City among first to get ultra fast broadband

Wanganui residents will soon be able to surf the net faster than ever before as Wanganui is named among the first cities to receive broadband under the Government's $1.35 million ultra fast broadband initiative.

Communications Minister Steven Joyce said that Crown Fibre Holdings had signed deals with lines firms Northpower and UltraFast Fibre Ltd - owned by WEL Networks - to begin laying fibre optic cable.

Cables will begin to be laid in Wanganui by UltraFast Fibre Ltd early next year, with rollouts expected to be finished in nine cities in the North Island by 2015.

The UFB Coverage Areas for Wanganui will stretch from Castlecliff North to Marybank and around to Gordon Park; from the coast to upper Aramoho, in accordance with agreements.

For Hawera, the service will largely be within town boundaries.

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 gain the advantage of being able to send and receive very large computer files which are currently unmanageable.

Mayor Annette Main has welcomed the announcement, saying the new ultra fast broadband would be a huge advantage to communities both in business opportunities and individual benefits.

The previous council held a "Wanganui-First for Fibre" campaign, allowing the public to support their bid to be among the first to receive ultra fast broadband.

"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," she said.

Wanganui MP Chester Borrows also welcomed the news, saying it would give the major economic priorities in our region greater potential for growth.

"This is great progress for our region and faster lines of trade and communications will be a real benefit for businesses, service providers and individuals," Mr Borrows said.

Other cities in the initial rollout include Hamilton, Tauranga, Whangarei, New Plymouth, Cambridge, Te Awamutu and Tokoroa.