Prime Minister Bill English and Communications Minister Simon Bridges today announced Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) will be extended to more than 151 additional towns, providing up to 85 per cent of New Zealanders with access to fibre by the end of 2024. The second, $300 million phase of the Government’s UFB programme was launched in Amberley, north Canterbury, this morning. Following intensive commercial negotiations, the Amberley event marked the awarding of contracts between Crown Fibre Holdings and four partner companies: Northpower, Ultrafast Fibre, Chorus and Enable. “Phase two of the UFB build will see fibre rolled out across all mainland regions,…

Worldwide the consumption of news continues to esculate and New Zealand is not immume There is an old saying "you can't see the wood for the trees" which something we all suffer from at various times.  Now I have had such an attack, its not painful, not even frustrating, no physical signs at all and in fact  I didn't even know I had it until now. Fortunately the remedy is nearly at hand with no  prescriptions, pills or vile medicine to take , just a dose of goodwill is all thats required.  And this could very well come from you,…

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–International submarine cable consulting firm Pioneer Consulting has been selected to oversee the procurement support for the construction of a new submarine fiber optic cable system by Southern Cross Cables Limited (SCCL). The Southern Cross NEXT cable system will be constructed and operated by SCCL to connect Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Pioneer Consulting has already provided detailed market analysis as well as consulting on the network’s overall design and technical specifications. Pioneer is now assisting in the system specification, procurement, permitting, survey and contracting activities. This new system will provide connectivity between Sydney, Australia, Auckland, New…

Slack, the popular work chat app, has launched one of the features that users have been clamoring for over its entire lifetime: threaded messages. On Wednesday, the company began the process of rolling out the update to all of its users, which will allow them to keep conversations about a particular topic corralled into a single thread. The feature is designed to keep conversations on a particular topic out of the main flow of a chat channel, the company said in a blog post. Starting a thread just requires users to hover over a message, click the “Start a Thread”…

The route survey for the long-awaited Hawaiki cable has now been completed, and details have been revealed about how far production has progressed. The 14,000 km cable, scheduled for completion in 2018, will link New Zealand and Australia to the United States, Hawaii and American Samoa, as well as other South Pacific islands. The route survey included details about the kinds of small boat and shallow water work for all landings. “The information garnered from the recently completed deep water route survey will be instrumental in ensuring the long-term viability of the cable system and we are thrilled with the…

A Kiwi-made app is getting global attention after securing a strategic partnership with technology giant Bosch to bring email into cars. Bosch is this week featuring Speaking Email as part of their stand at the renowned Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas from January 5-8. Speaking Email is an app that reads emails aloud so people can safely check their email while driving. Bosch is incorporating Speaking Email into their mySPIN platform, which enables drivers to use authorised apps on their iPhone or Android smartphone via a touchscreen integrated into cars and motorbikes. “We are very happy that Speaking…

The Commerce Commission has decided to continue to regulate number portability for both local and mobile telephone numbers for another five years. Number portability enables a customer to keep the same telephone number despite switching telecommunications provider. The regulation limits the time gap in service and the price the telecommunications companies pay each other for the switchover. Telecommunications Commissioner Dr Stephen Gale said that users support continued controls and the industry is comfortable with the existing number portability regulations. "The ability of New Zealanders to keep their phone number when switching providers has been regulated for nearly a decade now…

Construction of the 14,000 kilometre Hawaiki submarine cable that will link New Zealand to Australia, Hawaii and mainland United States has started with a ground breaking ceremony at Bream Trail Farm, Mangawhai Heads, Northland attended by NZ prime minister John Key and communications minister Amy Adams. Through REANNZ the government has become an anchor tenant of the cable at a cost of NZ$65 million. Adams said the Hawaiki cable would increase connectivity for New Zealanders and contribute to the growth of the digital economy with more than 30Tbps of capacity, a fivefold increase on current capacity When the cable is…