Unison hangs on to Hawke's Bay network plan

Telecom has been awarded the contract to partner the Government in rolling out ultra-fast broadband (UFB) in Hawke's Bay but Hawke's Bay-owned Unison says it plans to compete to provide the same service.
Unison has completed a loop between Napier and Hastings and extended its network to Waipukurau.
Unison group chief executive Ken Sutherland said it could easily compete with Telecom.
"We are strongly positioned to deliver even more for business and our fibre network is opening the door to greater competition and opportunity," he said.
UFB gave residents internet speeds of up to 100 megabits per second - up to 10 times faster than the majority of current broadband speeds. Residential wholesale charges would start from about $40 per month.
About 70 Hawke's Bay schools, 700 healthcare providers and 2500 businesses could be connected.
Napier MP Chris Tremain said schools were a priority for the roll out. "Our kids will benefit from the first-class education that ultra-fast broadband offers," he said.
"Schools will be able to share scarce resources like physics and IT teachers, and have access to the technologies they need in this digital age."
Telecom's proposal included its structural separation into two companies, with its Chorus unit becoming a standalone company.
It will construct the fibre optic network in Auckland, the eastern and lower North Island and most of the South Island.
Unison led a bid by the CentralFibre consortium, which included three other network companies - Counties Power (Pukekohe and Waiuku), Horizon (Whakatane) and Centralines (Central Hawke's Bay).
The consortium was part of the New Zealand Regional Fibre Group's (NZRFG's) wider bid. CEO Vaughan Baker said working with Telecom was a possibility for unsuccessful NZRFG members.
"Our model has always been based on collaboration in building open access fibre networks in our communities, which many of our members are doing right now," he said.
"I think you might find over time that some of our members could be open to working with Chorus in the regions we haven't been selected to build in - and I firmly believe Chorus will benefit from working with us."