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London, New York, Sydney, Eketahuna Inspired Fibre Optic Power

Wednesday 5 November 2008, 6:41PM

By Tararua District Council

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EKETAHUNA

As a relaxed, community spirited Eketahuna comes to life on Monday morning, it will be to a new beginning, secure in the fact that the town will be supported by a powerful multi gigabit broadband connection to the rest of the world.


While Auckland may have the shops, Eketahuna has a broadband connection that can be ratcheted up to match the capacity that New Zealand has to the entire world via the main Southern Cross Cable Network.


Having the lifestyle and ultra high-speed broadband will make Eketahuna, and soon the whole Tararua, a destination of choice for many high tech New Zealanders and to those overseas escaping the economic tsunami and world human over-population.


The first service off the block will be a wireless hotspot for both tourists and locals by Inspire Net, recently named the top internet service provider in New Zealand by the Telecommunications Users Association of NZ, TUANZ.


Plans to extend the fibre network in Eketahuna already exist and depend on whether Government wants to support the local school in an application to the broadband investment fund.


This is a strong, vibrant, little community that put together their own supermarket, petrol station, information centre, and council run banking service. And, just down the road is the National Wildlife Centre, “Pukaha Mount Bruce” that is saving our heritage and educating us.


There is no question that this opportunity to keep heartland NZ beating loudly won’t be left unheard by the locals. You can just see them rolling out coils of fibre optics to their homes.


 


Being first off the block in the Tararua’s “Inter-town fibre” project stretching 165 kilometres is not really surprising. In fact, don’t be surprised if next year a Saatchi & Saatchi styled advert winner gets developed in Tararua, with sheep, a mountain range and a Tui beer in the background.