Rural Otago towns may soon be able to connect to Telecom’s JetStream fast internet service, thanks to a deal between Telecom and the Otago Community Trust.
Trust chairman Clive Matthewson says that under the arrangement the trust will underwrite the installation of DSL technology to exchanges serving Otago towns, reducing the risk to Telecom that providing the service will be uneconomic.
There is a cap on the underwriting costs, limiting the trust’s financial exposure, he says. The deal will benefit Otago’s small towns, but will be of limited use to the region’s farmers, as JetStream won’t be available outside a 7km radius of the exchanges.