1444 days ago

Teenager bringing high-speed internet to Upper Hutt

Reporter Community News

A company run by a 16-year-old which has brought high-speed internet access to hundreds of households in the Hutt Valley that have been “forgotten" by the big telcos is expanding its services to other parts of the country in a bid to help more residents in isolated areas get connected.
Alex Stewart came up with the idea for his business, WombatNET, when he was 13 and staying at the remote settlement of Turakina Beach, near Whanganui. Older people would often ask the tech-savvy teenager for help with their digital devices, and he soon realised how many people in the area were grappling with the same problem – unreliable and slow internet access.
After doing some research, he discovered that while it was relatively straightforward to connect properties to the fixed wireless broadband network using radio waves transmitted by towers, large internet providers often seemed reluctant to do so because it could be more expensive than using cables. So Stewart decided to meet the need himself.
In early 2020, WombatNET put up its first tower on private land just outside Upper Hutt. Since then, the company has built another 10 around Mangaroa and Whitemans Valley.
With demand for the service growing quickly through online and social media marketing and word of mouth, and as more people began to work from home amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Stewart was struggling to juggle running a start-up with his school work.

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Feel a chill in the air?

Health NZ - Winter flu

Autumn’s here and the cold weather is fast approaching. So, grab a flu jab and help protect yourself against flu before winter arrives.

The flu vaccine is free if you’re 65 or over. It’s also free for pregnant people and for many others with certain underlying health conditions, including diabetes, heart and lung diseases, and mental health conditions.

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19 minutes ago

🎭 Tricky, Twisty, and Totally Fun—Let’s Riddle! 🤹‍♂️

Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

I bring people together, though I’m not alive;
I’m small but vital, helping communities thrive;
I’m often green, sometimes blue or red—
without me, connections might be dead—
What am I?

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7 days ago

Show us your projects

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Whether it's craft, haberdashery, woodwork or upcycling, we'd love to see what you've been working on lately.
You may even spark someone else's creativity...

Tell us about your current project or show us a picture in the comments below...

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