As part of this initiative the telecommunications industry is assisting with connecting households with school-aged students that don’t currently have a broadband service.
TCF CEO Geoff Thorn says the industry has been working with the Ministry of Education on its part of the initiative since the Alert Level 4 Covid-19 lockdown was announced. This has involved identifying eligible households that don’t currently have internet access.
“As an industry we are pleased to be able to work with the Ministry of Education on this initiative. This is a significant undertaking, and while it will take some time to reach all those in need, the industry is committed to doing everything it can to connect households that have been identified,” he says.
Thorn says eligible households will receive either a fixed line or fixed wireless connection, depending on whether their homes currently have existing telecommunications infrastructure (for example, a fibre or copper connection that is not currently activated).
“We are confident that New Zealand’s telecommunication networks will have the capacity to handle the expected surge in demand – both from students returning to school via online learning, as well as the increase in connections through this important new connectivity initiative.”
“Our industry is proud to provide the network support required to deliver the curriculum online for a large majority of school-aged students at home in New Zealand during the Alert Level 4 Covid-19 lockdown. This has only been possible because of the significant and ongoing investment in the telecommunications infrastructure over the past decade,” Thorn says.
Click here to find out the others ways that the New Zealand telecommunications industry is supporting Kiwis during the COVID-19 lockdown.
