'It kind of defeats the purpose'

Dunedin student Josh Livingstone is among those left waiting for the Chorus gigabit internet network to reach his front gate. Photo by Peter McIntosh.
Dunedin student Josh Livingstone is among those left waiting for the Chorus gigabit internet network to reach his front gate. Photo by Peter McIntosh.

GigCity is a waiting game for Dunedin student Josh Livingstone.

And it is a wait he will have to endure for at least another year, until gigabit-speed internet finally arrives at his front door in July next year.

Mr Livingstone (22) is among the 36% of Dunedin residents still waiting for Chorus' ultra-fast broadband (UFB) network to spread into their streets.

The fourth-year student, who lives in Chambers St, Northeast Valley, has watched as homes around him are lit up by new connections.

"It's just our section of the street, and the next street over, that won't have it until July next year,'' he said.

Without it, Mr Livingstone and his six flatmates relied on a VDSL internet connection, delivering speeds a fraction of those promised by GigCity.

"With the whole Gigatown Dunedin thing, we thought it would have been done by now - not that it was going to take three years or so to get it all hooked up, when there are other towns and places that are already completely hooked up.

"It kind of defeats the purpose of having a competition for it, if the winner doesn't really get what they need out of it.''

It was still "a really, really'' good idea to roll out the network in the central city and campus areas first, and the network would benefit the city.

"I'm just disappointed with the slow pace of the rest of it,'' he said.

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