FTTH focus moves from Australia to New Zealand

It seems that, while Australia NBN is mired in the complexities of dealing with Telstra, New Zealand is trying to zoom past the finish line.

This is what's been published in the Dominion Post about FTTH and Axia's potential involvement:

The Dominion Post

Last updated 05:00 11/02/2010

Canadian fibre investor Axia NetMedia has confirmed it has submitted a bid to build a fibre-optic network that would bring ultrafast broadband to three-quarters of New Zealanders.

It faces competition from electricity lines and fibre companies operating under the umbrella of the Regional Fibre Group, and from Telecom, which have also made proposals to Crown Fibre Holdings, the company that will manage the Government's $1.5 billion investment in the ultrafast broadband (UFB) initiative.

Axia NetMedia confirmed its participation in a statement to the Toronto Stock Exchange when reporting its interim result.

The company led a consortium that won a tender in 2008 to provide fibre to 95 per cent of Singapore's 1.5 million homes and businesses by 2012.

Construction of the network, which is supported by a S$750 million (NZ$755m) government grant, is due to start later this year.