New Deloitte report says digital fibre infrastructure could add $163 billion to the New Zealand economy by 2033

Auckland, 22 October 2024 – Launched today, Deloitte New Zealand’s report ‘Unleashing the power of digital fibre infrastructure in New Zealand’ reveals that while the country's investment in fibre infrastructure and provision of high-capacity connectivity has been transformational for Kiwis, the best is yet to come, with the report asserting this infrastructure has the potential to add a further $163 billion to the economy in net present value over the next 10 years.

Deloitte Access Economics lead partner, Liza Van der Merwe, says “As New Zealand’s digital fibre network matures, following the successful rollout of Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB), the true extent of fibre’s impact on productivity is emerging. The report shows digital fibre infrastructure has already delivered $31 billion of economic benefit to New Zealand between 2011-2023 and grew the economy by $8.8 billion in 2023 alone.”

Productivity is New Zealand’s biggest economic challenge, according to the Treasury, with our capacity to raise wages and the standard of living dependent on the country’s ability to raise output per worker.

“Unleashing the power of our fibre network can enable innovation, unlock business transformation and uplift productivity in New Zealand,” Van der Merwe continues. “The report identifies six dimensions as being critical to achieving these outcomes.”

These dimensions are: addressing digital equity by boosting fibre access and uptake in households (fibre is currently available to 87% of the population), driving innovation with AI, accelerating adoption of digital tools and transformation in small businesses, seizing opportunities to grow exports, leveraging data and digital technologies to enhance government services for businesses, and reviewing regulatory settings frequently.

Chorus, New Zealand’s largest fibre infrastructure provider, agrees with the report findings that households and businesses are now consuming unprecedented volumes of data, saying Kiwis’ average monthly data usage in June this year surpassed the high peaks seen during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Mark Aue, CEO of Chorus, says, "Today's report from Deloitte serves as a powerful testament to the critical role fibre plays in our economy and communities. This isn’t just about economic value; having access to high-capacity connectivity has radically transformed how we live, work and play over the past decade.”

“The challenge is how we, as a nation, fully harness the world-class infrastructure we’ve invested in," Aue says. "Demand for reliable, quality, high-speed internet will only increase with the exponential growth driven by on-demand video streaming, the shift to ultra-high-definition content, and the widespread adoption of generative AI/VR and cloud-based applications. How New Zealand takes advantage of fibre will define our success in unlocking the full productivity benefits and ensuring we remain competitive on the global stage.”

Van der Merwe agrees, saying, “Productivity is not just a nice-to-have, it’s a fundamental driver of New Zealand’s long-term economic wellbeing. The report makes it clear that digital fibre infrastructure has escalating significance to the future prosperity of our economy – but we need to stay ahead.”

“As a collective, we must commit to unleashing its full potential for New Zealand’s success now and in the future,” she concludes.

The Deloitte report also states that ‘what gets measured gets managed’ and the six dimensions will only uplift productivity if there is a concerted plan for digital fibre infrastructure in New Zealand with measurable outcomes. This approach is something the European Union has recently done, launching its digital targets for 2030.

Read the full report here.

ENDS