The NZ govt has announced its plans for rural broadband.  The announcement made yesterday, although ambiguous, states plans to get most rural communities connected to broadband within six years.

The Government says this latest rural policy will boost rural broadband investment from $48 million to $300 million, with that funding provided by a mix of public and private money.

Communications Minister, Steven Joyce pledges 100Mbps fibre optic cable connections to 93% of rural schools and 5Mbps connections to 80% of rural homes.  The remaining 20% of rural homes will have broadband speeds of up to 1Mbps.  The plan encompasses nearly 1000 rural schools and over 500,000 rural New Zealanders.

The Government is expected to announce more next week, including how much it plans to spend.

NATCOM has been providing rural broadband services to rural business since 2004 – see www.rural.net.nz