Matt Harrison elected to the board of TUANZ

Taranaki wireless broadband pioneer Matt Harrison has been elected to the board of TUANZ, the influential tech users industry group.

As one of two new regional members of the board of 10, Harrison says his “somewhat surprising election” reflects the new importance TUANZ is placing on making sure rural New Zealanders are included in its goal of making New Zealand one of the top 10 digital countries worldwide by 2030.

The election has come as a surprise for Harrison, the managing director of Primo. He says he was up against 15 other strong candidates from the telco industry, almost all of whom were from large companies in the main centres. He says being a regional internet provider and an advocate for rural users may have swung the vote his way. “This shows me that there is strong support from the whole industry for what we are doing at Primo in providing connections to rural people who would otherwise miss out on having a quality internet link.”

Harrison and his team at New Plymouth-based Primo have created a wireless network around Taranaki which gives affordable broadband access to many of the remotest farms and communities and now has more than 4500 customers. He says getting people access to the Internet is vital for the whole country and reflects his love of technology and the opportunities it creates.

“I have turned my passion and thirst for bringing new technology and ideas to life while working to close the rural and urban digital divides in Taranaki and I have been a big supporter for this happening all around New Zealand. “We have built literal digital highways into the heartland of Taranaki, and we have seen the very real boost this has given to people.”

Harrison, who lives on a rural property in Lepperton with partner Jasmine and his three young daughters, says he has a good insight into the challenges of getting the internet into rural homes, as well as the many opportunities it offers.

PrimoWireless voted Best Rural Service Provider at the 2018 Broadband Compare TUANZ awards 2018.

Awards available to watch on the Broadband Compare Facebook page.

Judges’ Comments

PrimoWireless showcased technology and innovation as the fundamental underpinnings of their service and as a rural specialist their entry also demonstrated a great investment in their community.

Their extensive sponsorship of community organisations and groups, through free use of their services, and free WIFI hotspots throughout the region were great examples of their commitment to a high-quality rural broadband offering and to being more than ‘just’ an ISP.
PrimoWireless’ Comments

Team holding awardDSCN1604 960pxWe are incredibly grateful for the recognition this award represents. It is an acknowledgement of not only the work PrimoWireless has achieved in getting fast reliable broadband to even the remotest parts of our region but also of the contribution that WISPS and ISP’s are making in providing quality broadband to ALL New Zealanders.

PrimoWireless is also grateful for the recognition of the support we provide to community organisations throughout Taranaki, such as our PRIMO IT FORWARD sponsorship programme to give three families in need, free internet for a year.

We would like to sincerely thank the people of Taranaki, and the amazing team at Primo for helping us reach a stage where we can proudly hold up this award as a mark of our achievements so far. We also promise that we’ll only get better at what we do.

 

The Broadband Compare TUANZ Awards

The Broadband Compare TUANZ Awards celebrates the very best of the broadband industry and this prestigious event recognises the companies that provide New Zealanders with the very best products and services in the broadband sector.

Awards cover a wide range of different categories from best fibre provider to best bundled plan, best customer support, best specialist provider and best broadband innovation.

The Broadband Compare TUANZ Award winners are selected based on a combination of criteria.

These include consumer surveys and reviews on the Broadband Compare website, decisions from the expert judging panel, as well as third party data and infomation collated throughout the previous year. Broadband Compare surveys 100s of household decision-makers through respected insight agency Tactix to provide additional consumer data to help the judges to decide, amongst other categories, the best providers for value, customer service and bundled broadband plans.

Local Hero PrimoWireless Wins Rural Broadband Contract

PrimoWireless welcomes yesterday’s announcement by Prime Minister Bill English, Communications Minister Simon Bridges and Crown Fibre Holdings of the investment that the Government is making in improving rural broadband and mobile phone coverage for rural and remote New Zealanders.

Telecommunications Minister Simon Bridges announced PrimoWireless as the Wireless Internet Service Provider for Taranaki, making it responsible for connecting homes, farms and businesses over a broad area that includes remote and difficult terrain.

This appointment is part of a $150 million funding package for telco companies to partner with the Government through Crown Fibre Holdings Ltd to bring better broadband and mobile services to an increased number of under-served rural areas, businesses, homes and tourists in New Zealand.

Through the initiative, PrimoWireless has successfully negotiated with Crown Fibre Holdings for funding to develop and grow Taranaki’s rural broadband network, this for the first time gives PrimoWireless and other wireless ISP’s the official recognition that the broadband they provide is an excellent alternative to traditional copper and fibre based services.

MD of PrimoWireless – Matthew Harrison said, “Many of New Zealand’s wireless ISP’s including PrimoWireless have traditionally flown under the radar of the telco sector, we are well known locally, but less so nationally – so it’s incredibly satisfying to see that so many WISPs have been entrusted with parts of the government’s latest RBI2 initiative.”

PrimoWireless was established in 2006 to provide wireless broadband services to remote Taranaki communities. Initially PrimoWireless was developed as a solution to help rural Taranaki people and businesses who struggled to get access to fast broadband services. Knowing that wireless is the fastest broadband technology available to the rural community, IT specialist and managing director Matthew Harrison, set about building PrimoWireless’ network from the ground up. As a result, PrimoWireless’ customers are now enjoying the full benefits of connecting to Taranaki’s only locally owned and operated Ultrafast wireless network.

PrimoWireless provides both wireless and ultrafast broadband services (UFB) to thousands of business and rural customers in and around the Taranaki region. The grant funding investment by the government and substantial additional investment from PrimoWireless will allow us to upgrade our existing network and build new sites that will expand broadband coverage to even more rural and remote internet users who are desperately in need of modern broadband connectivity.

The first radio site as part of PrimoWireless’ expanded network for rural Taranaki is expected to be installed later next month and the entire project is expected to be completed by mid-2020.