Behind the scenes of the fibre roll-out

I try my hand at "blowing fibre", the technique used to feed the fibre through a duct using pressurised air. Photo / NZME

In Grafton, central Auckland, Chorus has established a Fibre Lab that's part house, part street and part telephone exchange.

The Chorus Fibre Lab demonstrated what fibre is, how the $1.3 billion network is being rolled out, and what it can be used for.

Kurt Rodgers, network strategy manager and self-described "futurologist", shows visitors around the lab and explains how the roll-out works. He begins every tour in the living room.

"The living room is where New Zealanders are using the most data," he said.

On the massive, curved, ultra high-def television House of Cards is screening on a Netflix stream. A TV in the kitchen and dining area shows a slideshow of ultra high def photos.

After being in the lab for an hour and a half, those two televisions alone have chewed through 10 gigabytes of data.

The lab shows how the fibre is buried in the street and the different ways it can arrive into the living room.

Rodgers takes on average five tours through the fibre lab each week, and 5,000 people have so far taken his tour.

Tours are carried out for internet service providers, retailers, energy companies, Government officials and overseas telecommunication companies.

Kurt Rodgers shows the fluctuations of data being received to stream a television show from Netflix. Photo / NZME

A Google rep recently spent time in the lab for education purposes and a delegation of telecommunication experts from the Pacific Islands have also visited.

Rodgers said people's reaction to the Fibre Lab had changed dramatically over the last two years.

"The first thing [people would ask] was 'why do we need fibre?' Now that's all changed and people understand why we need it, they're asking 'when can we get it?'"

I try my hand at "blowing fibre", the technique used to feed the fibre through a duct using pressurised air. Photo / NZME

Rodgers said being able to show exactly what is involved with the roll-out was often useful for managing expectations.

"Most of the people we've taken through [the lab] can see what's involved and the basic mechanics.

"We are trying to minimise the disruption but it is difficult to get something physically from your street to your living room."