ICT Minister Amy Adams has attended the launch of a new broadband tower in Eureka, near Hamilton, the first of 154 being erected as part of the government's Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI).

It was the second broadband-related event of the day for Adams, who earlier outlined the government's plans for making the most of its broadband investments at the Commerce Commission's Future with High Speed Broadband conference.

"The new tower in Eureka represents the first of many that will give rural New Zealand homes and businesses better access to faster broadband,” Adams says, "a necessity in today's world.

Vodafone was responsible for building the tower, although other telcos will be able to use it.

"This ensures there is true competition in the rural wireless telecommunications market,” Adams says.

By the end of the RBI project, 98.1% of New Zealand households will have peak internet speeds of at least 5MBps.