BROADBAND
becoming a land of digital opportunities’’ in a report titled The Streets are Paved with Glass.
‘‘New Zealand has had the equivalent of a brand-new motorway network rolled out all over the country,’’ analyst Monica Collier said. ‘‘This creates opportunity for New Zealanders to start and run their business anywhere, even in remote towns.’’
Better connectivity was having a profound impact on the entertainment services Kiwis consume, such as internet television and music and online gaming, IDC found.
‘‘In previous years we have seen New Zealand lag behind other countries in digital uptake,’’ research manager Shane Minogue said following an annual survey of internet usage in August.
‘‘This year’s results show that New Zealand is now in line with other countries and in many areas, is ahead of the pack.’’
Curran says the new Government will differ from the old in being more active in trying to capitalise on the infrastructure.
The approach of the previous Government was ‘‘build it and they will come’’, Curran says.
‘‘I believe there is a more constructive, enabling and sometimes interventionist role for Government and that is where you will see differences.
‘‘This isn’t just looking at how we can encourage more software development or boost the gaming industry. Those things are really important, but we need to look at every sector to see how they could lift productivity through technology.’’
Kiwis appear to have recognised the country’s relatively good fortune, with 64 per cent rating the quality of the country’s high-speed broadband as ‘‘very or fairly good’’ in an international survey released by French pollster Ispos last month.
That compared to an approval rating of only 32 per cent in Australia, and 54 per cent across the 28 countries polled.
Some internet users feared they might not get the full benefit of UFB while the Southern Cross cable network, which is half-owned by Spark, held a near monopoly on internet traffic to and from the country.
But the icing on the cake for New Zealand’s much-improved broadband story is the 15,000 kilometre Hawaiki Cable which is now being laid between Sydney, Northland and Oregon.
The TE Subcom ship Responder began laying the western leg of the cable off the Sydney coast last week, after a six-year battle by French telecommunications entrepreneur Remi Galasso to raise the required $500 million in funding.
The cable is due to land in New Zealand shortly before Christmas.
Investor Malcolm Dick, best known as the co-founder of CallPlus, believes the cable will make a difference to consumers, saying ‘‘almost all’’ internet providers ration international connectivity.
‘‘I don’t know if they will see lower prices, but they will definitely get more capacity, faster speeds and more access to international websites.’’