Community champions show enthusiasm for Connect Tararua

Connect Tararua is now an incorporated society and the map beneath has been mapped for black spots for cellphone reception by Dannevirke Ambulance crews.

The next step to realise the vision of Connect Tararua has taken place throughout the Tararua District, with five community meetings to find volunteer community champions.

Connect Tararua Team Lead Mel Poulton said they were pleased with the turnout at the community meetings, but even more so with the enthusiasm of attendees about the project.

"We now have community champions throughout the district to undertake some baseline work for the project in their own communities," Mel said. "The need is so great across the district that when those frustrated by poor connectivity services hear about Connect Tararua, there is a natural motivation to become involved."

When the previous Government announced the RBI2 rollout with only one cellphone tower for the district, it meant the remainder of the district would be served by Wireless Internet Service Providers.

Our plan is to reduce the financial outlays per site enabling the investment to stretch further.

Mel Poulton

"These WISPS could not supply cellphone coverage and so we are working for better outcomes across the entire district," Mel said.

"Although this project is community driven and independent from the Tararua District Council, Mayor Tracey Collis and Council have 100 per cent confidence in the Governance Group."

Mayor Collis said the Council will throw their support behind the Governance Group, wherever possible.

"We fully support this project and realise that the unique feature of the people of the Tararua District is their very real motivation to become involved."

Central Government and Crown infrastructure partners are critical stakeholders in this pilot project as the bulk of the funding for the infrastructure build will come from central Government.

Mel said that as a district-wide community project, Connect Tararua is mobilising to remove the roadblocks to infrastructure invested in by the Government, telcos and other stakeholders.

"Our plan is to reduce the financial outlays per site enabling the investment to stretch further."

A recent meeting in Auckland with Crown Infrastructure Partners and the Rural Connectivity Group drew positive feedback from the two agencies.

"Both CIP and RCG were very impressed with the work done to date by the Governance Group and, our plans for the future," Mel said.

"They particularly liked that this is a community driven project and the message was clear — the more we can do as a district to remove roadblocks for investment, the more support we are likely to get. This is a huge incentive for all our small communities within the district to work together to Connect Tararua."

Mel said the two agencies were also impressed that Connect Tararua was ground-truthing the coverage across the district's roading network and working towards surveying the community.

"This unique approach certainly impressed them." In addition to community champions surveying their local areas and assessing potential tower sites, local primary school children across the district are conducting a survey to establish upload and download speeds across all areas.

"The Governance Group felt it important to also engage our young people in the process by giving them a simple survey to conduct in their neighbourhoods.