Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 22 April 2008 10:28
Opinion and Analysis
Page 2 of 3
Key said that, in the first six years, priority would be given to business premises, schools, health facilities, and the first tranche of homes. "In achieving this we also want to significantly enhance broadband access and speeds for those households and premises for which fibre-to-the-home is not immediately feasible...Today, I am pleased to announce that, subject to adherence to the principles I have just laid out, the next National Government will contribute an investment of up to $NZ1.5 billion in Crown capital over six years to accelerate the roll-out of a fibre-to-the-home network for New Zealand."
Sounds remarkably like the
ALP's March 2007 communication policy. However there are some big differences. Number one: the goal is rather more realistic: 75 percent of the population not 98 percent. Secondly those principles that Key referred to which he spelt out as:
- ensuring that the Crown's capital contribution does not lead to any reigning-in of investments already planned, such as Telecom's 'cabinetisation' plan;
- ensuring that any fibre network that the Crown takes a stake in is open-access. "We want to ensure that many service providers can compete to provide services over that fibre network, because we believe this will result in the best and cheapest services for consumers."
- getting the right balance between on the one hand ensuring any fibre roll-out does not result in excessive duplication that may prevent investment in other parts of the network, and on the other hand ensuring it does not cement-in an undue advantage for existing providers.
- ensuring that the public return from any Crown investment is partly realised in lowering cost barriers that could prevent consumers taking up leading-edge 'triple-play' broadband services. "We want to ensure that our valuable investment in fibre to homes and premises actually results in substantially increased uptake of ultra-fast broadband services."
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