Enable, the Crown Fibre Holdings Ltd and Christchurch City Holdings Ltd joint venture fibre company, has begun to transform the way people in Canterbury do business and connect with each other with the launch of its wholesale ultra-fast broadband (UFB) services. UFB dark fibre and point-to-point Ethernet services for large and medium-sized businesses are already available over Enable's existing extensive fibre network and can be purchased through a number of technology solution providers and internet companies. "For businesses already enjoying fibre services or considering a move to fibre, one of the key benefits of the UFB project and the services we've launched is a reduction in price,” Enable CEO Steve Fuller says. "Under UFB pricing, fibre services suitable for large or medium sized businesses have reduced in wholesale cost by up to 40 per cent compared with 12 months ago.” Enable has also begun extending its 350km fibre network with UFB deployment underway in the commercial parts of Woolston, Hornby and Middleton. "We already have the most extensive fibre coverage in Christchurch covering 80 per cent of commercial areas in the city,” says Fuller. In addition, Enable last month announced its range of mass market (GPON) services with download speeds of up to 100Mbps that will be available to residents and business customers in UFB deployment areas from mid-2012. The wholesale prices for GPON services start at $37.50 for residential and $49.95 for business services. "These services provide data speeds of up to 100Mbps at lower cost than existing copper services and pave the way for IP voice, IP TV and cloud based services. Homes and businesses of all sizes will begin to enjoy these services and the benefits of UFB services in June,” said Mr Fuller. Construction of the UFB network in Christchurch suburbs started in Halswell in November and it is expected that around 20,000 homes and businesses will have fibre coverage by June 2012. By then, Enable's construction contractor is expected to be installing fibre to the boundary of up to 120 premises per day.