Construction company partners with CityLink in fibre proposal

Construction company Fulton Hogan will partner with Wellington's CityLink in its bid to build an underground fibre-optic network connecting homes and businesses in the Wellington region.

They face competition from Telecom and another unnamed bidder.

The Government has promised $1.35 billion to roll out fibre in 33 cities and towns.

Investment vehicle Crown Fibre Holdings is seeking partners from the private sector to build the networks and connect homes, businesses, schools and hospitals.

Crown Fibre Holdings chairman Simon Allen said it had received proposals from 18 businesses. Almost all were lodged by electricity lines companies and fibre companies such as CityLink, operating under the umbrella of the New Zealand Regional Fibre Group.

But Telecom and an unnamed company had lodged national bids.

Mr Allen said Crown Fibre Holdings was pleased to have received a proposal from an "experienced international fibre operator". A spokeswoman could not confirm whether the unnamed company that had lodged the national bid and the international bidder were one and the same.

"It is very pleasing that there are a number of proposals from regional New Zealand which have very strong community support," Mr Allen said. "There is no doubt that, given the quantity of proposals received, that Crown Fibre Holdings has a number of options to meet the Government's requirement of rolling out ultrafast broadband to 75 per cent of New Zealand's population."

CityLink has proposed a "comprehensive" fibre network connecting homes and businesses in Wellington, the Hutt Valley and Porirua.

David Ware, chief executive of NZX-listed parent company TeamTalk, said CityLink and Fulton Hogan would consider extending the network to cover Masterton.

Fulton Hogan is one of New Zealand's largest privately-owned firms, employing 3600 staff. Founder Jim Fulton had been on TeamTalk's board and the companies had a relationship that dated back 15 years, Mr Ware said.

"We are old mates really. They know lots about digging holes in the ground and filling them up again and an awful lot of that is going to be involved."

A spokesman for Fulton Hogan said the construction firm had approached companies in other cities that were bidding to be part of the Ultrafast Broadband Initiative.

Fulton Hogan did not intend to be a co-owner of the Wellington network, but would partner with CityLink to lay the network, he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News