Teenager bringing high-speed internet to Upper Hutt
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.
Poll: Should employees be able to work from home?
At the post-Cabinet press conference, the National Party asserted they want public sector staff to return to the office. This has opened a conversation about other sectors in New Zealand who have adopted working from home (WFH).
Where possible, do you think employees should be able to work from home? Vote below and share your thoughts in the comments.
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71.4% Yes
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25.5% No
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3.1% Other - I'll share below
Brooklyn Junior Cricket Club - Registrations close very soon!
At Brooklyn Junior Cricket Club we offer cricket from 4 years old through to Year 8.
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Visit www.bjcc.co.nz... today - registrations close VERY soon!!
Māori/Pacific (and general applicant) - FULL and part scholarships to finish high school overseas
Do you know a Māori/Pacific* student in Year 11/12 eager to expand their horizons?
Would they like to study the International Baccalaureate with change-making youth from around the world, at an international boarding school in one of 18 locations across the world?
Applications are now open for UWC Aotearoa New Zealand 2025 scholarships and places.
Full and part scholarships are available (needs-assessed), as well as unfunded places.
Applicants must be New Zealand citizens ordinarily resident in New Zealand, who will be aged 16 or 17 on 1 August 2025 (and not yet 18 on 1 September 2025), completing NCEA Level 1 or higher (or equivalent) by the end of 2024.
Applicants should be academically strong, emotionally resilient, physically active, and involved in their school or local community.
Application forms and more information are available at www.nz.uwc.org.... Applications close on Sunday 13 October 2025.
*Aotearoa will have a 'Dare to Dream' scholarship for 2025 entry to UWC Red Cross Nordic in Flekke, Norway (near Bergen), and the school has expressed a _strong_ preference for an Indigenous Māori or Pacific student. Dare to Dream scholarships are intended for students from low-income households - i.e. "backgrounds in which they would usually not even dare to dream of a world class education like that offered by UWC".
(We tend to think a fair amount of education in Aotearoa is "world class", so no shade on anyone's current school - it's just a different thing from UWC).
Other scholarships and places will also available open to any candidate - we'll know which UWCs to in November.
---UWC makes education a force to unite peoples, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future---
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