Government not 'ambitious enough' in rural broadband plans

Following yesterday’s request by the government for final proposals on the rural broadband initiative, the Federated Farmers group has come out and said that the plans are not ambitious enough.

‘’This is another positive step in the right direction, but we have already campaigned hard to lift Government’s sights, resulting in a lift in commitment from $48 million to $300million. The question rural New Zealand has before it is now, are you happy with a second rate service?” said Federated Farmers Telecommunications spokesperson, Donald Aubrey.

"With this approach, some 860,000 Kiwis in ‘rural’ New Zealand may eventually have the broadband speeds that consumers in Wellington currently have, while 215,000 ‘rural’ Kiwis may end up with just a fifth of that speed.”

He continued, “The 1.07 million Kiwis classed as ‘rural’ don’t wish to have what Wellington had, but to exceed current government aspirations by seeking what Wellington will have. It’s a space Federated Farmers has invested much resource into and the Government is not ambitious enough about seeding the next agricultural revolution.”