Telecom’s Ultra Fibre broadband is now available across the ultra fast broadband (UFB) fibre network to more New Zealanders than any other residential broadband provider.
Yesterday’s launch with Ultrafast Fibre, the only remaining Local Fibre Company that Telecom did not offer service with, means Telecom now has the largest residential fibre footprint in the country, covering 28 of the 30 active fibre areas that currently have a fibre network laid.
Telecom has plans to launch Ultra Fibre in the last two areas, Wanganui and Taupo, by the end of August this year.
“Launching with Ultrafast Fibre means that customers right across the country can make the most of the fibre technology and the speeds and consistency it brings them," says David Havercroft, COO, Telecom Connect.
There are a further three areas, Feilding, Waiheke Island and Rangiora, which are included in the government’s planned ‘fibre footprint’ but where the Local Fibre Company has not yet built fibre to the street.
However, Havercroft says that Telecom was ready to go live in these areas as soon as the infrastructure was laid.
“We will continue to work with all our infrastructure providers to give our customers access to fibre services as soon as possible after the cables have been laid," he adds.
“Each Fibre Company has its own processes and uses different systems and technology, so we’ve been working closely with each one to make sure our customer systems and processes link up seamlessly.
"In some cases this has taken some time, but we wanted to give customers the best experience possible when launching rather than making the launch a rush job.
“Telecom Ultra Fibre broadband users are also much more likely to access data heavy online content like video, meaning they do far more online than the average person.
"To support the higher levels of data consumption, Telecom needed to increase the capacity of our back-end network in fibre areas before we launched.
"We anticipate a steady increase in interest as awareness of Ultra Fibre grows and customers discover the amazing experiences fibre can deliver.”
Under the Government-supported UFB rollout, approximately 75 per cent of New Zealanders will have access to ultra fast broadband over fibre.
Four companies - Chorus, Enable, Northpower Fibre and Ultrafast Fibre – have each been allocated specific regions to roll out fibre for ultra fast broadband to the home.
