Far North plans own telco

By CHRIS BARTON IT editor

The Far North District Council plans to form a company providing broadband wireless data and voice communications to all of Northland, bypassing Telecom's services.

Mayor Yvonne Sharp is to announce the plan - which involves a partnership of Far North Holdings, Broadcast Communications Ltd (BCL) and a consortium of companies headed by C-Squared Technology Group - at the Northland Federated Farmers conference in Dargaville today.

The farmers' body has backed the venture in a memorandum of understanding with the new telco to deliver high-speed services to farmers.

The Far North Development Trust, an offshoot of the council, has commissioned C-Squared, headed by Radionet founder Leicester Chatfield, to select vendors for the wireless transmitter and receiver equipment and servicing.

Chairman Chris Mathews said the trust identified the lack of modern telecommunications infrastructure as a barrier to regional development several years ago.

It has since lobbied telecom providers, other regions and the Government to advance rural high-tech issues, including the need for access to fast internet services and applications such as video conferencing.

Mathews said it quickly became clear that Telecom and other telcos were unwilling to invest in high-speed networks that could be used by all rural residents, including those in remote areas.

"The new telco is a direct outcome of the belief that every Northland business, child and family should have access to high-speed services - just as we all expect the lights to come on when we flick a switch even if we live on a farm in the middle of nowhere," he said.

"Telecom has claimed that it loses money in rural New Zealand.

"Our research indicates the reverse is true. Telecom has and continues to make big money from rural customers."

Mathews says the Northland telco aims to deliver a free regional calling area, lower tolls and fast internet for everyone.

"We wanted some community ownership of the telco, so profits from money spent by Northlanders on telecommunications could return to the community, instead of going to foreign shareholders."

Far North Holdings, the Far North's local authority trading enterprise, will provide the aggregation of broadband demand from local authorities, health providers and schools in the region and co-ordinate with other Northland regions.

BCL, the transmission arm of Television New Zealand, will provide wholesale "backhaul" backbone data and voice for the region using digital microwave from its transmission towers.

BCL will also host wireless tranceiver equipment on its towers to serve customers in the region.

BCL managing director Geoff Lawson said the company had spent about $40 million so far developing its nationwide digital microwave network, which at present gets as far as Whangarei.

The council's initiative was an important step in seeing the network expand to cover the entire Far North.

"The challenge is prepare a commercially viable business case," he said.

The as-yet-unnamed consortium, in a 50 per cent joint venture with Far North Holdings, will provide retail wireless telecommunications services, international internet bandwidth, call switching, billing and tolls.

Mathews said the joint venture would be putting its hand up for 3.5 gigahertz spectrum that the Government has reserved for community-based broadband projects.

It would also bid in the Government tender to provide broadband access to schools in the region, announced in the Budget.