Vector’s claim that it is "ready now" to offer fibre to the premise certainly appears to have merit. In fact, if you’re an Auckland business, chances are you are already a stone’s throw away from a Vector fibre cable.
Coverage maps on the company’s website show that Vector’s fibre network is on the doorstep of most businesses in the Auckland CBD and many other major business and industrial precincts such as Albany, Takapuna, East Tamaki and Manukau City.
The company reportedly has 500km of fibre optic network already laid in the Auckland CBD and other business districts, with another 300km on it way.
In addition, large parts of Auckland, from Torbay in the north to Manukau in the south also appear within reach of the network.
Indecently the road I live on in Northcote falls in the “Fibre may be outside your door or on your block” category.
Not that this is going to help me in the immediate term, as no consumer retail services are yet running across this network with Vector focussed on selling access to business customers.
Meanwhile, parts of Wellington’s CBD and surrounding areas are also covered by a Vector network.
However, this should change if Vector gets its wish to partake in the Government’s planned ultra broadband roll-out, announced yesterday.
Looking at Vector’s coverage it looks like the Government could get a lot of bang for its buck by partnering with Vector in this region in one of the proposed joint venture Local Fibre Companies.
With most of Auckland’s business district all but covered, and a good return on investment virtually guaranteed in such a densely populated city, rolling out ultra-fast broadband to the country’s economic powerhouse where it will have a powerful and immediate impact will surely not take a big chunk out of the Government’s $1.5-billion fund.
Of course Vector is not the only company with ready-to-go fibre networks in CBDs, but it is arguably one of the more interesting ones to watch simply because it is a relatively new player in this field and has the potential to shake the traditional telcos up a tad.