Federated Farmers and TUANZ are challenging the Government to be more ambitious with their rural broadband roll out.

TUANZ chief executive Ernie Newman says more government investment in ultra-fast broadband should go into rural areas.

“TUANZ and Federated Farmers have independently reached a similar conclusion,” he says. “That a greater proportion of the government’s fibre funding should be devoted to areas of less concentrated population where the markets are less likely to deliver.”

Newman says these are the areas that offer the promise of the greatest productivity and social gains, due to their relative isolation and the high contribution they make to the economy.

Federated Farmers telecommunications spokesperson Donald Aubrey says getting broadband roll-out to the rural communities, which produce 64% of the country’s export dollars, is very important to prevent rural living from slipping any further behind urban.

“It’s vital rural New Zealand has access to ultra-fast broadband enabled education, health and social solutions. We don’t want a two-tier society and need to close-up perceived ‘rural isolation’ so that people from non-farming backgrounds view rural industries as a valid career choice.”

To do this, Federated Farmers called for the government to make the $1.5 billion urban broadband proportionate to all New Zealanders or increase the proposed Telecommunication Development Levy form $50m to $80m.

“Over six years that increases the total amount available for rural broadband to $480 million and close to the magic $500m mark each quarter of urban New Zealand will get.”

Newman says while rolling out broadband to rural areas is “complex”, he doesn’t think the government has got it right yet.

“The end result must be that every home, business, school, farm, marae and health centre, whether urban or rural, has ultra fast connectivity,” he says. “This will enable not only major productivity gains for rural businesses, but also huge advances nationwide in the way in which health and education services are delivered and environmental issues addressed.”