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Budget 2008: Broadband

This government’s vision of rolling out fast broadband to all New Zealanders will see us spend more than $500 million in the next five years, targeting high speed open access urban fibre networks, improved rural connectivity and improved international links.

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Accelerating New Zealand on to a pathway of widespread deployment of fibre-to-the-home, and cheaper and faster broadband for all consumers will bring substantial economic gains that will transform New Zealand’s economy and society

The Budget 2008 broadband package includes an additional $325 million of operating funding between 2008/09 and 2012/13 and $15 million of capital funding in 2008/09 to support the roll-out of high-speed broadband.

The new Broadband Investment Fund will be used to accelerate broadband investment in three critical areas:

facilitating high speed broadband to businesses and MUSH entities (municipalities, universities, schools and hospitals) in urban centres;

extending the reach of broadband into underserved regions; and

improving the resilience of New Zealand’s international connections.

This investment builds on the regulatory changes we have already made to the telecommunications environment, which will ensure major additional investment and competition by the private sector over this period.

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