CFH announces shortlist and priority negotiating partners

This morning, Crown Fibre Holdings has announced the fourteen parties it has short-listed for negotiations in rolling out ultra-fast broadband, and three that it has selected for priority negotiations.

The CFH release is available here, and the minister's media release is here. InternetNZ's media release is here.

It's an interesting call alright - while Telecom remains in the game, the Axia bid has not been shortlisted and the three providers chosen for priority negotiation (in Northland, central North Island and Timaru) seem likely to be able to get the rollout moving fast if they make the final cut.

Intentionally or not, the announcement ups the pressure on other providers to sharpen their offers in discussions with CFH as they proceed. It'll be a fascinating few weeks leading up to the end of October, when CFH makes its final recommendations to the government.

Jordan

PS - Telecom has put out a release too, have a look here.