I'm re-posting this, since it was so popular in another thread (and I'm a Coaster), along with an abbreviated version of the story I've had approval to share...


Karamea is a small settlement on the West Coast of the South Island, approximately 85 km North of Westport.  Karamea has for some time had its telephone and broadband delivered by an 8 MegaBit Digital Microwave Radio system (DMR).  To get fibre to service the area, a very difficult, steep, narrow and winding 27km section of road through DOC reserve (called the Karamea Bluff) was an obstacle.

Soon after Chorus was awarded the RBI contract, the project to fibre the Karamea Bluff started.  Consultancy recommended to lay 10km of fibre underground and the more difficult 17km section of fibre to be installed on Buller Electricity power poles.  Negotiations with all parties took a few years.

The installation started in October 2014, with the underground cabling and in tandem the Buller Electricity upgrading of poles over the aerial route (to allow for the additional loading associated with the aerial cable).  The aerial section was installed by helicopter in March 2015.

This has since delivered Fibre to Karamea School and the Karamea settlement.  Vodafone (our partner in the RBI) also deployed a cell site in Karamea.  Check out the below video of the aerial cable being installed by helicopter.