Putting our vision into action

Our overall approach

Our objectives clearly set out what we aim to achieve, the vision sets the future the government wants for Aotearoa New Zealand, and the priorities are the drivers explaining the importance of the vision.

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The five objectives

Objective A: By 2032 all people in Aotearoa New Zealand will be able to access networks that provide high-speed broadband and reliable voice connections

This objective outlines an ambition for everyone to be able to connect to high-speed broadband where they live, work, study, and where people visit on a regular basis. It is not intended that all New Zealand’s territory has network coverage as much of it is unoccupied.

‘High-speed broadband’ refers to broadband that is, at a minimum, capable of meeting most everyday needs of people, including for streaming, teleconferencing, accessing services online, filling in online forms, and uploading and downloading files.

A reliable voice connection is one that, regardless of mode of delivery, enables all parties on a call to clearly hear each other and does not result in calls dropping out except in unusual or unexpected circumstances.

Other dimensions of connectivity will also be considered, for example the quantity of data available, and the impact of data caps is important in determining what an end user can do with their connection.

Latency is also increasingly important, as video calls and real time IoT applications require very low latency in order to be implemented.

Objective B: New Zealand ranks consistently in the top 20 of OECD nations (or other suitable substitute comparator) for connectivity measures, including broadband speeds and connections to fibr

This objective helps ensure Aotearoa New Zealand is internationally competitive. Having a high standard of connectivity is important because of our physical distance from the nations we trade with, or compete with for market share. Our performance against this objective will be influenced by the connectivity investment made by other countries, and as countries invest in their networks, rankings may come down to slim margins. However, as noted this objective guides us in striving towards maintaining a standard of connectivity to remain internationally competitive.

The objective currently envisages Aotearoa New Zealand be compared against other OECD nations (as the data sets the OECD uses are more reliable and the nations more comparable than in some other data sets), but flexibility is built in to accommodate better comparisons should they become available.

Objective C: By 2032 every rural and remote resident and worker in New Zealand will have the ability to access the connectivity they need

This objective outlines the need for every rural and remote residence or business to have connectivity ‘to the gate’ that is capable of supporting a wireless extension network. They will be able to utilise this

connection to extend coverage to their wider property, which enables them to make voice calls and access the internet to communicate, connect to the IoT or undertake activities online.

This objective recognises that rural communities need access to connectivity so they can benefit from the social, cultural and economic opportunities that broadband access can provide. Connectivity can also support rural communities with health and safety outcomes, including access to emergency services

Objective D: By 2032 New Zealand has a telecommunications network that is well positioned to cope with the nation’s unique resiliency challenges

Reliable and resilient telecommunications infrastructure is important to the health and safety of the community, particularly in times of emergency. It reduces the risk of financial loss through disruption and builds the reputation of Aotearoa New Zealand as a good place to do business.

A resilient telecommunications network is one that has a combination of the following attributes appropriate to location, level of risk and cost:

  • an ability to withstand damage (which could include having a diversity of network routes or duplicate assets that can take over in the event of infrastructure becoming inoperable along a key route, or at a key facility)
  • the ability to restore services quickly following an event that results in services being lost or becoming overloaded.

Objective E: By 2032 the location and quality of New Zealand’s telecommunications infrastructure enables all New Zealanders to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and use energy more efficiently

This objective signals the potential role that connectivity plays in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The location of broadband and voice telecommunications infrastructure close to where people live, work and study will enable them to take advantage of digital technologies that will help them reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of their activities (such as through smart farming, more efficient use of resources and reducing carbon emissions from vehicles).

More efficient connectivity infrastructure can reduce the energy it takes to send and receive data or operate transmission equipment (and with it any direct or indirect emissions from non-renewable energy generation sources).