Telecom offers farmers speedy net deal

By PETER GRIFFIN

Telecom has laid its rural broadband cards on the table with a plan to offer Fonterra farmers high-speed internet deals from November.

Telecom has spent months touring the provinces pitching its FonterraNet broadband proposition to Fonterra's 17,000 farmers.

Plagued by unreliable internet access, farmers in many areas struggle to communicate with the dairy company online or access general information on the web in any meaningful way.

But Telecom now says it will be able to reach all of Fonterra's farmers within about 18 months using a mix of technology types that will largely overcome the problems posed by poor phone-line quality.

About 65 per cent of the farmers are beyond the reach of Telecom's copper line network for high-speed internet access. They will have to be reached via fixed-wireless and satellite technology, although their dependence on Telecom's copper line network for voice communication will continue for the moment.

The farmers will gain high-speed internet access through ADSL modems, the cheapest option which use existing phone lines; wireless antennae which send data from farms to partner Broadcast Communication's network of communications towers; or through small satellite dishes talking to satellites overhead.

Telecom estimates hardware costs for ADSL and wireless equipment of between $200 and $500.

Installation will cost between $300 and $450, depending on the complexity of the customer's situation.

The set-up costs for satellite services are likely to be higher.

The question now is whether the farming community will put its money where its mouth is and stump up for broadband.

Federated Farmers president Tom Lambie believes farmers will.

"We've got congested exchanges, microwave links that get congested, electric fence interference and conflicting family desires over use of the telephone.

"We don't even have access to 56kbps [dial-up internet] speeds," said Lambie. "For people serious about wanting to use the technology it's a good investment."

To sweeten the offer, Telecom will give Fonterra farmers discounts on their long-distance calls and fixed-to-mobile calls. A "free calling circle" will let farmers call up to nine other Fonterra farmers who have taken up the deal for free.

Fonterra will manage the service through its internet operation Fencepost.com, which provides online productivity tools and information for farmers and will eventually offer a souped-up version for broadband users.

"Once we've got a nucleus of people using broadband it enables us to change the way we present information," said Fonterra spokesman David Walker, adding that video-streaming of Fonterra conferences and online training are elements that might be added.

Telecom's general manager of corporate sales, Mark O'Donnell, said Telecom and its field contractors would generally install the equipment on farms. "We've an end-to-end contract [with Fonterra] for that rather than someone just going into a local store and picking up a modem."

To service the 15 per cent of farmers accessible only via satellite, Telecom would seek to partner with a satellite operator. It is in a tendering process at the moment with regional players such as Optus, Inmarsat and PanAmSat.

FonterraNet is separate to the Government-funded Project Probe, which subsidises private companies to deliver broadband to schools.

Firm details of the package that will become available to farmers are yet to be released, but Telecom said there would be data caps for the high-speed internet offerings limiting free downloads. A briefing paper released at the start of the year suggested a restrictive data cap of 500MB (megabytes) a month.

While the Airspan equipment used for the wireless services is capable of delivering voice as well as data, that capability is unlikely to replace standard phone lines for voice calls any time soon.

Fonterra has not given projections for take-up of the services, but Federated Farmers' Lambie said there were no huge targets in sight.

"Fonterra has been relatively conservative in what they think the uptake will be, so if it doesn't pass that level I guess we'll all be asking some questions."

The broadband package:

* Monthly rental of between $60 and $100 plus GST per month, depending on technology used.

* Hardware costs ranging from $200 to $500

* Installation fees ranging from $300 to $450.

* Free calls to up to nine Fonterra farmers also subscribed to the broadband package.

* Discounts for national and home to Telecom mobile phone calls.

* Access to email, online anti-virus software, Fencepost.com services, content screening services and information on the Fonterra network.

* Technical helpline support.