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589 days ago

Black spots remain in North Canterbury

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Northern Outlook

By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter

Faster broadband is being distributed to more rural North Canterbury communities, but black spots remain.

A Rural Connectivity Group (RCG) spokesperson said the group had been contracted to build 56 cell sites across Canterbury, with 42 cell sites now live and another 14 planned for this year.

She said 12 rural North Canterbury communities have been connected as part of phase two of the government’s Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI2).

But gaps remained at Oxford, Glentui and Clarkville.

A further five Hurunui communities - Marble Point, Molesworth Station, Poplars Station in the Lewis Pass, Poplars Ridge and Port Robinson - were expected to be connected with cell sites this year as part of an RBI2 expansion programme, if the funding can be secured from Crown Infrastructure Partners.

Seven cell sites have been connected in Hurunui communities over the last three years including Domett, Inland Road, Lyford, Lyford South, Mt Grey, Pyramid Valley and Teviotdale.

In Kaikōura new cell sites were providing coverage to Mangamaunu Beach and the highway as well as the rural area west of the township.
New connections at Okuku, The Pines Beach and Eyrewell were live last year in the Waimakariri district.

‘‘This is a significant investment under the government’s RBI2 and Mobile Black Spot Fund programme in Canterbury providing 4G wireless broadband and 4G voice, data and text services from Spark, Vodafone and 2degrees,’’ the RCG spokesperson said.

‘‘These cell sites will provide connectivity to around 4280 rural households and businesses, improve connectivity on the roads and connectivity at popular visitor destinations.’’

Amuri.Net was connecting ultrafast fibre broadband to residents in the Ohoka/Mandeville area under an initiative announced last year by Digital Economy and Communications Minister David Clark, during a visit to the district.

In December the government announced it was on track to see 99.8% of New Zealanders receiving improved broadband speeds by the end of this year.

In the Lifting Connectivity in Aotearoa report, the Government stated its long-term goal was for every rural and remote New Zealander to be connected to high speed broadband by 2032.

More than $2.5 billion has been invested in improving digital connectivity to date from government and private sector contributions.

Federated Farmers telecommunications spokesperson Richard McIntyre said the report was ‘‘ambitious, but admirable’’.

‘‘The report lifts the discussion from having to justify whether something should be done to one of ‘let’s get on and do it’.

‘‘While it’s going to take a lot more investment on top of the money already announced, we applaud the commitments made to longer term rural connectivity solutions.’’

A Spark spokesperson said the company was continuing to work closely with the RCG on the planned projects.

‘‘Spark upgraded one of the two Kaikōura sites prior to Christmas with 5G technology and we will be continuing with 5G expansions on the existing Spark sites in the area over the coming months.’’

*Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air

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5 days ago

Poll: Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Drivers get where they need to go, but sometimes it seems that we are all abiding by different road rules (for example, the varying ways drivers indicate around a roundabout).
Do you think drivers should be required to take a quick driving theory test every 10 years?

Vote in the poll and share any road rules that you've seen bent! 😱

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Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?
  • 48% Yes
    48% Complete
  • 50.1% No
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  • 1.9% Other - I'll share below
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3290 votes
4 days ago

Hero

The Team from Humans of Christchurch Ōtautahi

“I was born and raised in war. To be honest, those are not good memories.

I really like Iran, and I really miss it, but I couldn’t be myself there. Even though my family didn’t like my decision, I left Iran. I promised myself that I would do whatever I can for all communities, especially for the kids, so they do not have the same experience I had.

I studied software engineering in Iran and left in 2006. I went to Malaysia and stayed in Kuala Lumpur for seven years. I was admitted to Lincoln University to do my PhD here, but unfortunately, I couldn’t afford the expenses. I requested a scholarship, but they told me I had to be there for six months first. So, I stayed in Malaysia and did my PhD in network security. In December 2013, I came to New Zealand with a work visa.

It took me a while to connect with the Iranian community here. I volunteered with the Multicultural Council, SPCA, and community patrol, and I established the Christchurch Iranian Society in 2017. Before that, I started working on Radio Toranj, the only Farsi-language radio show in New Zealand.

One of the reasons I started organizing cultural events was to showcase Iranian culture. I wanted to show people that we have delicious food, colorful dresses, traditional customs, and our own instruments. My hope was to show people that we are not what you see in the media.

I am working to involve all the communities that celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year, in the Nowruz festival in March 2025. We want to share this celebration not only with our community but with the public as well. It’s better when it’s shared.

I remember the first time someone from Dunedin called me and asked, Hero, can you help? Something happened, and they keep declining Iranian visa applications. When I heard that, I felt insulted. We are still human, so how can they do that?

Through this journey, I’ve learned a lot. Every single day, people with different cases call me, and I try to share my knowledge and guide them as much as I can.

I have received several awards, including the Christchurch Civic Award and an Award of Recognition for my contributions to the community during the pandemic. In 2021, I established Canterbury Kia Ora Academy, a charitable trust. Through this charity, I can help other communities as well, not just the Iranian community.”

- Hero

View more stories, or nominate someone: @humansofchch
www.humansofchch.org......

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