A Dunedin businessman is ''angry'' after Chorus changed the deadline at the last moment for entries to a $200,000 prize for entrepreneurs and innovators.
In November, entries into the Gig-Start fund were opened with $200,000 made available to entrepreneurs and innovators who created a new service concept to run over gigabit ultra-fast broadband in Dunedin.
Entries were to close today at noon, but without notice the deadline was extended to May 29 earlier this week.
The incensed Dunedin businessman said competitors had been ''led into a trap''.
''What they have done is tease out the youth of Dunedin and then made them into sacrificial cows,'' said the man, who wished to remain anonymous. He was aware of University of Otago students who had given up holiday jobs and their holidays to create business cases for the fund and felt they were now out of pocket and disadvantaged by the additional time provided to others.
The businessman only became aware of the deadline change by chance and believed others involved in the competition would still be unaware.
''There's people out there working away at it right now, not knowing it's been changed,'' he said.
''I'm wild - I'm angry.''
He felt moving the goalposts was ''business at its worst''.
''I can't believe it,'' he said.
He was also concerned confidential ideas and business plans would be difficult to keep under wraps for the extended timeframe.
Chorus media and PR manager Nathan Beaumont said the decision to extend the deadline to May 29 was made this week.
''There has been plenty of interest in the competition, but the Christmas and New Year break made it difficult for people to get their entries in on time,'' he said.
''So, with that in mind, we decided it made sense to extend the closing date, to give people as much time as possible to submit an entry.''
Chorus had been contacting interested parties to inform them about the extension and Twitter would also be used to spread the message.
''And, rest assured, any applications that have already been submitted will be safe and secure,'' Mr Beaumont said.
The new timeframe would see the winner (or winners) announced in July after a ''pitch day'' when finalists presented their concepts to the judging panel.
Finalists would be announced on June 30.
