April 28, 2020
Tower upgrades will get rural areas working
The Government is throwing another $15 million into rural network capacity as communities look to meet the demands of a post-COVID environment.
Communications Minister Kris Faafoi says the lockdown has shown how households in isolated regions, especially those with school-aged children, need reliable access to broadband services.
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones broadband connectivity is also crucial for kick-starting economic activity in rural areas.
The money, which comes from savings from the Ultra-fast Broadband initiative, will be used to upgrade some existing rural mobile towers, upgrade wireless backhaul to connect remote sites to central networks and install external antennae on households to improve coverage.
Priority will be given to areas where there are high numbers of school-age children living in households that cannot access the internet.
Mr Jones says it’s likely to be the fastest way to provide broadband to rural households where there is currently coverage but the towers are at or near capacity.
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