Before the elections, the National Party promised to spend money on a fast broadband network if the Party was elected. Now the government has decided to spend $1.5 billion to make this happen. They hope that private companies would spend another $1.5 billion to help. The government’s plan is to lay fibre optic cables to replace copper wires.
High speed broadband will happen gradually. First to get this will be schools, universities, hospitals and businesses. Later it will be homes but only in cities and towns. In 10 years time, about 75% of New Zealanders will have high speed internet.
Rural areas are more of a problem because of the cost of laying fibre optic cables where not many people live. Probably there will be some other form of technology for rural areas. The government has promised a separate $48 million for rural areas. Farming is our main industry so it is important that farmers keep up to date with technology.
We also have a number of IT companies which sell graphics, computer games and other kinds of programs overseas. They need high speed broadband to send their work overseas. This is important for our economy and to keep Kiwis living and working in New Zealand. |