Ericsson nabs NZ broadband front seat

Ericsson has secured a prime spot within New Zealand's national broadband roll-out, signing a deal with Telecom New Zealand's network business Chorus to provide fibre for the roll-out.

Chorus, which is to be split from Telecom NZ, has been selected to build the network in 24 regions, which represents about 70 per cent of the country's NZ$1.35 billion Ultra-Fast Broadband network will cover. Ericsson will provide air-blown fibre-optic cable to the provider to complete the build. It will also provide microducts, tools and related accessories.

The fibre will be able to carry data at speeds of at least 100Mbps downstream and 50Mbps upstream.

"We are at the start of the fibre journey, and it is critical we make the right infrastructure choices that will set us up for a successful future," Chris Dyhrberg, Chorus general manager for Network Build said in a statement. "This agreement is a significant part of making sure we get our fibre network build right, at the outset."

Ericsson said it had broad experience in air-blown fibre networks and their deployment.

"Air-blown fibre is an extremely efficient system to install, allowing for incremental expansion without additional significant civil works. It cuts down deployment time when compared with traditional fibre installation methods," Ericsson New Zealand head Alfred Ling said in a statement.

Ericsson has been involved in fibre projects in New Zealand with Telecom NZ, the then Telstra Saturn and Vector.