Schools in Tauranga are experiencing the benefit of ultra-fast broadband after fibre-optic cables were laid in the area.

Four schools in Tauranga have been connected to the ultra-fast broadband since the government's rollout, along with four schools in Wanganui and one in Hamilton.

Fibre optic cable was laid in many areas of Tauranga, including Devonport Road.

Education Minister Anne Tolley says the roll-out of the ultra-fast broadband fibre cables has enabled schools to progress well and nearly 100,000 students at 221 schools around the country will be connected by July next year.

'Two hundred schools are now connected by Chorus, one of the Crown's four partners for the UFB rollout,” says Anne.

Communications and IT Minister Steven Joyce says 97 per cent of schools will receive ultra-fast fibre-enabling speeds of 100 Mbps (megabites per second) plus during the next five years.

'The remaining three per cent of schools, which are in the most remote locations, will receive a high speed wireless or satellite connection. No schools will miss out,” says Steven.

Anne says UFB will transform the country's education system, making it one of the most wired in the world.

'Fewer than 200 New Zealand schools currently have bandwidth capable of the ultra-fast broadband speeds that are essential for applications such as high definition and two-way video conferencing.

'This technology means that students anywhere in New Zealand can have access to the best teachers and online resources anywhere in the world.”