#GigatownWanaka The Little Town That Could
Join us on a trip to New Zealand, where Debra Waters discovers the story behind the competition that has Lake Wanaka buzzing! Located in a beautiful valley, skirted by the spectacular snow-capped Crown Ranges in the Southern Alps, overlooking a pristine lake of cerulean blue, is the stunning town of Lake Wanaka. 
Wanaka and the snow capped mountains
Check out Debra’s amazing video of the Wanaka region in New Zealand The southern hemisphere’s answer to Montreux on the Swiss Riviera, Lake Wanaka has a population of only 8500 but is far from a sleepy, little town. Beneath the surface of this serene, natural wonderland is a highly charged buzz of activity. It’s a vibe that has been around for a long time, but since the announcement of a nationwide competition emerged by the New Zealand Government aimed to give an opportunity for 75 percent of New Zealand’s population to have all new Ultra Fats Broadband Data, the buzz has turned into a roar. The competition is an initiative of Chorus, a NZ telecommunications infrastructure company.
The winning town’s internet speed will be increased to one gigabit per second, vastly improving its connectivity with the rest of the world. The NZ government began laying fibre optic cables two years ago with the purpose of improving the economy, designating 1.5 billion dollars to the project nationwide. Gigatown, essentially a marketing competition, commenced in October 2013 to promote this move to ultra-fast broadband and high-speed internet with the use of gigabyte fibre. Since only certain small towns across NZ qualified for entry, the district of Lake Wanaka was fortunate to meet the strict criteria for the competition.This in itself was a hard-earned achievement involving much groundwork over several months by a dedicated group of individuals and small business owners who I met recently.
The heart of the Gigatown Wanaka group, from left, Alistair King, Celia Crosbie, Kelly Good and Carla Munro
Promoting their Gigatown mission by the shores of Lake Wanaka, from left, Carla Munro, Celia Crosbie, Alistair King and Kelly Good
The passion that I witnessed when interviewing the four dynamic individuals at the heart of this small, yet powerful core group of Gigatown Wanaka – the town’s competition name – was inspirational.The incredibly motivated team meets once a month to work on their competition strategy, and to promote Gigatown Wanaka to maintain their lead on the scoreboard. Local businesses and individuals have long been working together to improve the town’s infrastructure and, with the Wanaka Chamber of Commerce, to lobby local government to provide ultra-fast broadband and improve communication systems to benefit the entire community. The focus of the Gigatown Wanaka group is community engagement, the sharing of ideas, and encouraging and supporting each other in small business. Improved connectivity underpins the region’s economic growth and will assist in the setup and expansion of online import/export businesses. Wanaka is all about location, location, location. At the base of fantastic skifields such as Treble Cone, and offering myriad other activities, the region swells to an amazing 60,000 people over the Christmas/New Year period. The ‘need for speed’ becomes even more apparent at this time, when the transitory population’s connectivity to the rest of the world is hampered by an inadequate facility.
Overlooking Lake Wanaka Township from Classic Flights Tiger Moth
So what will winning Gigatown do for the Wanaka region? It will provide the infrastructure for businesses to successfully function on a global digital scale. It will enable more people to stay connected while they enjoy the incredible lifestyle Lake Wanaka has to offer, and bring more creativity, diversity and international awareness to a thriving community. The benefits to the community will also include better educational resources for schools, and better health services support for patients. The opportunity for doctors to have instant access to a database of patient health history is extremely valuable in a town of people from all over the world. Also, the ability to consult with out-of-town specialists across the country and the world by way of live coverage makes‘virtual diagnostics’ a real possibility. When the closest hospital is a three-hour drive away in Dunedin, this literally has the potential to be a life-saver! On September 19th, five finalists will be announced. Gigatown Wanaka is currently in the lead, and the entire community is extremely passionate about and committed to winning this competition. Each of the five finalists will be required to submit a strategy outlining how they will take advantage of giga-speed internet, and to complete challenges set by the competition organizers. Wanaka is striving for gold as they currently hold the lead in the competition. There will be a furious race to the finish line on the 26th November, 2014 when the winner will be announced. How can you help? Get behind Lake Wanaka, truly one of the most beautiful places on our planet, and pledge your support. Anyone can go online to www.gigatown.co.nz. Sign up and support Wanaka! Alternatively, visit www.gigatownwanaka.co.nz, or search Twitter and Facebook, and hashtag gigatownwanaka on the comments #gigatownwanaka.
The bright orange Gigatown Wanaka mini van
It’s hard not to notice the bright orange Gigatown Wanaka mini van as it drives all over the region So who gives a gig? Wanaka does! This is one special little town with a whole lot of heart, passion and tenacity. So let’s support this amazing opportunity for the jewel in the Crown Ranges called Lake Wanaka.
EATT Magazine supports cheaper, faster internet access for all people and communities across the globe.
We believe that fast, free Wi-Fi should be available in as many areas as possible without restrictions, invasive advertising, or the need to jump through hoops to gain access.Millions of people in many parts of the world have no internet access, and for those of us who do have access, it’s often expensive, slow and unreliable. Throughout 2015 we’ll be updating you on campaigns designed to bring free or cheaper Wi-Fi and broadband to various communities around the planet.
Join us by supporting our first initiative to help spread the message about the #gigatownwanaka campaign in New Zealand http://www.gigatownwanaka.co.nz/sign-up/ And if you have a great free Wi-Fi or super-fast broadband story about a remote community, we want to hear it!
So contact us at https://eattmag.com/support/
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