UFB uptake hits 20%

UFB uptake updates didn't use to come out more than once a quarter. Now Communications Minister Amy Adams has released two in quick succession – a  clear sign that after a long run-up, the fibre rollout is finally gathering steam.

This afternoon, Ms Adams said 20% (or 184,000) of customers within reach of UFB fibre have now chosen to connect (see RAW DATA, below).

That's up from the 18.6% for the final quarter of 2015, as announced on February 15 (and update that also included a breakdown of uptake by town and city).

Unsurprisingly, uptake is highest in Whangarei (26%), where local UFB company NorthPower Fibre finished its rollout back in May 2014.

Ms Adams says recently announced "deemed consent" reforms that will make it easier for Chorus and other UFB companies to roll fibre down right-of-ways (a key sticking point around delays of up 100 days or more ahead of installs) will help boost uptake further.

She's right but her press release forgets to mention the relevant legislation must get through Parliament first – and that might not be until the end of the year or later. Beyond further delay, that means it must get around resource consent-hostile swing-voter Peter Dunne. The United Future leader tells NBR he will probably support the changes. Still to come are details of part two of Ms Adams' reforms – a change in the installation rules for multi-tenant buildings. 

And while requests for UFB installs are running at a record 11,000 per month, Chorus and other UFB companies and their contractors are bulging at the seams trying to cope. Chorus boss Mark Ratcliffe says, collectively, they will need twice as many install technicians by mid-year to handle the demand.

On the positive side, Chorus recently extended its free connection period for non-standard installations until at least the end of this year (standard installations are always free, at least if the taxpayer contribution is ignored).

RAW DATA: Communications Minister Amy Adams press release, March 1, 2016

Demand for UFB sees uptake hit 20 per cent

One in five of the households, schools and businesses throughout New Zealand which can connect to the Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) initiative have chosen to do so, Communications Minister Amy Adams today announced.

Across New Zealand, around 184,000 households and businesses have connected as at end of February 2016, taking total UFB uptake to 20 per cent.

“Connections are now growing at over 11,000 per month. In just the eight weeks since New Year’s Day, a further 22,000 households and businesses have been connected – equivalent to the whole of a city the size of Whangarei,” Ms Adams says.

“This is a terrific milestone to have reached, just over five years after we began building the infrastructure. All the indicators are that demand for UFB is strong, not just in the cities, but in our provincial towns too.” 

Fourteen urban areas now have UFB fully deployed, including larger centres such as Whangarei, Whanganui, Blenheim, Timaru and just last month, New Plymouth.

Uptake is highest in Whangarei (26 per cent), Blenheim (25 per cent) and Tauranga (24 per cent).

“I expect the uptake process to further speed up after changes I announced last week to improve access to the UFB network take effect. These changes reduce the need to apply for consents for shared driveways which will help translate more orders into connections,” Ms Adams says.

Benefits of UFB include enjoying a wide range of entertainment options, improvements in business productivity, and better online learning.

The Government has set an aspirational connectivity target that would see 99% of New Zealanders able to access peak broadband speeds of at least 50 Mbps by 2025.

In addition to the original $1.65 billion funding for the UFB and Rural Broadband Initiative programmes, a further $360 million have been set aside to extend both programmes and to create a Mobile Black Spot Fund.

The UFB extension contracts are currently being negotiated while planning is also under way to extend the Rural Broadband Initiative with further details to be provided in coming months.