The government's new rural broadband plan has had a mixed reaction from rural organisations.
The government has increased the $48 million that had been allocated to expand the service to $300 million which is to be rolled out over the next six years.

Federated Farmers president Don Nicholson says it is a big deal which has farmers very excited.
'Over the past few months we've had extensive discussions with government and are pleased that it has listened to the federation's concerns and suggestions. This announcement is a significant step forward and a big feather in Federated Farmers' cap.”
However, not all of the rural community is quite so excited about the announcement. Rural Women New Zealand is a little more cautious in its response. National president Margaret Chapman concedes the announcement is certainly a step in the right direction, but she warns that this should not be seen as the last word on rural communities' broadband aspirations.
Margaret points out that while 94 per cent of rural schools will be able to get speeds of at least 100Mbps, 80 per cent of rural households will have to cope with speeds of 5Mbps while the other 20 per cent will only be able to get speeds of 1Mbps.
'At the end of six years, rural will still be playing catch up with their urban counterparts who already have high speed broadband and who are now set to upgrade to ultra fast broadband thanks to further significant investment.”