Whangarei leads broadband race

While warp-speed broadband is coming to central Whangarei, the Northland Regional Council is working on getting broadband to the rest of the region.

Local electricity lines company Northpower has partnered with internet provider TelstraClear to deliver super-fast broadband to Whangarei.

It promises next generation telecommunications, available to 900 central businesses, schools and medical centres by Christmas.

The broadband will be delivered along Northpower’s new fibre optic network in the central business district through to Hikurangi.

The system will be capable of speeds up to 1 gigabyte per second – the fastest broadband speed available in New Zealand.

Northpower area manager Graham Dawson says the speeds will be delivered through world-class technology known as Wave 7, an ethernet passive optical network.

"It is very, very advanced technology and very, very cost effective."

TelstraClear is spending $1 million upgrading the network between Whangarei and Auckland.

Chief executive Dr Allan Freeth says Whangarei will now be leapfrogging the capabilities of larger cities, such as Auckland, Dunedin and Tauranga.

"You’re breaking the rules. You’ve got the nice beaches here, you don’t have the congestion, don’t have the Aucklanders and you expect to have fast broadband – it’s pretty bloody unreasonable," he jokes.

TelstraClear is coming to Whangarei because Northpower has already built the network, it is professional and the service is economically viable, Mr Freeth says.

Regional council chairman Mark Farnsworth says he applauds what Northpower has done to facilitate the high-speed broadband to central Whangarei.

"This is good stuff. It will be a vast improvement."

Now roll-out to the rest of Northland is needed, he says.

There is a need to be inventive to get broadband across the region – because the commercial reality makes enabling rural areas difficult, he says.

Mr Farnsworth, who is the broadband spokesman for the National Council of Local Government NZ, wants broadband treated as a key piece of infrastructure, funded in a similar way to state highways.

Telecom says it is also planning to bring super-fast broadband to central Whangarei, installing new technology with speeds up to 1 gigabyte per second by Christmas. Its current top broadband speed is 20 megabytes per second.

Spokesman Ian Bonnar says work is also being done over the next four years to enhance the broadband network in Northland, as part of a $1.4 billion commitment. About 70 cabinets will be installed, benefiting communities with more than 500 lines.

- © Fairfax NZ News