Rural broadband plan good first step, but needs more

Federated Farmers has welcomed the new rural telecommunications plan announced today but is urging Government to do more.

“This is progress in the right direction, but it’s just the first step,” says Federated Farmers Chief Executive Conor English.

“It’s vital we don’t develop a digital divide between urban and rural New Zealand, not only for economic reasons, but also for social connectedness. What Government does matters, as rural New Zealand doesn’t have the same critical mass as our towns and cities do.

“It’s great Government has listened to Federated Farmers and delivered a plan that will see $300 million invested over six years instead of just $48 million to meet the needs of one million Kiwis. That’s a great first step.

“In our view, we are still quite short on the money side. $300 million is a start but we’re not sure it will get fast broadband to every rural household and business. Increasing this to $500 million would match expenditure levels for urban New Zealand.

“On targeted broadband speeds and performance we simply think the Government needs to be much more ambitious for the one million Kiwis defined as ‘rural’. The Urban Broadband project targets fibre to the home with speeds of 100Mbps. We should be aiming for at least these speeds across the rural community not just one to five Mbps.

“Federated Farmers is not talking baby steps but wants radical change. It’s the ability to harness things like 3D and other leading edge technologies and this demands ultra fast speeds. We should aim high so that rural New Zealand should be the envy of the world and not a follower.

“Our farmers have shown that they’re leaders in improving productivity and production, generating the export dollars that pays the country’s bills. Ultra fast broadband is the next big enabler, so it’s critical we get it right.

“We think this plan is a good first step in the right direction from Government, but we will continue to lobby to ensure that it isn’t the last,” Mr English concluded.