Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean and Downer civil works manager
Stephen Christos get to grips with the technology behind
ultra-fast broadband. Photo by Andrew Ashton.
A large part of Oamaru will have access to ultra-fast
broadband (UFB) by July next year, after communications company
Chorus announced yesterday it would start rolling out 14km of
fibreoptic cable in the town.
Work to connect central Oamaru to UFB is expected to be
completed in the next seven months, with the north end (east
of Thames St and north of Weir St) expected to be connected
by July 2014.
However, the area around Avon, Tamar, Perth and Selwyn Sts
does not yet have a completion date.
Chorus network build general manager Chris Dyhrberg said the
rollout would constitute a ''massive programme of work''
which would also connect eight local schools by the end of
2015.
''Today we've taken the first step towards Oamaru's fibre
rollout and we're eager to work with partners, local council
and community groups to extend our network to even more
suburbs in the coming years.''
Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean said she was particularly thrilled
that Oamaru Intermediate School and Pembroke School would be
the first to be connected to UFB.
She said the rollout was good news for the town's education
system and would be of ''significant'' benefit to the local
economy.
Waitaki Mayor Alex Familton said UFB would give Oamaru
advantages it needed to ensure its economy faced up to and
increasingly competitive world.
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