UFB connections up 135%
Overall uptake of UFB fibre has jumped from 11.3% to 18.6% of premises able to connect.
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Hawke’s Bay
The number of New Zealanders who have flicked the switch on ultrafast broadband has more than doubled in the past year, Minister Amy Adams says.
The latest quarterly report to December 2015 shows UFB connections increased 135% year-on-year to more than 162,000. The number of premises connecting per month is now 12,000.
Approximately 875,000 premises are now able to connect, with 60% of the build complete. Overall uptake jumped from 11.3% to 18.6% of premises able to connect.
The surge in fibre demand since Christmas has taken the telco industry by surprise. At a conference on Thursday, Chorus [NZX: CNU] chief executive Mark Ratcliffe said the companies responsible for the UFB rollout will have to double their number of install technicians by mid-year.
Analysts suggest this will increase Chorus’ capital expenditure costs.
Meanwhile, the minister says the Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI) is making steady progress, with 87% of new and upgraded towers complete.
“Compared to a year ago, there has been a 32% increase in rural New Zealand households and businesses able to connect to faster and more reliable broadband,” Ms Adams says.
“As a result of the strong progress of RBI, almost 280,000 rural households and businesses can now access fixed wireless or improved fixed line broadband.”
The full quarterly update can be found here.
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Staff reporter
Mon, 15 Feb 2016
Mon, 15 Feb 2016
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UFB connections up 135%
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