Broadband contract announcement a welcome step

The announcement that the government has contracted providers for the last of its Rural Broadband Initiative to deliver fast internet connections to rural schools, hospitals and libraries, is a welcome step toward getting rural New Zealand on the information super highway, Federated Farmers telecommunications spokesman Anders Crofoot says.

“This announcement by Telecommunications Minister Amy Adams, of the allocation of the final contracts to get fibre optic cables or wireless networks to our rural schools, hospitals, health centres and public libraries is warmly welcomed by Federated Farmers,” Mr Crofoot says.

“As the group which successfully lobbied to get the Government’s initial $48 million rural broadband investment increased to $300 million, the Federation is a passionate supporter of this initiative. We look forward to the day when every New Zealand school, no matter how remote, has access to fast broadband internet.

“Today’s announcement that the final network providers have been contracted means that goal is a step closer to being a reality.

“Bringing high speed intent to these rural communities will ensure they have access to the same information opportunities as their urban counterparts.

“This is extremely important for rural schools and libraries, as education around New Zealand and globally becomes more technology dependant. Rural children will have an important part to play in New Zealand’s future. With agriculture underpinning New Zealand’s economic stability, we hope they will choose to remain in the country and farm. However, whatever their future aspirations, today’s rural children need the same access to this kind of technology as their urban counterparts.

“Getting these connections to hospitals and health centres is equally important as high speed internet connections mean large data files such as CAT or MRI images can be sent almost instantly to and from even the most remote places.

“Having fast broadband in these communities will be a huge boost for rural New Zealand. We look forward to seeing these contracts carried out,” Mr Crofoot concluded.