Taranaki site for broadband trial

By CHRIS BARTON IT editor

Telecom is in partnership with BCL, the transmission arm of TVNZ, to try out wireless broadband technology in remote parts of Taranaki.

The trial, which starts in a month, will be the first end-to-end test of the technology with a telco providing internet services.

BCL managing director Geoff Lawson said the technology, which requires line of sight and uses "1098" 2GHz (gigahertz) radio spectrum, had also been tested in Southland.

The move was greeted cautiously by Telecommunications Users Association (TUANZ) chief executive Ernie Newman.

"It is crucial that the partnership does not develop in a way that reduces competition," he said.

"While a partnership like this may well make sense in Taranaki, there may be some circumstances in which it would be better for users if BCL and Telecom competed against one another, or partnered with third parties.

Users would be very disturbed if by partnering too closely, the two companies were to eliminate a potential source of competition from the market."

'Lawson said the deal with Telecom was not exclusive and BCL was talking with other parties.

"We see ourselves as a wholesaler that will enable competition. It is not our intention to have any exclusive deals."

He said speeds of up to two megabits a second over distances of 20-30km had been achieved in trials using equipment from Airspan www.airspan.com

Customers install a small exterior antenna in line of sight of BCL transmission towers and can use the wireless connection for voice and internet access.

The calls are routed through BCL's digital microwave network to the internet or to telcos' voice networks.

Lawson said BCL had invested $40 million in its high-speed digital microwave backbone, which covers most of the country.

To extend the network to more remote areas such as the Far North and parts of the East Cape would cost about $10 million.

Lawson said that investment would be made if sufficient revenue could be generated.

Telecom announced the partnering agreement in conjunction with its initiative to upgrade 15 Taranaki exchanges to deliver its Jetstream ADSL broadband technology to 83 per cent of the region.

The initiative was made possible by the New Plymouth, Stratford and South Taranaki district councils underwriting Telecom's investment to the tune of $566,000.

Depending on the level of JetStream uptake within an 18-month period the cost to the councils reduces and will be nothing if targets are met.

Chief executive Theresa Gattung said the combined technologies of BCL and Telecom could potentially deliver broadband to up to 97 per cent of the country.

"We are going to work together to get fast internet way beyond the current reach."

The exchange upgrades give 73 per cent of Taranaki schools access to fast internet which goes someway towards meeting the Government goal of having all schools wired for broadband by the end of 2004.

Minister for Communication Paul Swain said the project now known as "Probe" divided the country into 14 broadband regions and would call for requests for information and proposals later this year.

He was hopeful allocations of the "tens of millions" of dollars set aside over two years in the Budget would begin in by Christmas.

He said Taranaki, as one of the broadband regions would still be able to apply for a share: "To the extent that the agreement with the Telecom/BCL consortium does not fully meet the Government's requirements, it is proposed to continue to issue an RFI for Taranaki, but adjusted to take account of the current agreement."