Telecom’s network division Chorus installed its 1000th cabinet last month, of which 400 have been installed in Auckland. More than 900,000 homes and businesses, or 50% of the all New Zealand premises connected by Chorus, are now within reach of ADSL2+, via either a telephone exchange or a cabinet. In the Auckland region (see illustration) 400 cabinets have been installed or upgraded and 380km of fibre has been laid. A total of 1579 cabinets and an additional 1255km of fibre are planned for the Auckland region by the end of 2011.Meanwhile, work is underway on a further 20 towns and cities. The goal of Telecom’s fibre-to-the-node programme is to upgrade every town with more than 500 lines, which will enable 80% of New Zealanders to access broadband speeds of 10-20 Mbps.
