CARD
Connectivity ultimately at the heart Today, regardless of rural or urban, home or business, broadband is an essential service to all New Zealanders and connectivity is at the heart of engagement with our technology. Far from being a ‘build it and they will come’ company, UBB CEO Mike Smith, is absolutely customer focused. Bravely, Mike takes an almost agnostic approach to offer broadband and connectivity services for the rural sector. His mantra for UBB is to ensure that all customers have the right solution for their situation. Ensuring that all services that are offered, are fit for the right purpose, and utilizing the right technology for the right job. It is this approach that Mike believes is at the heart of his business, the company by-line of “Heart of Connectivity”. Mike Smith has a passion to develop connectivity in rural areas. With an emphasis on the Canterbury region, Mike and wife Joanne first launched Ultimate Mobile Ltd in 2009. Since then, the company has grown and evolved their rebranding in 2019 to UBB. 16
R E AL FARM E R
Where their core values of being the heart of connectivity still remain.
IMAGE: UBB’s Tai Tapu solar site
Depending on the location and topography, UBB offers access to the internet through a range of fibre, hybrid, 4G broadband and wireless packages, with a great selection of monthly plan offerings that allow for the rural sector not to be left behind compared to its urban counterparts, including plans with unlimited data options. Mike said “For our rural customers, whole of farm connectivity is key. From connecting homes, offices, sheds, and mobile hotspots to the internet, through to networks for security, monitoring, automation and control or animal tracking our focus is providing the right solution for the farmer based on what they need and want.”
stake in the industry Mike is currently the chairman of WISPA NZ, (Wireless Internet Service Providers Association) and works with Government and WISP’s regional operators who between them now connect over 75,000 rural homes and businesses throughout NZ.
UBB is proud to be part of the RBI 2 (Regional Broadband Initiative), a publicprivate partnership between a network of Wireless Internet Service Providers (or WISP) and the Crown. With over 75% of rollout completed in Canterbury, UBB is proud of their achievement and what they have enabled for rural communities. With an active
The RBI 2 programme has ensured delivery of fast, reliable broadband to rural homes and businesses which would otherwise not be connected by solely private providers. As technology changes and requirements increase, UBB is working along with other WISP’s and the Government to bring even faster speeds, more reliable service, and connectivity to all New Zealanders. Across UBB’s Canterbury based wireless network, the company is switching on more next generation equipment, offering faster speeds to bridge the connectivity divide between urban and rural broadband. Now offering broadband services, landlines, private network connectivity, IOT (Internet of Things), device connectivity management and mobile phone services, Mike said “across the
