'Ultra-Slow Broadband' isn't what Kiwis were promised

Three-and-a-half years after taking office, the National Government has managed to connect only 1012 households to its much trumpeted ultrafast broadband scheme, says Labour’s Communications and IT spokesperson Clare Curran.

“This is less than 1 per cent of its target of 75 per cent of households within 10 years,” Clare Curran said.

“The Government’s biggest 2008 election pledge is proving to be a disaster. Less than one household a day has been connected to and is receiving services from ultrafast broadband.

“This leaves 1,241,138 households to be connected and to receive services. That requires an average 190,000 connections per year, not the approximately 300 per year achieved in the three and one half years since the current government took office.

“It would be quicker for the Minister to go out with a pair of pliers and connect houses herself,” Clare Curran said.

“Communications Minister Amy Adams was forced to reveal the low figures of connectivity in a select committee this morning. She acknowledged that the government’s targets for connectivity were not on track.

“This is hugely embarrassing for Amy Adams, who as a new Minister has been left to explain why the ultrafast broadband scheme has turned into ‘ultra slow broadband’.

“National will be held accountable on its biggest 2008 election pledge. If it can’t meet its targets and no longer expects households to connect to fibre, then it must be honest.

“New Zealanders have a right to know whether $1.5 billion of their taxes have been spent constructing a great white elephant,” Clare Curran said.