UFB Receives Strong Interest from Service Providers

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UFB Receives Strong Interest from Service Providers

Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) over fibre is proving an attractive proposition in the market, with thirteen (13) telecommunications service providers indicating they want to sell the new UFB service to customers.

These service providers have signed Letters of Intent to retail UFB services:
• CallPlus (Slingshot)
• FX Networks
• Kordia
• MaxNet
• Orcon
• Rural Link (Hamilton)
• TrustPower Kinect (Tauranga)
• Uber Group (Whangarei)
• Velocity Networks (Hamilton)
• Vodafone
• Woosh
• WorldXChange
• XfNet (Whangarei)

CFH expects retailers’ product offerings and prices to flow through to the market in coming weeks.
“We’ve worked hard to make wholesale services affordable and we’re delighted that’s been acknowledged in the strong interest received from so many retail service providers,” said Graham Mitchell, Crown Fibre Holdings CEO.

“One key to the success of the UFB initiative is a wide range of retail service providers offering new and exciting products. Given the attractive UFB wholesale prices, retailers will be able to offer superior internet and voice services for much the same price as customers pay for communications over copper today. There’s also the ability to offer high definition video, and in the business market, the full benefits of cloud computing.”

Chief Executive of the Telecommunications Users Association of NZ (TUANZ), Paul Brislen welcomed the news.

"It'll be great to see some retail prices out there so our users can plan their future telecommunications spend. The more competition the better in our view. TUANZ looks forward to seeing innovative and competitive pricing from these retailers."

The UFB initiative will enable increased productivity and lower total cost of ownership for business, improved service delivery in health, as well as greater engagement in education and enriched communications and entertainment at home.

Orcon CEO Scott Bartlett commented: "It's an exciting time for broadband in New Zealand, especially for those of us passionate about the internet and the exciting opportunities that UFB will enable.

"We love changes in the broadband space. They allow us to innovate and create new products for customers keen to have the latest and greatest, and that's what the UFB will do.

"So while UFB is about a high-speed network, it's also about internet companies like Orcon leading the way through new products and services to deliver over the network. Some of them we are already working on, others will develop as we come up with more bright ideas.

"Already we are set to introduce modems to our customers that are fibre-ready, so we can quickly and easily transition Orcon customers onto fibre as soon as it's available in their area."

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