UFF CEO John Hanna says the company is doing what it can to remove barriers to learning from home during lockdown. Photo / File
UFF CEO John Hanna says the company is doing what it can to remove barriers to learning from home during lockdown. Photo / File
Central North Island fibre company Ultrafast Fibre will waive its monthly wholesale connection charges for families with school-aged children living in homes without broadband connectivity.
The waiver is in place for the next six months and applies to the approximately 1650 households identified by the Ministry of Education as needing internet connectivity for learning, and which already have a fibre Optical Network Terminal (ONT) in the home - the small white plastic 'box' required to connect the fibre from outside the house to inside the house.
This means fees of up to $55/month, normally charged to the internet service provider will be waived for these families.
This wholesale charge represents around half the cost of a monthly retail plan provided by the ISP.
Under the initiative, UFF is offering the MOE a speed plan the internet service providers wish to deliver up to 200/20 megabits per second.
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Fibre for these families can be switched on at any time as their ONTs can be remotely reactivated by UFF, giving them almost instant access to fast, high-quality broadband.
Installing new ONTs is largely prohibited under the government's Covid-19 Alert Level 4 status, unless it supports those delivering essential services.
In these cases, UFF is using a one-day install approach to ensure connections are completed as early as the day following the order.
UFF will work with MOE and retail service providers which tap into its 3500km network across a region of 35 towns and cities to switch on fibre connections for the 1650 eligible families as quickly as possible.
"We are proud to be doing our bit to support the government and remove barriers to learning from home during this unparalleled time of lockdown.
"We acknowledge it will take a collaborative effort and there are big challenges ahead to get our kids the connectivity they need for their schooling," says UFF CEO John Hanna.
"And as a provider of critical infrastructure servicing the 240,000 residents and businesses in the Central North Island region, we are here and we are ready to support the Government and our industry when, where and how we are needed."
Mr Hanna says the company had made a significant investment in its network before the Rugby World Cup and is confident the network will remain fully operational with plenty of capacity to meet the needs of its customers in the weeks ahead.
Internet use across UFF's network has increased by an average of 35 per cent since March 26.
UFF will also defer its scheduled annual Consumer Price Index price increase for its broadband products until at least October 1.
• The UFF network currently represents just under 14 per cent of the entire national UFB build, operating a 3500km fibre network across Hamilton, Tauranga, New Plymouth and Whanganui. The company is owned by Waikato Networks Ltd – a partnership between neighbouring utility companies WEL Networks (85 per cent) and Waipa Networks (15 per cent). UFF completed the first phase of the government's UFB rollout programme (UFB1) in 2015, and completed the second phase, UFB2 and UFB2+, to 27 new towns at the end of 2019, two years ahead of schedule.
