The Dunedin City Council is competing with applications from around the country for a slice of the Ministry of Economic Development's $340 million broadband investment fund.
Ministry fund programme manager Tim Watton said this week there had been a strong response to the initiative, with 19 full applications and 56 expressions of interest received.
The applications came from a "good geographical spread" of cities and rural areas, including some remote islands, he said.
Decisions on full applications were expected to be made in early December, while some of those who submitted expressions of interest would be invited to submit a full application later this month, Mr Watton said.
They would be asked to file their full applications by late February 2009, with results announced in May, he said.
Details of the council's application for a $3 million share of the Government fund were unveiled earlier this month.
The money would help develop a 39km community-owned fibre broadband network linking the city's municipal buildings, key businesses, schools, the university and Dunedin Hospital.
