The government says both broadband programmes continue to make good progress, despite revealing less than 3% of customers able to connect actually did during 2012.

Issuing a statement yesterday, Communications and Information Technology minister Amy Adams said fibre was rolled out to over 33,000 end users across New Zealand during the last three months of last year.

This means more than 134,000 homes and businesses in urban areas are now able to connect to the Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) network under the Government’s fibre-to-the-home programme.

Yet in what will be seen as a blow for the government, only 3,800 customers made the decision to subscribe, representing just 2.8% of the group.

Adams said this was in line with government expectations and overseas experiences at this early stage of the project, with fibre deployment already underway in 24 of the 33 towns and cities across the country.

Combining both programs, the government aims to ensure over 97% of New Zealanders will have access to faster broadband, providing they get connected that is.