WELLINGTON, May 23 (Xinhua)-- The New Zealand government has set up a new target that most people in the country can enjoy faster speed Internet in 2025, Communications Minister Simon Bridges said on Tuesday.
Bridges told the 2017 Rural Connectivity Symposium in Wellington that the target for connectivity is that by 2025, 99 percent of New Zealanders will be able to access peak download speeds of 50 Megabits per second or better, and the remaining able to access at least 10 Megabits per second.
"In 2009, the Internet in New Zealand was slow, and many people didn't have adequate access at all particularly in rural areas," Bridges said.
However, over 1.1 million households and businesses can now connect to ultra-fast broadband, and over one-third of those are already connected, he said.
Over 90 percent of the population outside of ultra-fast broadband areas, over 300,000 rural households and businesses, can access new or improved broadband, Bridges added.
"Rural connectivity is a core part of the government's plan to support our regional economies," he said, adding that it is about ensuring that all New Zealanders can take advantage of the benefits of improved connectivity.
