More northern towns set to receive UFB from Northpower
Parts of Dargaville now have access to the Northpower Fibre's Ultrafast Broadband network and services to more towns are planned under the Government's UFB2 and Rural Broadband expansions.
As a result, 6000 more people in the Kaipara District will gain access under Northpower Fibre's network expansion by 2021 as well as 3000 more in Whangarei District, the company said.
Mangawhai’s UFB build will be completed in three stages, with construction already underway. Other Kaipara towns to receive access include Kaiwaka, Maungaturoto, Paparoa and Ruawai.
According to reports, eighty five per cent of Kiwis are supposed to have access to UFB by 2024 under various government schemes.
With the first stage of the Dargaville network now live, two months ahead of schedule, 500 people can connect to UFB and more than 70 people have already signed up, Northpower Fibre said.
Furthermore, 500 more will be able to connect in a month when the second part of the town goes live - the entire Dargaville expansion will be completed within a year – delivering UFB access to another 1100.
“We recently reached over 50 per cent uptake in Whangarei, 11,500 customers connected to the network out of a possible 22,000, and continue to remain ahead of schedule expanding the network to 12 more towns in Kaipara and Whangarei,” said Darren Mason, CEO of Northpower Fibre.
"Northpower Fibre’s UFB expansion beyond Whangarei to areas like Hikurangi, Waipu and One Tree Point has seen 500 people connect – an uptake rate of 25 per cent already."
The first Dargaville connections were made on Wednesday.
“Our aim is to lift our ownership of the Northpower Fibre business from 63 per cent to achieve full ownership by 2020 – remembering the Government is the other shareholder in the business,” said Mason.
