Thames, Whitianga, Coromandel Town, Whangamata and Tairua have made the Government's long list to potentially receive funding for ultra-fast broadband.

Announced on Tuesday, the list features more than 110 towns that could qualify for some of the $210 million in extra funding to expand the fibre-optic cable network that carries ultra-fast broadband.

Thames and Whitianga have been under consideration since the UFB1 initiative was announced several years ago.

Coromandel Town, Whangamata and Tairua were later added to the list after the Thames-Coromandel District Council submitted its registration of interest back in July, as part of the bidding process for UFB2 funding.

Deputy Mayor Peter French says this means the five largest Coromandel towns, with more than 1,200 residents, are on the long list.

'While the list of eligible towns is still very long, it's great to see that we're still in the hunt and that Whangamata, Coromandel Town and Tairua have been included,” says Peter.

Communications Minister Amy Adams says the long list was based on current and projected population, but not all towns on the list will necessarily receive funding.

Also under consideration are what the Government calls 'fringe areas” of major metropolitan centres. This means there is tough competition for limited funding.

The request for proposals that Amy announced on Tuesday was a call for telecoms companies to submit bids to expand the fibre network.

The Government's Crown Fibre Holdings will assess the bids, town-by-town, on a commercial basis and then create a short list of towns that might qualify for UFB2 funding.

Commercial negotiations will then be held with prospective build partners and contracts are expected to be signed in the first half of 2016, with the build beginning shortly after that.

The next step for the Thames-Coromandel council is to submit a Digital Enablement Plan in the next couple of weeks.

This plan details how the council and the Coromandel community would maximise any expanded fibre network.

RURAL BROADBAND INITIATIVE

The council says communities outside the district's main townships need not worry about missing out on fast broadband.

'At the same time as it announced UFB2 in March, the Government also announced a second phase of its Rural Broadband Initiative and a Mobile Black Spots Fund,” explains council. 'The Government says it wants to determine which towns qualify for UFB2 before it designs RBI2.

'The Government promises there will be separate tenders for the RBI2 and MBSF initiatives in due course. In the meantime, our council is not standing still on the broadband front.”

Recently the council provided a $15,000 to grant St John to work with wireless internet provider Lightwire to upgrade the fibre connection to the Thames St John station.

This will improve St John's emergency response capabilities, plus allow Lightwire to build a wireless broadband network for central Thames based on a small tower it will install on the roof of the station.

Once work is complete, which is expected to be later this year, faster wireless internet speeds will be available to residents and businesses in central Thames within range of the Lightwire tower.

'We've also been working with Chorus to advance upgrades to fibre-fed telecoms cabinets around the District,” adds council.

'The improved capacity of these cabinets allows much higher internet speeds to people and businesses over existing copper telephone lines.”

Two in Kopu have recently been upgraded, as well as others in Kuaotunu and at the conjunction of Hahei and Hot Water Beach.

Council has also been working with Vodafone to upgrade existing mobile phone towers or build new ones that can carry wireless broadband and improved mobile phone signals in more rural areas.

For more details on broadband in the Coromandel visit the Thames-Coromandel District Council's website at: www.tcdc.govt.nz/rbi