Masterton speeding along as UFB arrives

BLAZING TRAILS: Construction workers dig a trench along an Essex St footpath in Masterton ready to lay the duct for ultra fast broadband. PHOTO/FILE

Telecom is turning on blazing fast broadband for more Masterton homes, schools and businesses this week.

Telecom retail chief executive Chris Quin said personal, academic and professional net users will be able to connect to next generation ultra fast broadband (UFB) from this week through the Telecom Ultra Fibre plans.

"We're thrilled to be able to offer our customers in Masterton the opportunity. We hear that locals are amongst the most enthusiastic 'early adopters' of ultra-fast broadband services," Mr Quin said.

Mr Quin said the broadening of services will appeal to Masterton residents and businesses and will enable customers "unprecedented internet speed and performance".

"By adopting UFB, Kiwis are also future-proofing themselves with the capacity for technology use that we can't even imagine yet but that will come out over the next coming years. After all, 15 years ago, how many of us had video cameras in our phones? Or had heard of YouTube, Facebook or Instagram?"

Telecom has offered UFB to the Chorus footprint (the areas where Chorus has laid fibre infrastructure) since March this year, Mr Quin said.

"However, before Ultra Fibre could be 'switched on' in Masterton as well as a handful of other locations, we needed to build additional backhaul or network capacity so that the network could handle the increase in data consumption expected with fibre.

Mr Quin said the roll-out of UFB is "an exciting time for New Zealand" as it will "transform how Kiwis communicate and connect, both personally and professionally".

Once a customer has registered interest in Telecom Ultra Fibre, a pre-qualification process will be carried out to ensure the service can be provided. For schools and most homes, installation is free but some homes may face an installation charge passed on from Chorus according to their specific circumstances.

Telecom recommends customers are on site during the installation process given work is required both inside and outside the premises, and also recommends customers allow up to a day for the installation team to carry out their work.

For customers who take up Telecom Ultra Fibre, the company will retain their existing copper-based phone lines to service voice, monitored alarms, faxes, eftpos, SkyTV and medical alarms, Mr Quin said.

Telecom is continuing to work alongside fibre partners in Northland, Canterbury, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty to deliver Ultra Fibre in those regions in the near future.