Chorus is building about 70 per cent of the nation's $1.7 billion network, paid for by the Government.
"UFB is also making an impact in Hawke's Bay homes, particularly with the rapid rise of online TV, high definition movies and gaming. UFB allows multiple users in a home to be connected to different devices and streaming content all at once with no buffering or loss of connectivity. More and more people are opting for fast fibre plans - a trend that has accelerated since the launch of Netflix and Lightbox."
As the roll-out continues, Hawke's Bay has been experiencing a spike in fibre requests from internet service providers (ISPs).
After the heavy trench work technicians visit to work out a way to bring fibre from the street and into homes.
If you have an older home on a rear section with a concrete drive, you may find the cable tucked along a fence line.
You need to be present to choose where the router will be placed inside and for its installation.
Half of the region's new fibre connections are with Hawke's Bay telecommunications company NOW.
NOW's Chief Executive Hamish White said internal positioning of the fibre router was very important.
"Wi-Fi will only go so far and your connectivity is only as fast as the weakest point," he said. "For things like high-definition television you will want them hardwired into the router to get optimum performance, in terms of the true benefit of fibre."
Many chose to have the internal termination point installed behind the TV "and then you take your wireless router off that".
Chorus had struggled this year with an unanticipated spike in demand for residential fibre, thanks to on-demand TV services such as Netflix and Neon.
"As awareness grows so too is the demand for fibre. With the launch of ultra-high-definition TVs, demand for fibre will grow because you can't operate that sort of device with copper."
The Government is reluctant to connect fibre where it won't be used and requires ISPs to have a minimum 12-month contract with end users.
"We don't get too silly about it. If someone wanted to move premises we are not going to stick them with an early termination fee," Mr White said.
NOW connected Hawke's Bay's first home to Chorus fibre in 2012 for real estate company managing director Simon Tremain, who saw fibre's benefit in his business.
His four school-age children "just love devices and the internet" in their Westshore home.
"We are used to living in a world where everything is wireless and it is just expected that you have high-speed internet," he said.
His family happily accepted device-free days "because you need to".
The region's first fibre home connection was in Havelock North, where accounting software company Xero's CEO Rod Drury connected to local lines company Unison's fibre network.
He is concerned at the digital divide and questions whether all opportunities are being seized to install fibre infrastructure.
"If you look at the broadband map it shows Havelock and Hastings have pockets of broadband and it seems crazy to me that there has been all the earthworks and a big sewer pipe put right down Napier Rd - a key juncture with lots of houses.
"Did they put down a bit of conduit so they could easily put fibre down there?
"It must be pretty inexpensive to put in a bit of plastic conduit alongside the sewer pipe, compared with the expense of opening it up. If you had a house down Napier Rd you would be thinking: 'Will I get fibre now that there is all of these earthworks?'"
A Hastings District Council spokesperson said it had eased the consenting process to enable as many infrastructure companies as possible to work in the same trench and allowed extended worksite hours to improve access.
"Council also advises infrastructure providers of its plans so that, if possible, they can fit their work in at the same time. This gives opportunities to all utility providers to install new infrastructure or replace ageing gear at the same time as the ground's open."
Napier City Council road asset manager Jon Schwass said it had similar meetings with utility operators such as Chorus.
Mr Beaumont said fibre brought widespread benefits for business.
"There is growth from improved productivity, lower travel costs, greater flexibility for people to work from home, lower network and ICT expenses, and savings from moving applications into the cloud.
"Another bonus is the ability to communicate more easily and efficiently with suppliers, customers and business partners on a global scale.
"We're already starting to see some of these benefits in Hawke's Bay. Businesses already connected to fibre are experiencing seamless cloud computing, they're sending large images and files, conducting meetings over smooth HD videoconferencing and hosting multiple users and devices, all on the same internet connection."
Mark Radley and Dan Browne have breathed fibre for two years with their film and video company Indelible.
Using a cloud-based programme called Wipster, fibre enabled collaboration with creative teams in remote locations.
"People from all over the country can look at the various shots and make comments and make arrows point to what they're commenting about," Mr Browne said.
"Everyone doesn't have to be in the same place."
The superior upload speed of fibre "made the biggest difference for us".
Non-fibre download speeds were tolerable but upload speeds were "horrifically slow".
"Even the smallest fibre plan is a huge leap up in speed.
"If I need to access any footage that is in the office I can log into the server remotely and download on that site."
Ironically fibre-led growth led to more travel for the Indelible team as the business grew.
"We can shoot things in Wellington, Hamilton and Tauranga or wherever and send all the footage to Hawke's Bay."
NOW is also expanding on the back of fibre, with offices in Wellington, Rotorua and 60 people in its Hawke's Bay head office. Over the last 12 months it has gained 52 per cent more new customers and by March will have opened up offices in Tauranga and Hamilton.
"That is quite simply a reflection of demand - the economics are justifying going there," Mr White said.
