Internet helps retain staff

For many, the speed and reliability of their internet connection becomes a barrier to favourite online pastimes: it affects them and their families and their workers – and they don't like it one bit.

Paul O'Hagan runs a 1780ha dairy unit in the Rangitiki District. He gets his internet via Wireless Nation's satellite services and says it's proven a boon.

"We employ backpackers during busy times, and offering them online services like Skype has meant we've had more success recruiting and retaining workers," O'Hagan says. "They want to be able to talk to their families at home in the evenings."

A Venture Southland report released in 2015 says the region could be short of up to 12,000 employees in the next 15 years because people are aging and leaving the workforce. The report says better access to high-speed broadband is a must if Southland is to attract people and avert a massive workforce shortage.

What no one wants is for the Southland example to become a ripple effect to other parts of rural New Zealand. Rural communities need to be able to retain good staff. Given the extent to which the rural economy impacts the whole country, rural employers quite rightly expect access to fast, reliable internet services.

The Government has come a long way in improving rural connectivity under the RBI network, with average internet speeds having tripled during the past seven years, but much more and rapid change is necessary.

If you're keen to know what broadband services are currently available or planned around the country, check out the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprises useful map: https://broadbandmap.nz . This map details service availability and expected speeds across multiple technologies, including fibre, copper, cable and wireless.

The glaring service omission on this map is satellite – the most reliable internet service of them all.