Tararua Set to Take on Telecom

By MCKAY, Caitlin

Tararua District Council has taken on the might of Telecom and will spend $577,000 to lay its own fibre- optic cable connecting all four towns in the district.

It will provide high-speed internet at a much lower cost, linking 140km of fibre-optic cable to connect Eketahuna, Pahiatua, Woodville, Dannevirke and Palmerston North for a 30-year period

After 18 months of planning, the deal was signed off by the council on Wednesday.

TDC chief executive Roger Twentyman said an effective telecommunications network was as vital as a roading.

“This is very innovative.”

The deal was brokered between Palmerston North-based Digital Networks, owned by internet service provider Inspire Net’s James Watts, FX Networks, which is laying part of the cable, and the council.

Mr Watts told the Manawatu Standard he’d been working on a fibre initiative for five years.

“We have a goal – to break the Telecom monopoly and the stranglehold on the copper loop.”

The total cost of the project is estimated at $3 million.

The council will contribute $327,000 for stage 1 – Eketahuna to Woodville and Pahiatua to Palmerston North, and $250,000 for stage 2 – Woodville to Dannevirke.

Stage 1 is expected to be completed in April.

Corporate services manager Peter Wimsett said the cost to ratepayers would be minimal and the council would draw on its savings and a potential subsidy from the Ministry of Economic Development.

The ministry administers the Digital Strategy Broadband Fund, which is contestable.

The savings to ratepayers had been estimated to be more than $1 million over the 30-year period, Mr Wimsett said.

Digital Networks approached the council in July to join forces with FX Networks to lay cable in the district.

In addition, the council had been discussing getting broadband in the district with rural internet service providers.

“We wanted to make sure the smaller towns weren’t forgotten – we won’t be left behind,” Mr Wimsett said.

However, Telecom’s quote was too expensive, he said.

“If Telecom was more competitive there would be no problem.”

Fibre-optic cables can last up to 30 years because they are below the ground and not subject to the elements or interference.

“We’re trying to achieve some true internet competition in the district. This will be good for our ratepayers. We won’t be left behind.

“Economically, it’s also quite important to attract or retain people in the district.” Currently, Telecom supplied broadband services to Tararua towns. This runs on a copper network, but was prone to interference, Mr Wimsett said.

In Eketahuna this network was incredibly slow, Mr Wimsett said.

Mr Watts said Tararua residents shouldn’t be punished for living in a rural area. Internet speeds should be on a par regardless of where people lived, he said.

(c) 2007 Evening Standard; Palmerston North, New Zealand. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.