New Zealand government's UFB network passes 100,000 homes

Amy Adams, New Zealand's ICT minister, on Thursday said that over 100,000 homes, businesses and schools can connect to the government Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) network, up from the 76,000 premises it said the network passed in August.

Leading the deployment charge is Chorus, a new wholesale company created when Telecom New Zealand divested the business last year, with 72,000 premises connected. Enable Networks, the fiber operator subsidiary of Christchurch City Holdings Limited, has made 1,021 connections.

Despite making progress in building out the network, the response has been lukewarm with only 700 building owners agreeing to connect to the UFB fiber to their home or business.

To help spur interest in the UFB, Chorus said through its partnership with the New Zealand government it would put up NZD 20 million (USD 16.3 million) of its own funds to connect what it calls "non-standard" homes, or those that are more than 15 meters away from any street, to the UFB network. The service provider has updated its initial standards to 200 meters.

For more:
- TeleGeography has this article

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