Iconz wins net tender

By PAUL BRISLEN

Auckland internet provider Iconz is believed to have won the last of the Project Probe broadband internet tenders.

Probe, the Provincial Broadband Extension project, is the Government's attempt to encourage broadband network rollout in rural and remote New Zealand.

Probe divided the country into 15 regions, 14 geographical districts and a final satellite region. It is this last region that has been awarded to Iconz.

Iconz has already signed a deal with Thai-based Shin Satellite, which has said it will invest $15 million to build an earth station in Albany to support its local services.

The company will launch its own satellite, IPStar-1, in the coming months but is trialling internet services using capacity on another satellite.

The Ministry of Education, which runs the tendering process, would not confirm the tender win, but said an announcement was due shortly.