If you live outside an urban area, you already know Lightwire is changing broadband for the better in our rural communities. We’re bridging the gap between urban and rural broadband connectivity with more than 200 tower sites around the Waikato and Bay of Plenty. These sites help our rural communities across the region gain access to fast, reliable rural broadband, exactly like they’d get in town.

For many rural New Zealanders, improved internet has many significant economic benefits, such as helping farmers gather data to farm smarter and more competitively. Much of this is due to the Government’s Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI).

Rural hits the mainstream

Beginning in 2016, the RBI was a trailblazer in getting rural homes and businesses connected with faster broadband. Now, tracking into phase two, we’re ahead of schedule as our strategic partnership grows.

We’re also seeing growing demand from rural households for our reliable broadband connections, in the form of increased cloud usage, more online streaming and required access to web-based portals. This rise in online activity is keeping our Lightwire field technicians busy as they look for innovative, creative and customised network solutions, so everyone has access to robust connectivity.

And, it’s all to provide a positive experience to the rural community.

The great divide

It’s no secret the urban community is well connected. Not only through the ability to access high-speed internet, but also in the number of devices used. Even though rural areas are more wired today than ever before, research shows there is less time spent online and less infrastructure for high-speed internet.

A recent survey, completed by the state-owned Network of Learning, has found the significant impact this lack of internet has on teaching and learning. As schools move into cloud-based communication, this lack of access to high-speed internet is creating a barrier to learning.

Here at Lightwire, we’re continuing to work with community groups and the Government to break down this barrier to access. One such community advocate, Fran Awburn, whose grandchildren are home-schooled, had a repeater tower placed onto their block – helping 10 families gain access to fast reliable broadband services within the Waikato.

Ready to serve

As we continue to roll out next generation technology across our rural network, we’re fully committed to improving our connection to benefit our growing rural community.

Partnering with Crown Infrastructure Partners (CIP) in its Rural Broadband Initiative Phase Two (RBI2), we’re proud to be part of the rollout bringing coverage to 99.8% of New Zealand’s population and providing innumerable benefits.

Get wired

At Lightwire, we believe in keeping communities connected. We are locally-based, rural internet specialists, providing fast reliable internet to over 5,000 customers throughout the Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

Contact our customer service team today if you’re ready to enjoy the benefit of Lightwire’s fast, reliable rural broadband connections.