Rural schools get ultra-fast broadband

Thousands of students in rural schools throughout the country can now experience ultra-fast broadband as work began to deliver a new fibre optic cable connection.

The Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI) was first rolled out at Henderson Valley School, Te Kura o Omaio School in the Bay of Plenty, and Granity School on the West Coast.

The initiative will deliver fibre to 700 rural schools within the next five years.

As part of the rollout, 3100km of new fibre optic cable will be deployed to connect 93 per cent of rural schools by the end of 2015.