Big Leap Forward Coming For Coastal Taranaki Broadband

It’s a million-dollar revamp that aims to deliver digital gold for Coastal Taranaki.

The wireless broadband tower on the southern end of the Kaitake Range is getting a near million-dollar overhaul as part of the government’s recently announced Rural Capacity Upgrade initiative.

Primo’s founder, Matt Harrison, says Boars Head is a key site for the company’s wireless broadband network into and around Coastal Taranaki, linking up with some of its other sites to provide coverage from Ōakura to Ōpunake.

“We called it Boars Head due to it being so close to the old Boars Head mine, now sitting abandoned from when our pioneering forefathers thought there was gold up in the hills,” he says.

“The RCU project funding means we can put fibre up to the transmitter, add mains power and upgrade the wireless technologies for better coverage and capacity.

“We are putting in new LTE technology which can get through trees better and into the nooks and crannies that Coastal Taranaki has plenty of. Usually a wireless signal had to have a good line of sight between the transmitter and the antenna on people’s homes - LTE really opens more opportunities to link people up who may be having patchy internet.”

Mr Harrison says the revamp will cost about a million dollars in total.

“We have been saving for this for a while now, and with the other half coming from the RCU fund we can fast track it and begin work immediately. I'm very excited!”

WireWise, Linepower and Subterrain Drilling are key partners in the project in getting power and fibre optic cable to the site to allow much greater capacity. The three companies started work on the site on Tuesday and are expected to have the project done before winter arrives.

“Having fibre running to the site will give us more than10 times the capacity than we’ve got now and that will give Coastal people better quality internet.

“It also means we can do more things like broadcast radio stations from New Plymouth right around the Coast. We do that already for Te Korimako O Taranaki and there are plans for another station soon.

“Boars Head is also a key site for providing LoRa coverage into the Kaitake Range and surrounding areas.”

[LoRa comes from “long range” and is a low-power network that covers a wide area.]

“LoRa is used by the Regional Council and the Predator Free 2050 Project for monitoring its pest traps, and the future possibilities of this technology are limitless.”

Digital Economy and Communications Minister David Clark says upgrades to regional broadband will give rural businesses tools to be more innovative and productive.

“We can also improve health and safety for New Zealanders and their families through remote health consultations, facilitate remote learning and help maintain social and family connections,” Mr Clark says.

“By the end of 2024 around 47,000 rural households and businesses should experience faster internet speeds and better reception than they do right now.”

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