Consumers in Tauranga will be able to access Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) services outside of the government-funded network for as little as $59 per month, via local provider Enternet Online (EOL).
However, the ultra-cheap LightWave Lite offering is capped at 10MBps up & down, and can only be accessed by customers who also purchase a TalkHD VoIP plan with the company, valued at $9.95 per month.
Users who want more speed have to upgrade to the more expensive LightWave Power or LightWave Xpro; as for data caps, a company representative says with over 170 plans it’s impossible to list all the variations, but on average EOL’s will be more generous than those of their competitors.
For businesses, EOL’s UFB plans start at $69 per month, but these are subject to the same restrictions.
Despite the limitations, 10MBps is still quite quick; also, traffic on TalkHD is zero-rated, and other discounts apply for traffic that is off-peak.
Terry Coles, managing director of EOL, says he believes the company’s prices to be the lowest in the country at this time, and he doesn’t see that changing.
"Our unique, independently-owned network allows EOL to offer ultra-fast broadband and landline packages which are more affordable than any of our competitors,” Coles says.
"We aim to provide people connected to our network with fast, affordable, reliable services, and our LightWave product is another example of this.
"Our goal was to make [UFB] as accessibly as possible through our pricing structure.”
Like other ISPs, EOL is offering a service whereby users can look up the estimated date that UFB will become available to them.
Check out the EOL website for more on the company’s UFB plans.
