are being proactive and building a vastly improved telecommunications network that the entire community will benefit from."

For its fibre network covering built up areas, Counties Power will use equipment from Worldwide Packets.

Although there will be some cables strung from lamp-posts, Simmonds said it would not be as intrusive as TelstraClear's Wellington cable network.

Rural Franklin will be covered by wireless technology. In August, the company bought two blocks of wireless local loop spectrum in the 3.4 to 3.6 GHz band for $1.24 million.

Tenders for supplying wireless equipment closed last week and a shortlist is being evaluated.

Counties Power business development manager Wayne Nicholas said Wired Country was talking to internet service providers and first- and second-tier telephone companies which wanted to retail voice and data services on the network, and should announce resellers in the next month.

"What is different to other networks is we are only offering a wholesale network so it is devoid of intelligence, we are setting up infrastructure so existing telcos can access it," he said.

Nicholas said wireless internet company UCC, which dropped out of the spectrum auction after striking a partnership deal with Counties Power, would not be involved.

That is because UCC's business is in creating a network. But UCC does have an option to lease Counties Power's frequencies for use in other parts of the country. UCC is on the shortlist to provide broadband in Northland with Walker Wireless and a Telecom-Broadcast Communications consortium.

Walker Wireless and partner Vodafone were last week selected to provide a broadband network for Southland, which they will do using IP Wireless equipment.

Wairarapa, the third pilot region, will announce on Friday which vendors it will ask for a proposal, after considering the responses to its RFI (request for information).

The Government's Project Probe, which aims to get broadband internet access to every school in the country, is also nearing a decision point. Project director Tony van Horik said the RFI had closed, and shortlists will be prepared for each of the 11 regions apart from Southland, Northland and Wairarapa.