Opposition party unveils NZD1.5 billion broadband plan

New Zealand’s opposition National Party says it plans to invest NZD1.5 billion (USD1.2 billion) of public money on deploying an open access fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network if it is elected later this year. The party’s strategy sees a fibre connection to almost every home in the country, with more rural areas connected via satellite and mobile solutions. The first phase of the deployment would take six years and would concentrate on businesses, schools and health facilities, Dow Jones reports. The deployment would be worth at least NZD2.7 billion annually in increased productivity, the National Party says. The ruling Labour Party says the proposals lack credibility, however, and would go against recent regulatory changes which are intended to improve competition in broadband markets. Communications Minister David Cunliffe said in a statement: ‘If this extravagant subsidy is ever rolled out all of the good work the government, industry, and business have done in dismantling Telecom’s monopoly position will be lost.’