Business South June 2021

| 55 Helping the heartland get connected T T Karen Phelps Unifone specialises in providing people and businesses in Dunedin and Otago with affordable, reliable internet. Unifone INFRASTRUCTURE 027 421 8545 | pat@epsilon.nz Proud to support Unifone with 3D CAD design work & onsite install Mechanical Design ∙ Fabrication & Installation ∙ Steel/Stainless/Aluminium Ph: 021 383 372 www.rigger.co.nz Email: callum@rigger.co.nz PROUD TO SUPPORT UNIFONE NEW ZEALAND U nifone has been helping rural Otago to get better connected through the Crown Fibre Holdings RBI2 project, which targets rural end users who have access to terrestrial broadband services (fixed line or wireless) of less than 20 Mbps maximum speed. Unifone has also invested heavily in the bid to get connection to rural areas and is now 80% through the roll out, says Unifone direc- tor Glenn Hutton. “We started in 2017 upgrading some of our existing sites and this was followed by con- struction of new sites. “We’ve now built around 60 new sites and upgraded more again and at the moment we’re filling in any gaps,” he explains. Glenn says that the government has set a high standard for service under RBI2. “For instance, Unifone has to make all its wireless broadband plans available from all RBI2 funded repeaters as soon as they are brought into service. “This includes the plans that run at 25Mb/s downstream and higher. This is not actually different to any other repeater network we build so customers in the most remote part of our network can access the same range of connection plans for the same price as a customer in Dunedin city.” A quick look at Unifone’s history makes it apparent that better connectivity to rural areas is at the heart of the business. As a teenager in rural South Otago, the company’s founder Travis Baird put in a radio broadband link from Milton to a nearby hilltop and to Waihola. Neighbours soon started requesting the service. When Travis went to Dunedin to study he started providing the service there too, extremely popular with students. It then expanded to other areas and deal- ings with a small internet company that Glenn owned in Balclutha led to the two forming a partnership and merging their businesses about five years ago. Glenn says that Unifone specialises in pro- viding people and businesses in Dunedin and Otago with affordable, reliable internet. The company’s coverage range is ever increasing and currently spans as far as Palm- erston to Puerua, Papanui Inlet to Popotunoa. Services offered by Unifone include fibre, wifi, DSL, broadband, home and mobile phone. Key points of difference that set Unifone apart include no data caps for the majority of its plans and local support. “We rate ourselves as problem solvers,” explains Glenn. “We take satisfaction in pro- viding service where others can’t. Owning our infrastructure means we are more efficient and adaptable. We’re not a ‘one size fits all’ company and our customers like that.” This means the company can offer be - spoke solutions for challenging broadband situations, particularly for business clients. It is also constantly listening to customers and improving its offering. Recently that led to the introduction of mobile phone plans through the Spark network. Glenn says being involved in RBI2 has helped the company to achieve its goal of bet- ter connectivity for rural people faster and will result in great outcomes for both residential households and businesses in the region. “Owning our infrastructure means we are more efficient and adaptable. We’re not a ‘one size fits all’ company and our customers like that.”