The Project Probe team is now considering 12 tenders for bringing high-speed internet access to the majority of the nation's schools and outlying communities by the end of 2004.

The tenders submitted in response to a request for proposals (RFP) had to be received by the team by March 4th.  In all, 18 providers including telecommunications carriers and consortia, were invited to be part of the project, submitting plans for regional roll-out as part of a government initiative to foster broadband competition.

The team won't name the companies involved but it is known that Telecom, BCL, ihug, Vodafone, Walker Wireless and TelstraClear are all keen to extend their involvement in rural and regional high speed internet provision.

According to van Horik, at least six bids have been received for every region and eight for some.  "Some very comprehensive responses have been received, indicating that supplier interest is high and some regions are being very keenly contested."

He says the Project Team will assess bids and get back to the government with its recommendations at the end of April. Officials were also looking forward to receiving updates this month from the Northland and Wairarapa project teams on progress in those regions.

"We're looking at rollout from June onwards, with access to broadband services for all schools in place by the end of 2004," says Mr van Horik.

"This is a very exciting project that will ensure the infrastructure is in place throughout New Zealand to support the development of a wide range of broadband applications. 

"Broadband will enable schools to videoconference, opening up new learning opportunities that will be especially valuable to small remote schools in the regions.  It's the means by which kids in Wairoa will have access to the same information and online opportunities as kids in Wellington or Washington," he says.

Project Probe will also enable businesses in the regions to access quality information about markets and competitors and open up new opportunities around the world. "The potential is huge and we're excited by the plans we're hearing people come up with, as they discover what access to this technology can mean to them."

Last month the Minister of Health announced the health services sector would join the regional roll out of high speed internet access through Probe, which is ultimately expected to improve health-care to the regions.

March 2003