Chinese company Huawei is a new major partner in the Ultrafast Fibre $300 million ultrafast broadband fibre roll-out in the Tauranga area.

Ultrafast Fibre is a consortium led by lines company Wel Networks and it is undertaking works in Tauranga, Hamilton and other North Island locations.

Cable is being laid across Tauranga.

Huawei has been named as a major partner in the Ultrafast Fibre consortium and will supply layer two electronics for the rollout.

This is a key component in the process making the dark fibre accessible to retailers for services including the internet and TV delivered over the internet.

Huawei New Zealand spokesperson Mark Champion says their contract also includes layer one kit and the fibre optic cable himself.

Ultrafast Fibre's build is already underway in Tauranga and Hamilton and is scheduled to take five years and pass 163,000 properties.

This fibre is expected to be laid out in the next five years, although predictions are being made that not everyone will sign up to the new service straight away.

Ultrafast Fibre chief executive Julian Elder says the roll-out's total budget is around $300 million over the next 10 years.

'This includes funding from state-owned Crown Fibre Holdings, as with all four UFB contracts, will eventually be bought out as the roll-out morphs from a public-private to a fully private project.”