Town centre WiFi up for award

25 August 2015

The free WiFi service launched for the Taupo central business district in June has been named a finalist in the Tourism Industry Awards New Zealand.

The wireless internet is provided by T>Stream, an internet provider owned by the Tuaropaki Trust, and is supported by Taupo District Council, Destination Great Lake Taupo, Towncentre Taupo and local business owners. The T>Stream service can be accessed from most of the Taupo CBD and popular recreational areas including the lake front, marina, Owen Delany and Crown parks and at this stage there is no limit to the amount of data used.

The WiFi service is up for the Tourism 2015 Enabler Award supported by Air New Zealand. Two Wellington organisations, Positively Wellington Tourism and Angus & Associates Wellington, are the other two finalists.

The winner will be announced along with the other category winners at the Tourism Industry Awards dinner at Sky City in Auckland on October 2. An overall winner will take out the Air New Zealand Supreme Tourism Industry Award and will receive international air travel to any Air New Zealand destination in North America, South America or Asia, valued at up to $10,000 to help them grow their tourism business.

Taupo District Council business development and improvement strategic manager Will Samuel said free WiFi hot spots in many other town centres were ratepayer-funded, so it was a unique arrangement with the Tuaropaki Trust and a point of difference.

We are delighted the service is being recognised as we believe it's a fantastic collaboration between the private and public sectors, he said.

Tuaropaki is still in talks with other building owners to decide on further locations and has plans to expand to more remote sites like Huka Falls in the near future.

Users can log in to the service by searching for the free T-Stream Taupo' network and can be online for an hour before having to log in again. There are 15 free WiFi sites now available throughout Taupo, with more in the pipeline, including Huka Falls. A full list of these sites is available at www.greatlaketaupo.com.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lisa Nairne Communications Manager 07 376 0762 027 839 8410

Vicki Waterhouse Communications Advisor 07 376 0718 027 484 2549

Taupo District Council

www.taupo.govt.nz