Wireless puts Tuatapere in the fast lane

By ADAM GIFFORD

Fast internet arrived at one of the country's remotest communities yesterday when Prime Minister Helen Clark launched the Woosh Wireless broadband service at Tuatapere, on the edge of Fiordland.

The Government is putting $2.75 million into the Probe (provincial broadband extension) project, which aims to connect all New Zealand schools to high-speed internet.

Southland communities who want to tap into the service have secured a further $1 million from the Government's regional economic development funds, and $1 million from the Southland Community Trust.

Clark said Southland was first off the block for Probe because of the work done by the region's councils.

"In the knowledge economy, broadband is a key part of the infrastructure," she told students and guests at Tuatapere Community College, the first school connected by Probe.

The launch included a videoconference with Information Technology Minister Paul Swain and Economic Development Minister Jim Anderton in Woosh's Auckland office. The 256kb signal went from the school modem to the Woosh transmitter on a Vodafone celltower, then by microwave link to Invercargill and via TelstraClear fibre to the Skytower.

Woosh is now selling services in Tuatapere starting at $64.95 a month and $449 for the modem. Its next installation should be running in Invercargill by early next month, with the rest of the province covered next year.

Steve Canny, of economic development agency Venture Southland, said the broadband project would generate $50 million in direct investment and save businesses and homes $35 million a year through lower telecommunications costs.