Text by Karen Lee
The final of the Gigatown competition started today, kicking off with a confirmation of the top five towns, and Nelson is in!
Matthew Dodd, campaign co-leader, says: ‘it’s a real tribute to the incredibly hard work put in by our team and all our volunteers, as well as the support we’ve received from everyone in the community. We can’t wait for the next round – bring it on!’.
Nelson joins Wanaka, Timaru, Dunedin and Gisborne for the final round which ends in mid November. The prize is three years’ low cost access to gigafibre, which is on average 80 times faster than standard broadband, for all homes and businesses connected to the new fibre network being rolled out by Chorus, along with a $200,000 development fund and other support yet to be announced.
Graph shows Nelson leading with over 10,000 supporters!
Clare Atkins, campaign co-leader, says: ‘we have talented people and a creative and dedicated community – all the tools are in place to win this for Nelson!’
What will it take to win? The Gigatown Nelson team are already working on a digital strategy which will represent 50% of the points, and the rest will be accounted for through social media and competitions designed to engage people in the new opportunities digital technology represents. Gaining support from other towns will also be crucial to securing the top spot. Information on the competition is available on www.gigatown.co.nz.
If anyone would like to get involved or offer support/sponsorship, please contact the team throughinfo@gigatownnelson.co.nz
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