Commerce Commission to dig into rural connectivity options
The Commerce Commission has launched its Rural Connectivity Study today, aiming to paint a detailed picture of the rural telecommunications market.
Waikato’s Wiltsdown, roughly 80 kilometres south of Hamilton, is home to the new tower, developed by the Rural Connectivity Group to enable improved service to 70 homes and businesses in the surrounding area.
The Government says that nationally, under the Rural Broadband Initiative Phase 2 (RBI2), Government-funded connectivity programmes have improved connectivity for more than 62,000 rural households and businesses.
“This Government is committed to ensuring that more rural communities enjoy the social and economic benefits of fast, reliable broadband connection,” says Minister for Digital Economy and Communication David Clark.
“Along with building new infrastructure to deliver improved digital connectivity to rural areas, the Government committed $10 million in Budget 2021 to open up suitable radio spectrum for rural communities, where broadband capacity and coverage is under pressure.
“This will mean vastly improved broadband for rural communities in the long-term as the 600MHz band, is a lower frequency, better suited to 5G services in rural areas,” Clark says.
The Government says it remains committed to its 2020 Election Manifesto commitment to establish a $60 million fund for improving connectivity and backhaul services in the worst connected parts of New Zealand.
“We understand the need for, and want to see the delivery of, reliable fast internet connections to rural Aotearoa,” says Clark.
