Better broadband
[ Last Updated 18 July 2008 ]
The Ministry will contribute to the achievement of better broadband by advising on how to address the key gaps in New Zealand's telecommunications infrastructure (outside of high density urban areas) in the medium term, specifically:
- urban fibre loops
- fibre to the node infrastructure
- New Zealand's international connection
- rural broadband infrastructure.
We will also advise on measures to lower the cost and risk of broadband deployment.
Despite developing a best practice regulatory regime, New Zealand's existing broadband infrastructure is not up to the standard necessary to help transform the economy. Initiatives to stimulate competition, such as the operational separation of Telecom New Zealand, will help considerably but, by themselves, are unlikely to resolve this gap.
Further investment in infrastructure that enables advanced broadband services is crucial for expanding New Zealand's production base to include more products that create higher value and higher returns. It will also enable high-value, weightless products created in New Zealand – such as research, design, digital media, branding and marketing, and consultancy – to be provided to customers anywhere in the world. This is vital for New Zealand because of our small size and distance from our markets.
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