Far North looks at broadband service for area

By RICHARD BRADDELL utilities writer

The Far North District Council is embarking on a $70,000 feasibility study for high-capacity broadband telecommunications in the district.

Mayor Yvonne Sharp and Chris Mathews, of the Far North Development Trust, said the objective was to get a long-term telecommunications plan under way within 12 months.

The study, which mirrors one in Southland, aims to produce a telecommunications service owned by the local communities with other partners.

Economic Development Ministry analyst Dr Peter Crabtree said because of good support from business and the wider community, the two studies had each attracted $70,000 in funds from Industry New Zealand.

Since the major telecommunications providers had not spontaneously provided the services they required, they were investigating alternative models, he said.

The Northland study, by Wellington consultants Arrus Noble, is due for completion at the end of this month.

Dr Crabtree said much of the methodology was based on similar exercises in Australia, where Government-funded initiatives had come up with quite different solutions in each region.

In some cases, the demand was for computers on desks; other studies had identified telecommunications inadequacies or skill shortages.

Mr Mathews said the aim was to get the infrastructure in place so that new-economy and other business opportunities could be exploited as they emerged.

But Telecom's copper could not provide sufficient bandwidth to meet the potential needs of people like architects and lawyers who might choose to work remotely from the Far North.

Mr Mathews said Telecom and some wireless operators were interested in the Far North study, but a collaboration between Government, private sector and community asset owners was required.

The Top Energy community trust might be a source of finance, as might similar community trusts in places such as Whangarei.

The Government sector, including local bodies, could play an important part through "demand aggregation," which simply meant that they would bundle up their communications needs region by region to give critical mass to the community-owned model.