Background

In 2002 a three month long feasibility study was conducted, examining in detail the need for the establishment of a NGI network for New Zealand. Over 60 potential private and public sector stakeholder organizations were canvassed as part of the study, including the tertiary education and research community as well as key industry sectors highlighted in the Central Government's "Growth and Innovation Strategy Report - Creative Sector, Biotech and ICT."

The resulting report was entitled "Collaborating at Speed : 'Innovation Infrastructure for a Knowledge Economy'." (One of the first priorities from the report was the establishment of the NGI-NZ Consortium (now the Society) to provide a national high-speed network also connecting to the international NGI networks.

New Zealand is unique among its key trading partners as well OECD member countries in not having an advanced research and development network to support the development of Next Generation Internet services which typically utilize connectivity at speeds upwards of 2.5 Gigabit/sec.

Click here for a timeline of events.