Search

The government’s ultra fast broadband (UFB) initiative is now underway in Christchurch, with the first fibre laid today in Aidanfield.

The Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Steven Joyce, says ultra fast broadband will assist the transformation of the Canterbury economy.

Under the UFB initiative Enable Networks is contracted to roll out fibre-optic cable to across Christchurch and in Rangiora.

Communications and Information Technology Minister Steven Joyce has approved open access deeds of undertaking provided by the government’s broadband partners.

The deeds set out the requirements for open access on the Ultra-fast Broadband and Rural Broadband networks, and on Telecom’s copper network after structural separation.

Communications and Information Technology Minister Steven Joyce has welcomed today’s announcement that Telecom shareholders have voted in favour of proceeding with structural separation.

He says this is one of the final procedural steps in the roll out of ultra fast broadband to 75% of New Zealanders where they live, work and study.

Transport Minister Steven Joyce says while this year’s road toll is at a record low to date, there is no room for complacency on the roads this long weekend.

To date this year, 220 people have died on the roads.  This time last year the toll was 297.  The rolling 12 month total is 298 which is the first time it has been under 300 since 1952.

Mr Joyce says while the low toll is encouraging, there’s still a lot of work to do to reduce the level of death and injury on our roads.

Communications and Information Technology Minister Steven Joyce has declined to approve Chorus’s open access deed of undertaking in relation to its copper business.

The deed of undertaking was submitted by Telecom, on behalf of Chorus (assuming structural separation goes ahead) on 22 July 2011.

Public submissions were sought on the deed, which set out the requirements for open access on Chorus’s legacy fixed copper network if structural separation occurs.

The roll out of ultra fast broadband-enabling fibre to schools is progressing well and will see nearly 100,000 students at 221 schools around the country connected by July next of year, says Education Minister Anne Tolley and Communications and IT Minister Steven Joyce.

The Ministers were commenting following the release today of details of the first 200 schools to be connected by Chorus, one of the Crown’s four partners for the UFB rollout. 

The new National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has officially opened today.

The centre is charged with helping to defend government agencies and critical infrastructure providers against cyber threats.

The Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Steven Joyce, says the global threat from cyber intrusions is real and growing, and New Zealanders and the New Zealand economy are not immune.

Maori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples and Minister for Communications and Information Technology Steven Joyce today signed off a framework for maximising opportunities for Maori from the roll-out of high-speed broadband.

Terms of Reference have been agreed between the Government; Nga Pu Waea, a Maori working group; Telecom and Vodafone, the major contractors rolling out the broadband network; and a number of regional providers of ultra-fast broadband (UFB).

The roll out of ultra fast broadband (UFB) in the Wellington region is now underway.\ 

The Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Steven Joyce, this morning joined with Chorus to deploy the first UFB-enabling network in the Lower Hutt suburb of Kelson this morning.

“9,200 premises will be passed with new fibre in the year to June 2012.  By July next year the UFB rollout will be continuing in earnest across most of the region,” says Mr Joyce.

The government has approved Telecom’s plan to split its assets after structural separation – the first major step in Telecom’s proposed demerger process.

Telecom’s Asset Allocation Plan identifies how assets and liabilities will be split during Telecom’s proposed demerger and the key terms of all intended material sharing arrangements.

The Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Steven Joyce, says the approval of the plan kick-starts the most significant telecommunications industry change in the past 20 years.  

Communications and Information Technology Minister Steven Joyce welcomed the release of a discussion document prepared by the Ministry of Economic Development on the allocation of the ‘digital dividend’ radio spectrum.

The digital dividend is the radio spectrum that will be freed up when New Zealand switches over to digital television. The digital switchover is scheduled

to be completed by late 2013.

The freed up spectrum is in the 700 MHz range and is ideal for next generation mobile broadband services.

The roll out of ultra fast broadband to more than 1.4 million Aucklanders got underway today as Chorus deployed the first fibre in the city under the government’s Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) initiative.

Steven Joyce, the Minister for Communications and Information Technology, says the UFB initiative is essential for continued growth in Auckland.

The government’s Ultra Fast Broadband initiative (UFB) will see fibre rolled out to more than 50,000 premises around New Zealand in the next twelve months including schools, hospitals and businesses, says Communications and IT Minister Steven Joyce.

Chorus, with which the government has partnered to deliver 70% of the UFB to much of New Zealand, has today released plans which will see fibre rolled out in the next twelve months to parts of Ashburton, Auckland, Blenheim, Dunedin, Masterton, Napier, Palmerston North, Rotorua, Taupo and Wellington.

The first ultra fast broadband-enabling fibre has been deployed in Tauranga today, marking the start of a rollout which will transform the local economy, says Steven Joyce, the Minister for Communications and Information Technology.

Mr Joyce says ultra fast broadband will bring real gains to schools, business and medical facilities in Tauranga and around the country.

The Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Steven Joyce, has today announced the release of two tender documents for the final Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI) contracts.

The contracts will cover:

The Deaf, deaf-blind, speech and hearing-impaired community will soon benefit from an expanded range of communication services, Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Steven Joyce, announced today.

New services to be progressively introduced from late this year will include captioned telephony, which allows people to read live captions of spoken phone conversations. People will also be able to contact the relay contact centre by mobile phone, and use a prepaid calling card to make international calls by Internet relay.

Fibre-optic cable has been deployed to the first Hamilton business today as part of the Government’s ultra-fast broadband (UFB) Initiative.

"Stainless Design is the first of some 4,000 Hamilton businesses that will have the opportunity to benefit from improved broadband speeds at competitive prices as they are deployed and progressively connected over the next few years," Communications and Information Technology Minister Steven Joyce says.

The Government’s second infrastructure plan highlights both progress and strategic opportunities for telecomunications and transport infrastructure, Associate Infrastructure Minister Steven Joyce says.

The second plan takes a strategic look at the country’s infrastructure over the next 20 years.

"The Government is committed to ensuring New Zealand has the infrastructure to support faster economic growth," Mr Joyce says. "Effective transport and telecommunications networks will be central to achieving this.

The Government’s roll out of fast broadband to rural New Zealand is underway today with the first three rural schools connecting to ultra fast fibre.

Connecting ultra-fast broadband to schools means fibre optic cables going deep into rural New Zealand, bringing fast, fixed and wireless broadband technology to a quarter of a million New Zealanders currently struggling with dial up.

Cabinet has approved changes to transport planning legislation as part of ongoing efforts to cut unnecessary red tape and get New Zealand moving.

Transport Minister Steven Joyce says amendments to the Land Transport Management Act 2003 (LTMA) will make the transport planning process simpler, more streamlined and less prescriptive.

“The current legislation is far too complicated. It has resulted in confusing and convoluted decision making, ambiguity between planning documents, and onerous consultation processes.

A bill to deliver ultra-fast and rural broadband has passed its third and final reading in Parliament today.

Communications and Information Technology Minister Steven Joyce says the Telecommunications (TSO, Broadband and Other Matters) Amendment Bill positions New Zealand to take advantage of communications technology that will truly transform this country.

Communications and Information Technology Minister Steven Joyce has reached an agreement with Telecom New Zealand to vary its operational separation undertakings, which have been in force since 2008.

The Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Steven Joyce, says four out of five New Zealand businesses surveyed say the costs of data roaming is prohibitive to their staff doing business in Australia.

The Minister has today released the results of a survey from the Ministry of Economic Development which asked New Zealanders and New Zealand businesses how they stay in touch when travelling across the Tasman.

The Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Steven Joyce, has today launched a new strategy to improve New Zealand’s protection against cyber threats.

Mr Joyce says cyber security is increasingly important to New Zealanders, business and government.

“Criminal elements are increasingly using the internet to gain access to personal information, steal business’ intellectual property, undermine critical services and gain knowledge of sensitive government-held information for financial or other malicious purposes.