West Auckland scores first rural broadband hook-up
Trio of schools get connected as Telecom-Vodafone consortium kicks of the government's $300 million rural broadband initiative.
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A trio of schools will get fibre connections tomorrow as the Telecom-Vodafone consortium kicks of the government's $300 million rural broadband initiative.
One location may raise eyebrows: Henderson Valley School, in Waitakere - within spitting distance of the sprawling suburbs of west Auckland (made famous in the TV3 docu-drama Outrageous Fortune).
Checkout the school's location on the Google Map satellite view below (use controls top right to scroll or zoom; the city is to the right).
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Communications Minister Steven Joyce will cut the ribbon at the west Auckland school.
Two other schools will be connected at the same time:Te Kura o Omaio School, in Opotiki, Bay of Plenty, where education minister Anne Tolley will preside, and Granity School in Waimangaroa, where West Coast MP Chris Auchinvole will be on hand.
Primarily funded by a levy on the telecommunications industry (the government's contribution is $48 million), the RBI will provide 100Mbps services to 95% of rural schools, and a minimum 5Mbps broadband service to over 80% of rural households (or around 252,000 people) within six years.
The network built by joint bidders Telecom and Vodafone will be a wholesale one, with the government promising that all competitors will get equal retail access.
Telecom's Chorus division is handling the landline fibre component of the roll-out; Vodafone the celltowers and fixed rooftop antenna that will provide wireless broadband for some households covered by the project.
NBR staff
Wed, 29 Jun 2011
Wed, 29 Jun 2011
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West Auckland scores first rural broadband hook-up
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