The Regional Fibre Group (RFG) has appointed a fulltime chief executive to marshall its members' various Crown fibre bids.He is Vaughan Baker (pictured; not to be mistaken for broadcaster John Campbell) who has worked on a number of large scale telecommun
The Regional Fibre Group (RFG) has appointed a fulltime chief executive to marshall its members' various Crown fibre bids.
He is Vaughan Baker (pictured; not to be mistaken for broadcaster John Campbell) who has worked on a number of large scale telecommunications projects for organisations including Fonterra and IAG.
Most recently Mr Baker, thought telco consultancy Voco, has served as the RFG's programme manager.
The RFG is a coalition of power companies, lines companies and fibre network operators, all angling to participate in the government's $1.5 billion ultrafast broadband (UFB).
Members include Vector, which is bidding for the Auckland Crown fibre contract, and Citylink, which is tilting at the capital.
Mr Baker said RFG members has achieved a number of milestones the past year, including Northpower’s first residential fibre to the door build and Electricity Ashburton’s 240km undergrounding project to connect farmers and town-based businesses.
He also points to the completion of a three year expansion of the Velocity Network in Hamilton, connecting education, health and business sites and the culmination of a two year Auckland-wide fibre network expansion by Vector.
The RFG has also brought tech companies Ericsson and Cisco on board as advisors in a bid to address criticism that a series of regional networks would be too disjointed.
Crown Fibre Holdings, which will chose private investment partners for each of up to 33 regions, will decide on its shortlist by the end of June.
