TUANZ Rural Symposium, 26 June 2018 Mike Smith, Deputy Chair, WISPA WIRELESS INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION OF NZ INC
AGENDA • Update since last year’s presentation • Three successful WISPs talk about their services and networks: • Velocity, Southland (Trevor Fulton) • AONet, Central NI (Lachlan Chapman) • Unifone, Otago (Travis Baird) • Current issues in the world of WISPs
UPDATE Last year Murray Pearson presented the WISPs to this event as follows: • Most started as small owner operator businesses • Many had backgrounds in telecommunications companies • Head count ranges from 1 to 30 plus • Rapid Growth in recent years • Collectively now 40,000 customers, 800 sites
SINCE THEN • WISPA membership has grown from 15 to 23 companies • Nine have been awarded RBI2 contracts and are well advanced towards completion • More RBI contracts confidently expected soon • Site count is way more than 800 • WISPs have become recognised as a national force by commentators and government • WISPA has become a highly effective industry group
SELF-INTRODUCTIONS BY 3 RANDOMLY SELECTED WISPS:
Providing Quality Solutions
What we do • Private Fibre Installations • 3G 4G Networks – Specialised networks for Stadiums, Event Centres, Motor Sports • Wireless Networks for: – Rural Communities – Isolated locations – Sporting Events – Video Streaming Conferences, Sports Events. – Business and Home • Fibre - Copper - DSL – VoIP Phone systems • Either on site or as a hosted service
• Who and where we are VelocityPlus • Southland Based • Circa 3000 Customer Connections • Auckland • Wellington • Christchurch • Dunedin • All over Southland, Central & Coastal Otago
Our Rural Network Otago and Southland is a Story about Becomes This becomes This And Becomes This
The Challenges Physical • Terrain • Overall Size • Lack of Population 2.8 people / sq km Long Term • Succession for WISPS. • Retaining the support of our clients under what will become extreme pricing and give away pressures • IOT • LTE • Do our Communities and the Country need us. I THINK SO
AoNet Broadband Connecting the Unconnectable
About us • Started because of demand for options from Rural Sector • Rural customer base our Focus • Rural network makes us efficient vertically integrated provider • Work hard to offer affordable, reliable services • We try to keep it simple (where we can) • Small team, distributed around North Island • We love what we do (Most of the time!)
Where we operate • Customers from Auckland to Manawatu • Largest proportion of customers based in Hawkes Bay • Hawkes Bay also fastest growing customer base • Ruapehu District – RBI2 Grant funded
What we offer • Wireless • Wholesale broadband Wireless, Fibre, Copper • Friendly personal • Custom high service capacity wireless • VoIP Services solutions
RBI2 – Ruapehu - Challenges Difficult Access Isolated Valleys
RBI2 – Ruapehu - Solutions Simple Lightweight Design • Able to be hand carried to sites • Fits on a side by side to get parts onsite in a single trip • Prefabricate and Prewire as much as possible • Lowest possible power Site under construction consumption
UNIFONE • Otago based. • Existing wireless broadband coverage from South of Oamaru to South Otago. • All our wireless broadband plans are uncapped. • UFB, RBI1, DSL and VOIP are important and growing parts of our business. • External contracting is now a major component of our turnover. • 10 staff (and growing) • RBI2 upgrade and expansion planned throughout existing coverage and into Central and North Otago.
Upgraded site for RBI2 project. Covers south Taieri Plains and Tokomairiro areas. Licensed backhauls. Cisco ASR router Mains powered.
Network challenges Population density: 7.2/km2 with most living in Dunedin city. Mountainous terrain and rolling hills. Market challenges Transient nature of some of our customers. Emerging technologies (5G, IOT)
CURRENT ISSUES IN THE WORLD OF WISPs • Constant reinvestment to meet demand for live or VoD streaming (RWC) • Managing the unavoidable overbuild from RBI2 • Providing service to ever more remote customers • Accessing a cellular service to complete the bundle • Growing pains
STRENGTHS OF THE WISPS: 1 Technology leadership • Innovative and appropriate • Reliable and Resilient • Low power • Cost Effective
STRENGTHS OF THE WISPS: 2 Local Customer Focus • Know our local geography • Know our communities • Work with others for best customer outcomes • Superior customer service
STRENGTHS OF THE WISPS: 3 Reliable • Built for longevity • Proven track record • History of staying on line in disasters • Hands on
STRENGTHS OF THE WISPS:: 4 Nimble • Not bound by large legacy systems • Access to technologies (building blocks) enabling flexible and fit-for-purpose solutions to be rolled out in a timely manner • E.g. Wholesale and layer 2 access • Local land owners support maintenance and access
Questions? Contacts: Mike Smith, Deputy Chair - mike@ubb.nz Ernie Newman, secretariat - ernie@ernienewman.com WIRELESS INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION OF NZ INC
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