This episode featured as part of the Agritech segment in partnership with Sensehub Dairy by MSD.

Rural users may be left behind without continued investment in rural networks, says Craig Young, chief executive of the Technology Users Association of New Zealand (TUANZ).

Young speaks ahead of the Connecting Aotearoa Summit on 13 May, which replaces the longstanding rural connectivity symposium.

“Everybody gets to access the services they need to survive and thrive. No one misses out,” he says.

Young says at least 100,000 households remain difficult to reach, with dialup and copper services due to be gone by 2028.

“It’s not a once-and-done type approach,” says Young, who wants targeted central government investment based on social benefit, not just return.

This episode featured as part of the Agritech segment in partnership with Sensehub Dairy by MSD. Leading agritech innovation with SenseHub® Dairy — the modular, end‑to‑end dairy system combining animal behaviour monitoring, milk intelligence and automation in one connected platform, backed by MSD Animal Health. For more information visit www.sensehub.co.nz

CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.