New Zealand Rural Broadband Initiative

The New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development has issued an Expression of Interest for a Rural Broadband Initiative. (Reference: 29498). This appears a more modest project than the Australian Government's National Broadband Network. It concentrates on broadband for rural communities and schools.

Companies can download a an Expression of Interest document (MS-Word format 368kb) and a Schools List (Excel spreadsheet 284kb).

The Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI) will use a two-stage process, involving an Expression of Interest (EOI) followed by a Request for Proposals (RFP) stage.

2. A two-stage approach is being used to enable the Government to gather more information so that it can make more informed decisions (e.g. about prioritising regions, minimum open access requirements, service specifications, what is likely to be possible within existing budget etc) when finalising the RFP.

3. Following the assessment of EOIs, an RFP will be released detailing the Government’s requirements.

The RFP will specify:

a. The regions for which bids are being sought in the first year of the RBI (noting that national bids will also be considered).
b. The intended scope of the proposed initiative.
c. The minimum service level requirements.
d. The minimum level of open access required.
e. Standards and interconnection requirements.
f. The criteria upon which bids will be assessed.