Introducing HCT

"Heartland Connectivity Taskforce" or "Here Comes Trouble" - take your pick. The official name of the consultancy I share with Chris O'Connell is Heartland Connectivity Taskforce Ltd.

Our ethos is to be progressive, disruptive and innovative, consistent with optimising New Zealand’s emerging position as a world leader in the use of digital communication for economic and social good.

In our first year we have successfully completed several projects including:

- Reversing negative rural and political opinion about enabling fibre across existing electricity corridors, leading to parliament unanimously passing the Telecommunications (Property Access and Other Matters) Act which comes into effect in June 2017. This will change the landscape for deployment of rural broadband

- Working with the WISPs to form an industry association - WISPA;NZ so as to more effectively represent themselves to government and the rest of the industry. This has also greatly improved their prospects of government funding from the RBI2 programme.

- Assisting a significant number of WISPs and others with bids for RBI2.

- Supported an electricity lines company with a business case for fibre in rural areas

- Run a major event - "Rethinking Rural Broadband - in Whangarei in October 2016.

This is but the beginning. We are on a roll.

UPDATE: As from September 2017 I have sold my shareholding to Chris O'Connell and resigned as a Director. I am not currently involved.