ADVOCATE COLUMN 1st WEEK AUGUST 2012

We are now beginning to see the first physical signs of the roll out of UFB and RBI in Northland. Anyone who has visited the CBD lately will have seen Northpower Fibre technicians carrying out installation work connected with the Whangarei UFB roll out, while at the same time Bayley’s Beach residents have already benefited from improved connectivity bought about by the new cell phone tower which is part of Vodafone’s commitment to the RBI. Broadband is the new essential utility and is as vital to economic growth as clean water and good roads. UFB will provide every business the capability to access to reliable and ubiquitous broadband. It is the ability to do what you need to do, when you want to, where you are, and without having to compromise on quality. Northland has a two year competitive advantage during which we can exploit this utility to deliver better health, better education and more productivity and in doing so promote our region as progressive and business friendly . We will all need to embrace this technology in innovative ways. We need to consider what the outcomes are that this technology can provide and how will this change the way they operate? This is not just about doing things faster but about providing a platform on which rich content can be developed and used. For many businesses it will require a major change in behaviour for this to occur. Presently only 17% of New Zealand businesses sell direct to customers online via their own websites. At a regional level only 30% of Northland businesses have websites suggesting traditional businesses here have shown a reluctance to adopt new technology and innovation. With 80% of New Zealanders searching online first for products or service and 44% buying products, services or paying bills direct to websites, those businesses with websites must experience a competitive advantage. As more retail service providers come onboard with competitive and relevant supply offers for the consumer there is no reason for Northlanders not to take advantage of technology and grow their market. When accompanied by consistently high quality service and products this connectivity allows access to a national and global market not currently available to at least 70% of their regional competitors. Just as we as a region have an opportunity to benefit nationally from being early adopters, so to do individual businesses have an opportunity to be more competitive than other local businesses that fail to see the advantage that technology and innovation have to offer.