The rollout of ultra-fast fibre broadband in Wanaka is almost complete, with 80 per cent of Wanaka homes in the rollout area now able to be connected.

The fibre rollout is being undertaken by telecommunications infrastructure provider Chorus.

“The build in Wanaka town will be completed by 30th June,” a Chorus spokesperson said. “The remaining 20 per cent of premises will be able to connect by July 10th.”

Over in Hawea the build is complete, meaning households can now connect to fibre.

Contractors from Chorus began laying fibre cables in Wanaka midway through last year, to enable access to fibre for much of the town. Some 200 businesses already had access to fibre in the Wanaka CBD, but the wider rollout means it will be accessible to many more people.

The main benefits of ultra-fast fibre broadband (also known as UFB) are its reliability (providing consistent speeds without buffering); as well as capacity (multiple devices can watch, listen, play, post, work, and chat at the same time without affecting speed); and most importantly, speed (faster data movement, which means you can get more done in less time). It is superior to copper technology.

It is expected the fibre broadband will make working easier for the many people who are remote workers, or work from home, in Wanaka. A survey by Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has shown there were a lot of remote workers in Wanaka and the district, researcher Kate Campbell said. Many of these people worked in the “knowledge intensive” sectors, Kate said, which were professional jobs like IT, communications and technology which required frequent access to the internet. 

The Wanaka business community has also applauded the fibre rollout in Wanaka, as connection to fibre will bring communications up to speed with cities across the country.

Chorus is delivering postcards to homes as they are able to be connected to fibre, a representative said.

Learn more about connecting to fibre here.

PHOTO: Supplied