Central North Island Fibre Consortium shortlisted

Central North Island Fibre Consortium shortlisted for formal UFB negotiations

Hamilton mayor Bob Simcock is delighted by news that the Central North Island Fibre Consortium has been chosen as one of the first three partners to enter formal negotiations with Crown Fibre Holdings over the Government’s Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) Initiative.

The announcement was made by Crown Fibre Holdings earlier today, who revealed 14 parties had been shortlisted following a review of the refined proposals received in August. Of these, three – Alpine Energy (Timaru), Northpower (Whangarei) and Central North Island Fibre Consortium (covering Hamilton, including Cambridge and Te Awamutu, Tauranga, New Plymouth, Wanganui, Hawera and Tokoroa) – had been shortlisted for prioritised negotiations.

Mr Simcock said the city and its partners have worked hard to position themselves as early participants in the UFB Initiative.

“We see that the initiative has potential for tremendous benefits in schools, hospitals, businesses and homes right across the central North Island,” he said.

“While we understand there are still further negotiations to work through, we are committed to doing what we can to fast-track this process and see the UFB roll-out in the central North Island begin as soon as possible.

“I’d like to thank our staff and all of our partners for the work they’ve put into positioning us as one of the top three parties for the prioritised negotiations.”

The Central North Island Fibre Consortium is a consortium between WEL Networks Ltd, Waipa Networks Ltd and the Hamilton Fibre Network.

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