SouthNet wireless service gives Southland a boost

By ADAM GIFFORD

Southland internet service provider SouthNet is introducing out an 802.11b wireless internet network, for its subscribers in Invercargill, Queenstown, Fiordland and South Otago.

Funding for the equipment needed for the always-on.net.nz service came from a six-figure loan from Invest South, a venture capital organisation set up by the Southland Community Trust and the Southland Building Society.

It has also given money to a paua farmer, a milk processor, a bulb exporter and a dried food company, Backcountry Foods.

"By assisting SouthNet we are making a direct contribution to Southland's competitive advantage by providing wireless broadband, so it sits nicely with the aims of our organisation," said Invest South chief executive David Backhurst.

SouthNet managing director Marc Cohen, who started the Invercargill internet service provider six years ago, said that until now the wireless technology was too expensive.

But equipment from Israeli firm Breezecom and United States-based Aironet, which was bought last year by networking giant Cisco, had made wireless internet affordable.

"That's changed the cost structure. Wireless is happening in some bizarre places like Maine and Alaska - there's a place in Alaska with a population of 35,000 people, where they couldn't get broadband internet so the local lighting company wrote a cheque for $100,000 to roll out a wireless network."



While digital subscriber line (DSL) services are limited to about 4km from a suitably equipped telephone exchange, 802.11b (also known as Wi-Fi) can be accessed from up to 50km from the transmitter.

Mr Cohen said by "daisy chaining" Breezecom air bridges every 7km to 10km, SouthNet can offer a high-quality service.

"These are not $50,000 boxes. They are about $4000 each wholesale, so the costs have come down phenomenally."

He said the technology was ideal for remote regions like Southland.

To run always-on.net.nz, which offers users 2 Gbps (gigabit per second) access to the internet for $199 a month plus GST, SouthNet will connect air bridges to its bases in Invercargill, Te Anau, Dunedin and Queenstown.

It will use its existing dedicated stacked 2Mb DDS circuits leased from Telecom until it can get access to Broadcast Communications Ltd's infrastructure, in line with a Government promise to require BCL to provide "air gateways" to third parties.

Mr Cohen said SouthNet would be able to make wireless internet break even once it got 15 clients at a location. Clients would have to buy their own wireless modems, which cost about $1000.

Meanwhile, the large service providers are also trying to show their commitment to giving rural New Zealand access to the internet.

Prime Minister Helen Clark and Education Minister Trevor Mallard last week launched Farnet Learning Communities.

This gives 10 Far North secondary schools high-speed internet access, computers and on-line educational resources.

It comes comes from a partnership between the Government and the Learning Centre Trust which manages the Education Ministry's TKI portal, Telecom, IBM, Microsoft, Renaissance, and TVNZ.

Links


SouthNet

Breezecom