The first business to take advantage of the new service is Southern Seafoods, which exports locally caught half-shell mussels to Europe and the United States - and live lobsters to Japan and China.

The seafood is sent to the company's plant in Christchurch where it's processed before being sent overseas. "We're the only business which can say we have our head office in Stewart Island," says manager Helen Cave, "with a branch in Christchurch. "[JetStream] is definitely faster and I like that you don't have to dial-up each time you want to use the internet. It means you don't put off answering emails or looking things up when you know you should."

Cave uses the internet for online banking, to correspond with the Christchurch plant and to contact the company's overseas buyers, including sending photographs of the local produce.

In addition to the seafood business, Cave's daughter also runs a kayak touring business on the island. It's a busy household so it's handy that JetStream lets you use the phone at the same time as you're on the Internet," she says.

Local integrator Jens Jensen from Jensen Technical Services says there's been a high level of interest from Stewart Island residents with up to another ten locals interested in JetStream (five have already signed up). "It's been of particular interest to businesses because they don't have to get an extra line for their internet connection," he says.

Work to provide broadband to nine Southland towns and Stewart Island was completed by Telecom last month, with exchanges in Half Moon Bay, Bluff, Otatara, Tuatapere, Edendale, Lumsden, Makarewa, Otautau, Riverton and Wyndham upgraded.

The upgrades bring broadband coverage to more than 80 percent of lines in the region. Telecom has already enabled exchanges in Gore, Invercargill, Mataura, Te Anau, Waikiwi and Winton. Telecom say about 84.8 percent of New Zealanders now have access to JetStream broadband services.

July 2003