Tasman District Council is looking to participate in three programmes: Ultrafast Broadband 2 (UFB2), Rural Broadband Initiative 2 (RBI2) and Mobile Black Spot Fund (MBSF). Work together: The council will work with the businesses and residents of the county in implementing the growth strategy. Council has identified priority areas for UFB rollout in the Tasman District.
Population figures used in the ROI support response are from the Tasman District Council's 2014 Growth Strategy unless otherwise stated.
Motueka and Mapua/Ruby Bay
Based on the ROI requirements of the priorities to be identified, the following is the Council's priority list. Motueka also showed community appetite as the single city with the highest response to the return on investment survey distributed by Tasman District Council - accounting for 14.5% of responses.
Wakefield and Brightwater
Part of this priority includes the Mapua/Ruby Bay area heading from Motueka. Mapua/Ruby Bay is a high growth area with a large number of businesses run from homes.
Takaka/Pohara/Port Tarakohe - Golden Bay
Uptake and Awareness
The strategy, as well as the high level of community interest in digital development, is a legacy of the region's participation in the national Gigatown competition run by Chorus. Tasman District Council's communication channels will be used to support the successful rollout of UFB2, RBI2 and MBSF. Use of the Council's magazine 'Newsline' which is distributed to every household in the Tasman District to raise awareness of the benefits of UFB and its availability.
Tasman District Council Libraries play a key role in bridging the digital divide within the community. Many people in the community do not have access to the Internet or the skills to confidently use technology. 1: - Snap Lightwave 1000 fiber service Connection 2: Chorus unbundled fiber service via UFB connected to Tasman District Library Office via private fiber (various connection).
When integrated with findings from community mapping events and other community feedback, it enabled Tasman District Council to establish a comparison between the services indicated as being available and the reality for residents in a number of areas. The story told was one of limited internet access having negative effects on education and business, as well as highlighting the need to consider social inclusion given the aging and rural profile of much of the Tasman district. Outside of school hours and in the evening, basically only one person can use the internet, or we can't even open a web page.
Investment options
- UFB Option - Partnering with Network Tasman (NTL)
Other assistance
Rural Broadband Initiative 2
Tourism: this area serves as a launch point for a number of tourist destinations including the Heaphy Track, Farewell Spit, Wharariki and the west coast of Kahurangi National Park. Business: The dairy industry is a significant sector in Golden Bay, with Fonterra providing the Aorere catchment as a good example of a key dairy area adversely affected by the poor. Likewise, poorly connected dairy farmers are unable to gain full commercial advantage, for example through the use of Fonterra's primary digital channels.
See appendices Letter of Support - Challis) that support the dairy industry yet cannot offer a range of industrial applications to customers.
For the economic benefit to NZ, rural businesses must have top priority for internet access, speed and it must be cost effective. It is so slow and very frustrating and tourists cannot believe that the coverage is so bad and when the internet connection is down it is difficult for us to sell as our POS is internet based.’ (survey).
RBI2
Rural Broadband Option - Partnering with The Pacific.Net (TPN)
Since the mid-2000s, Tasman District Council has hosted the TPN fixed wireless internet termination point for Golden Bay at the Golden Bay Council Service Centre. The Board provides roof access for aerial mounts, cabinet space, power and security access restrictions to the fixed wireless POP. This POP provides wireless point-to-point, WAN and Internet services across Golden Bay to schools, rural businesses and residents.
The council has worked with TPN since the Probe project was awarded funding in 2004, helping to expand a competitive fixed wireless solution for our region, and wants this to be seen as an investment in nature. The Council has met with local suppliers and is willing to work with them and national suppliers regarding the possibility of accessing Radio Spectrum Management (RSM) sites.
Mobile Black Spot Fund
- Mapua / Ruby Bay
- Wakefield
- Bainham
- Nelson Lakes to Murchison
- Mobile Blackspot and Fixed Wireless Option
Please note that due to the large geographical area of the Tasman District, there are several critical black spots throughout the district. Due to the severe flooding in Marahau in 2013, many homes lost landline coverage and due to the lack of mobile coverage, we were unable to contact families to assure them of our safety. What would we do in the middle of the night if our house was engulfed in a mudslide, as happened to two residences in the city, one of which was fatal?” (survey).
No mobile coverage means his call times are extended as it requires the search and rescue sergeant to leave a message on our landline which we check throughout the day. If we had greater mobile coverage it would allow me to use the St John's online. Tasman District Council provides for the upgrading of an existing facility or construction of a new facility for any network utility or public work, or any change in activity within an existing facility, as a permitted activity that can be undertaken without a resource consent , if it meets the conditions in Section 16.6.2.1 of the Tasman Resource Management Plan for Land Use located on the Tasman District Council website.
Online and Social Media – Facebook and Twitter advice, as well as website technology, using the Gigatown network. Physical presence to provide the presentation of the ROI and the Digital Engagement Plan by the Mayor and responsible staff. The timing of this process was such that it was not possible to consider financing through the development of the Long-Term Plan 2015-2025.
TDC Case for Funding Support – “Location Agnostic Broadband”
Tasman District Council ROI Document Library Supporting the Region’s Bid
The Region - Broadband Current State
Keys to understanding
Broadband is like a water supply
Wireless
Mostly this is not true; mostly vendors use the same/similar technology in the same/similar ways, only to produce slightly different results.
Fixed line
All networks use ethernet and internet technology to deliver
Fibre transport – available bandwidth is not the issue
There is no real difference between either of them, other than the transport mechanism used, the frequency of the wireless spectrum used to transmit point-to-point, and what the particular form of transport/spectrum is actually designed to achieve. . Bandwidth is fully manageable from the Network Operations Center using software, once the appropriate network data switches are in place. a) Which independent fiber companies (SNAP, Enable, FX); Line (power) companies and Local Fiber Companies (LFCs) are typically implementing regional fiber rollouts. This is what Chorus is introducing for non-UFB inter-regional and national backhaul.
ATM can interconnect any type of transport (fibre, copper etc) but in NZ implementations they can handle either 155mb/s or 622mb/s over a pair of fibres, providing a good quality of service. As a transport, it has largely been replaced by gigabit ethernet technology, which is easier to manage from a software level.
Who has built what
What happened in the past and perhaps also the present
Results of digital infrastructure audit - Tasman
Chorus handover points for regional points of presence and first data exchange locations appear to be less than transparent. Mobile transmission technology in use appears to have been overbuilt in some places by the providers competing largely for the same communities and customers, while others, especially rural ones, are being ignored. This was clearly demonstrated by the evidence of community feedback and the identification of black spots in the middle of published coverage areas.
RBI towers proposed for the district appear to be stalled and have not actually been constructed in some cases. Fast Ethernet switch multiples of 1gb/s Transport available Typically 100mb/s Up to 1 x 500mb/s channel of fiber pair. Fiber Trunk DWDM Transport Available 4 Xs 3.1gb/s channels per fiber pair 40-60 km jump Very capital intensive.
Transport Available 40 Xs 10gb/s channels per fiber pair (minimum) 400-600km hop More cost effective ATM Switch Max 500mb/s Some upgraded to upgrade to. D ig it al In fra s tru ctur es A U D it Known regional broadband issues and mobile issues Handover points less than transparent - only clear when reviewing service contracts NZIX Open Transparent Peering more appropriate Use of old technology, rather than priority replacement with Gigabit Ethernet examples where used for RBI Rural School deployment, cannot be expanded and not easily shared with Health or others. Planned RBI towers have not been constructed in the region. Too many people on the cabinet means very poor broadband transport Available 4 Xs 3.1gb/s channels per fiber pair Or much more, supplier dependent.
Moving parts – broadband to the end user
The Tasman Region – Future Broadband State
End user quality of service outcome focused
Legislative changes required
Desired future state – broadband for the Tasman Region
Establishes a delivery model that enables the rapid expansion of cell phone networks into hard-to-reach areas by making better use of available towers. Ensures an absolute focus on meeting and delivering the health, safety, education, welfare, economic development and individual needs of both urban and rural communities. Addresses and resolves all known issues related to the delivery of UFB, RBI, and MBSF to the region, scalable to other regions and communities.
What the Council aims to provide and deliver to the District can best be described as end user, service centric, location agnostic, high capacity broadband and mobile services. Gateway Switch/Router Typically at Chorus Regional Exchange then switches back to Regional/National Backhaul Copper Link. Fiber GPON CWDM Fiber trunk DWDM Transport Available 4 Xs 3.1gb/s channels per fiber pair 40-60km hop Highly capital intensive.
Available transport Between 1gb/s and 5gb/s depending on implementation WISP coverage can be extended mobile Usually WISP has coverage in hard to reach areas. Transport available Up to 20 mb/s per user, more limited speed May be affected by weather. Suitable for very hard to reach locations 1gb/s Transport Available 4 Xs channels 3.1gb/s per fiber pair Or much more depending on supplier.
Benefits – “Location Agnostic Broadband” for the Region
Bang for Buck” in the interest of the Tasman community, the region and New Zealand as a whole. Supports the Crown's efforts to achieve the desired end-community outcome, rural and remote communities, in a more cost-effective manner.
Assumptions, Constraints and Dependencies
Assumptions
Constraints
Critical Success Factors
