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Wireless internet broadband modem - Source: ONE News -
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The plan to give 75% of the country's homes ultra fast broadband will move ahead slower than expected.
The government in March announced plans to provide ultra fast broadband to 75% of the country over the next 10 years via a Crown Fibre Investment Company (CFIC) that would partner with private investors and invest in regional fibre companies.
On Tuesday, Telecommunications Minister Stephen Joyce said the government will take an extra couple of months to finalise the $1.5 billion investment in fibre optic cables and to consider pitches from Telecom, Vodafone and others wanting to get involved in the network.
"We owe it both to the country, in terms of investment, and to potential investors to consider those options pretty seriously before we come to a final decision," Joyce said.
The government had been planning to make an announcement mid-June.
Telecom in April pitched two proposals to the government in which it would play a major role in the fibre optic rollout.
The company said prices would be set so that it would not make a profit from the government component of any investment.
The broadband rollout was a high-profile election promise but
left tourist mecca Queenstown off the list of places getting faster
internet, which Joyce is now looking into.
