Broadband capabilities and mobile phone coverage
In March 2015, the Government announced the next roll our of the Government's Ultrafast Broadband, Rural Broadband and Mobile Black Spot initiatives.
We made an application for improvement of these services in our district in the hope of accessing some of the additional funding.
Our registration of interest was based on the feedback we received through a survey of the community about broadband availability and speeds and black spots in our district. We identified a number of mobile black spots that could be lifesaving, enhance our emergency response on State Highways and improve communications for isolated communities. We wanted to improve our Civil Defence capabilities across the entire district, and we believe minimising mobile black spots would be hugely beneficial.
The areas we asked to be considered include areas of state highways 1, 5, 32, 41 and 47. All are on popular tourist routes and cover parts of Atiamuri, Waitahanui, Hatepe Hill, Tahorakuri Forest, Tauranga-Taupo, Motuoapa and Turangi.
We recommended Turangi, Mangakino, Kinloch and Mapara Road and surrounds be considered for Ultrafast Broadband. For the Rural Broadband initiative, we asked for Mapara Road, Broadlands and River roads, Tirohanga, part of State Highway 5 and part of State Highway 32 to be considered.
Further to our registration of interest, we were required to develop a digital enablement plan to show how the initiatives will be used in our district. View our registration of interest here and our digital enablement plan (DEP) here.
More information
- More information on the initiatives
- Beehive media release Bids open for Ultra-Fast Broadband expansion' 1 September, 2015
- Beehive media release Ambitious target set for rural broadband' 6 October, 2015
Next steps
We have provided the requested information to ensure our district is considered for these expansion projects. The Government is expected to make announcements about the towns receiving Ultrafast Broadband under the new initiative during the first half of 2016. Timeframes for announcements regarding the new Rural Broadband and Mobile Blackspot initiatives have not yet been advised.
