New Zealand’s largest telco Spark has teamed up with professional services firm Enable in a Christchurch trial of its ‘street in a week programme which is upgrading customers to broadband networks and moving them off old copper networks across the country.
Trials are taking place in Chistchurch in parts of the suburbs of Avonhead, Riccarton, Burnside, Russley and Sockburn this week, followed by trials in parts of Shirley, Papanui, Richmond, St Albans, and Dallington next week.
Spark says up to 180 households with Spark copper broadband are being offered the opportunity to upgrade to fibre within a “significantly shortened timeframe”.
Spark’s Head of South Island, Paul Deavoll, said, “Enable is an important partner of ours, as the local fibre network provider for greater Christchurch”.
{loadposition peter}“We’re thrilled to be collaborating with them on an initiative that we hope will result in more of our customers being able to quickly and smoothly move onto fibre.”
Steve Fuller, Enable CEO, said the street-in-a-week programme means the company can provide a “better customer experience and shorter connection time for fibre broadband customers in our community”.
“We’re very excited about the opportunity to partner with Spark on what could be a game-changing approach to installing fibre broadband.”
According to Spark, nationwide, 31% of New Zealanders who have fibre laid in their street have so far chosen to upgrade from copper and the ‘street in a week’ initiative aims to make it as “easy as possible for more New Zealanders to make the move”.