Enable: Christchurch needs Crown fibre kickstart - now

Christchurch fibre operator Enable said it's ready to start expanding its network - today - if it wins the city's Crown fibre contract.

Chief executive Steve Fuller said his company's cable escaped both earthquakes almost entirely unscathed.

GPS records show the fibre has moved in places, but the company has not reported a single fibre failure on its network.

It is now ready to expand if it wins Crown co-investment under the government's $1.35 billion ultrafast broadband (UFB) project, Mr Fuller said. Awarding the Christchurch Crown fibre contract as soon as possible would help "kickstart" the city.

The quake had fuelled demanded for fibe, because it had dramatically raised interest among businesses in cloud compuing, Mr Fuller said.

Companies were now more keenly aware of the benefits of hosting their IT at a data centre rather than their own offices.

Enable - backed by the Christchurch council - is squaring off against Telecom for the local Crown fibre contract. 

On April 7, communications minister Steven Joyce said negotiations in the remaining Crown fibre candidate areas would be decided "within weeks".

Proved its chops
Mr Fuller felt his company - whose fibre runs through the CBD, and passes 60 schools - proved its chops in the wake of the quake.

“Since February 22 our team and our contractors have been working around the clock to relocate businesses out of damaged buildings, into new locations.

"The TVNZ building in Gloucester St was a key network node for many network operators and ISPs. All the Enable fibre into that building had to be relocated to alternative locations within days due to the risk of the building collapsing and standby power failing.”

"Also, we reconnected many schools around Christchurch who are now sharing the schools grounds of another school," Mr Fuller told NBR.

Telecom v. Parker
Telecom's network division, Chorus, and other business units have also been in full-court-press mode since the latest quake, flying in extra staff from around the country, among other measures.

One market analyst said that Enable was the "sentimental favourite" for the Christchurch Crown fibre contract.

Enable is also a strong contender in its own right in terms of the amount of cable already laid, and Mr Fuller's credentials as Telecom's former general manager of networks, and deployment.

Certainly, the government (which must approve Crown Fibre Holdings recommendations) could face the wrath of mayor Bob Parker if the local contract goes to Telecom.

The Christchurch City Council owns 100% of Enable, and Mr Parker has been a strong advocate for the investment in comments to NBR, and others.

Not the last word
But as in other regions, it's unlikely that the awarding of the Crown fibre contract will be the last word.

The Telecommunications Amendment Bill, currently going through parliament, allows the Crown to buy into Telecom and Telecom, in turn, to buy into local lines or fibre companies.

Forsyth Barr senior analyst Guy Hallwright noted that, crucially, such deals cannot be entered into until after Crown fibre contracts are signed.

Mr Hallwright considers it likely that Telecom will enter a "grand alliance" with lines and fibre operators with assets-for-shares deals.

Under this scenario, some kind of joint venture between Enable and Telecom (or a spun-off Chorus) is possible for Christchurch.

Another wrinkle: Mr Joyce is now discussing the need for a "national operating organisation" to manage interconnection of regional fibre companies.

The minister told the TelCon11 conference that "a company such as Telecom" could manage the national UFB coordination.

However, the Regional Fibre Group - a country-wide alliance of lines and fibre company's, chaired by Enable's Mr Fuller - is also vying to manage the national operating organisation.