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Wireless internet broadband modem - Source: ONE News -
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Telecommunications consultant Paul Budde says the government's $1.5 billion ultra fast broadband fibre plan is visionary but problematic.
Sydney based global telecommunications consultants BuddeComm have been in New Zealand this week assessing the country's teleco landscape.
High on the agenda has been the broadband plan which Budde says has attracted positive attention around the world.
"I had a meeting in the White House in October and New Zealand was definitely on their agenda and looking at what sort of broadband plans there are, so it is really ranking very high," he says.
However, the flipside to the vision is the reality, and Budde says the government needs to decide what it is going to do with the new broadband network.
"What's holding us up is coming up with some good plans and some good business models on how to go forward from here," he says.
The government has made it clear that the plan is of national interest. It aims to roll out ultra fast broadband to 75% of New Zealanders in 10 years, and it is hoped it will boost the country's competitiveness with the likes of Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Budde says ultra fast broadband can lay the foundation for the delivery of government administered services such as e-health and education, and smart meters for energy management in the home.
But, he says, in order to create a good business model, the plan needs to identify what the government is going to provide.
'Then you can actually take that into account as capacity services that are going to be delivered over that network. You can then put economic development around it," he says.
Budde, who has been involved in roundtable discussions over the last few days, will put these concerns on paper and make recommendations to the government.
