NZ’s Broadband Vision

The vision of Crown Fibre Holdings is to lead the rollout of Ultra-Fast Broadband to 75% of New Zealanders by 2019. CFH will lead the telecommunications industry in rolling out Ultra-Fast Broadband rapidly, efficiently and cost-effectively, and will enable and drive uptake of Ultra-Fast Broadband across New Zealand. This will:

  • provide world class telecommunications infrastructure, to enable a more productive New Zealand economy;
  • deliver better outcomes in service delivery in key areas such as health and education; and
  • benefit New Zealanders through enabling new and improved Internet-based services using Ultra-Fast Broadband.

The Government  has a Five Point Broadband Action Plan which provides an overview of what the Government is doing to support the benefits of faster broadband in five key sectors:

e-Health

  • Health innovation hub to test, commercialise and encourage funding and uptake of IT applications for fibre, through DHBs;
  • National Health IT Plan including:
    • e-referrals, e-prescribing and online records of medications;
    • access to surgical buses;
    • shared care records by 2014;
    • provide communities with remote diagnosis via Integrated Family Health Centres;
    • provide in home health monitoring and video conferencing for the elderly.

e-Business

  • Information about the benefits of faster broadband to business provided through Government business channels such as New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and the Ministry of Science and Innovation (MSI);
  • Digital tools and applications to enhance business productivity;
  • MSI funding support:
    • the Wynyard Quarter Innovation Precinct;
    • assistance to NZ tech companies to establish and operate in Silicon Valley;
    • ICT Entrepreneurs Scheme.

e-Education

  • Creation of a Network for Learning;
  • School Network Upgrade Programme (SNUP);
  • Use of Broadband for Maori in schools and ICT careers;
  • Funded school lead-ins (drops);
  • Professional learning and development for teachers.

e-Development 

  • Local Government and stakeholders establishing Digitial Leadership Forums or similar to leverage the benefits of the UFB investment locally, holding six-monthly RBI meetings;
  • Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI) National Advisory Committee;
  • Work with Nga Pu Waea, the Maori broadband working group, to maximise opportunities for Maori from the initiative; improve digital literacy and confidence;
  • Improve digital literacy and confidence to use UFB via DIA ICT programmes (eg Computers in Homes, Computer Clubhouse);
  • Deliver fibre to all libraries.

e-Government

  • New applications and services for government;
  • Better access to government data;
  • Increased use of the web as a channel;
  • Centralised ICT services, business processes and information;
  • Individual agency ICT initiatives.

More information on the plan is available here.

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