Labour would remove the controversial ‘three-strikes’ internet account suspension clause of the Copyright Act within 90 days of taking office, according to a wide-ranging pre-election ICT policy statement. Labour also promises a new Copyright Bill within 18 months, a single regulatory body for broadcasting and telecommunications, and an independent review of the Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) rollout.
Chorus and Crown Fibre Holdings have officially started the rollout of the ultra-fast broadband (UFB) network in the South Island by deploying new network infrastructure in Blenheim.
Chorus kicked off its Ultra Fast Broadband network with a Ministerial photo opporunity in Auckland yesterday.
Huawei is set to be named as a preferred supplier to the UFB project, according to UK tech website The Register.
As the dust settles on the Government’s final Ultra-fast Broadband initiative decisions, the industry is only now turning its head to face the realities of this fundamental market shift.
Chorus has released a draft price list for the services it intends to offer retail service providers as part of the Ultra Fast Broadband initiative.
Stainless Design, a Hamilton stainless steel fabrication firm, is the first company to be connected to the central North Island part of the Government’s ultra-fast broadband (UFB) initiative, ICT minister Steven Joyce has announced.
On May 24 the Government announced its final partners and the framework for this country’s Ultra-Fast Broadband Initiative, which will deliver fibre-to-the-premises to 75 percent of New Zealanders over 10 years. The industry’s collective breath had been held for so long in anticipation of the decision, that the announcement attracted no arguments or shouting. There was just a quiet exhalation of relief there is now certainty.
Fitch Ratings has placed Telecom's long- and short-term debt on "rating watch negative" in the wake of the decision to spin off Chorus as a separate company.
Telecom’s share price has soared following news that it has won the UFB contract for Auckland, the eastern and lower North Island and most of the South Island, excluding Christchurch.
Labour will vote against the Telecommunications (TSO, Broadband, and Other Matters) Amendment bill and it will overturn sections of the new law if it is passed by Parliament next week, should it return to power at the next election.
In the face of government’s apparent unwillingness to canvass urban populations and spark discussion among them on productive and interesting uses of the Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) network, a private lobby group may be started to ensure this information is uncovered and initiatives begun.
When it comes to national broadband networks, governments and their technical advisors often concentrate on setting up the physical infrastructure and think their job is done, says Tim Williams, author of a report recounting the UK experience of community use of broadband.
Industry and consumer groups opposed to the regulatory forbearance period in the draft Telecommunications Amendment Bill, have suggested an alternative way to ensure there is price certainty for UFB partners without sacrificing Commerce Commission oversight on pricing.
Telecom has announced that it has provided a "binding offer to Crown Fibre Holdings (CFH) in respect of the Crown’s Ultra-fast Broadband (UFB) initiative, and has accelerated the reorganisation of its business to meet the competitive challenge of a fibre-based world."