Discount wi-fi zone to be ready for Cup visitors

Photo / Thinkstock

The Auckland Council says its partnership with service provider Tomizone will expand a discount wi-fi network in time for it to be used by Rugby World Cup visitors.

The partnership was announced on the same day as the council revealed a new study showing how early investment in broadband could boost the city's economic productivity by 7 to 9 per cent above targets.

Mayor Len Brown said the wi-fi zone would cover Kingsland, all of Queen St, Britomart and Queens Wharf, lower Parnell, northern Ponsonby Rd, Mt Eden Village andOnehunga.

It would also be in main rugby training areas and selected transport hubs around Auckland.

The network would stay after the rugby tournament, and continue expanding to other parts of Auckland.

"Auckland Council will retain control of the content, which gives it a flexible platform for the future," said Mr Brown.

Service would be at a guaranteed discount to market rates, with free access to websites giving information on World Cup activities, public services, tourism and transport services.

A spokeswoman for the mayor's office said the amount of the ratepayers' investment in the service was unavailable because it was commercially sensitive.

The money came from former councils' broadband development budgets and expansion would be self-funded, she said.

It would not be an ongoing cost to the council and ratepayers because profits from the service would be reinvested in expansion.

Tomizone director Steve Simms said the expansion would be attractive to residents and visitors who wanted to use their wi-fi gadgets in the city and use their roaming accounts from providers such as Skype, iPass and Bongo.

For Aucklanders, it meant more and better wireless internet access for portable devices such as iPads.

The council's economic development forum yesterday received a Berl Economics consultancy report on broadband benefits. It was a joint study with the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and the Priority One Tauranga development agency.

Forum acting chairman Cameron Brewer said the study was timely as it identified priorities for the introduction of new capacity for Crown Fibre and local fibre companies.

It called for extra infrastructure capacity to go first where demand would be highest.

However, Mr Brewer said the Berl report gave a hard economic view, which might not necessarily be shared by the council in light of the directions set by its Auckland Plan.

Fostering employment "opportunity hubs" in south and northwest Auckland, and social factors in poorer housing areas, would also be considered for priority.

Berl's favoured priority targets were downtown Auckland, Newmarket and Grafton, Penrose, Takapuna, Devonport, Whangaparaoa, Snells Beach, Warkworth, Wellsford, Helensville, Pukekohe and Waiuku.