Auckland commuters now have fibre to the bus stop

Auckland's smart city network gives commuters bandwidth

Universal Communications Group has built fibre to 123 public transport locations in Auckland. The company says the smart city network will be used to give commuters more bandwidth and, in time, deliver improved internet services.

Part of the project will upgrade the performance of 3000 closed circuit television cameras used to monitor traffic on the road network as well as bus stops, train stations and ferry terminals.

Chorus contracted UGC for the roll-out, the client was Auckland Transport. UGC managed, designed and delivered all the fieldwork. Network services are provided by Fusion Networks.

The right tool

Kurt Rodgers, Chorus network strategy manager says fibre is the right tool for the job because of its reliable and consistent performance around the clock. He says this makes it perfect for CCTV.

He says; "For smart locations every installation is unique. For this project – it was a very large project across Auckland and every site had to be scoped individually. We bespoked the design for every individual site to enable it all, to be brought back to this monitoring centre.”

Auckland Transport telecommunications lead Andrew Carr says his organisation has a fibre-first philosophy. "We know that there’s going to be a greater requirement of bandwidth capability and data as we move more towards automation, as we move to connected autonomous vehicles, as we move to different ways of making a smart mobile city."

UGC is a Chorus UFB partner. It has a UFB2 and UFB2+ contract that runs until March 2022.

CommComm to stick with mobile termination regulations

The Commerce Commission says it is not about to stop regulation of mobile termination access services. This means it will continue to decide the price mobile carriers pay to end a call on another carrier's network. In the past mobile companies charged high fees when customers from one network called people on another network. This had the effect of stifling competition. The Commerce Commission has to revisit the question every five years.

2degrees aims at work-from-home sector with fibre-security bundle

Work from Home Fibre is a new product from 2degrees that combines a 100Mbps fibre connection with web filtering. The company says it will protect customers from websites known for phishing, malware and other security threats.

Northpower Fibre extends UFB footprint

Northpower Fibre says it will spend close to a million dollars expanding its UFB footprint in Whangarei, Mangawhai and Dargaville. The project will be helped by $734k of government money, part of the $50 million digital package announced last month. It means another 367 homes and businesses will be able to connect to fibre. Northpower says work has started and construction will start after Christmas.

Vodafone to use AI in call centres

Vodafone has launched Voice Concierge, which it describes as "an intelligent contact centre solution".

The company says it will cut call waiting times and improve the customer experience. Vodafone business director Lindsay Zwart, , says the cloud-based system is designed for all sizes of business and is already integrated into Vodafone’s Contact Centre product portfolio.

2degrees aims for Well certification

When 2degrees moves to its new headquarters building on Auckland's Fanshaw Street, it will be the first New Zealand company to receive Well certification. This is a measure of wellbeing that includes matters such as better air and sound quality, lighting design and so on. The goal is to give people a workplace that is better for their health and general well-being.