Broadband offer

The Coatesville Residents and Ratepayers Association (CRRA) – along with the office of Chris Penk MP, Chorus, and Crown Infrastructure Partners – has been working on an initiative to secure Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) availability for the Coatesville area via fibre optic cables.

The geography of the Coatesville valley means that “wired” services are the only way of providing secure, uninterruptable internet. Many households are in “dead” areas for either mobile reception or point to point broadcast. Security of supply is essential for businesses/staff now working remotely in our post-Covid world and reliable high-quality internet is also becoming increasingly important for education and other family recreational activities.

When the Government-funded broadband initiatives (UFB2 and RBI2) were announced around 2017, Coatesville was conspicuous by its absence (even Muriwai was included) despite the high concentration of home businesses and proximity to the Auckland CBD. We have recently gained some traction after discussion with representatives from Chorus, who are the contracted installation provider. We can summarise the current situation as follows: ∞ Chorus have analysed the connection possibilities and can supply UFB to the area shown in the map of Coatesville on the front page. ∞ Connections could be available in approximately 12–18 months depending on Chorus’s build capacity availability, but in any case, will be complete before the end of the UFB2 programme in December 2022. ∞ For Coatesville, more sparsely populated than a typical UFB area, the cost is around 50% higher per household/business. This cost includes a connection to the property of up to 200m in length from the street to the home/business. The same as UFB2 areas around the country, such as Muriwai. ∞ Crown Infrastructure will fund to the same level as other similar UFB areas and Chorus will make a significant contribution, one of the highest per connection contributions. ∞ There is a shortfall in funding for this UFB supply addition and a mailer has been delivered to the addresses in the intended UFB supply area requesting monetary support to raise the shortfall. We have been advised that the offer of the funding from Crown Infrastructure and Chorus is available for a short time only, due to many competing priorities post Covid-19. We have a short time window in which to gain household support and raise the funds

to allow UFB to be installed in the area indicated by Chorus.

A mailer, with more detail, was recently delivered to households in the proposed coverage area. If you need more information, please email coatesvilleufb@outlook.com with your contact details and questions. From the CRRA

Civil Defence

Informative and interactive, volcanoes at the museum. www. aucklandmuseum.com/volcanoes

Clean and Green

Autumn leaves + winter rains = blocked drains. Let’s get a head start on spring cleaning.