CityLink
CityLink is an IT company offering high speed broadband services across Wellington on a self-built network.[1] The company was born out of the Wellington City Council as a community-oriented, innovative ISP, which went on to become the most advanced citywide broadband communication network in the country. The company provided internet connectivity to ICANN Wellington in conjunction with ASIA Netcom and FX Networks.
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| Type: | Public |
| Industry: | Broadband |
| Founded: | New Zealand, 1996 |
| Headquarters: | Wellington, New Zealand |
| Country: | New Zealand |
| Employees: | 35 |
| Revenue: | NZ$11 million (FY09) |
| Website: | citylink.co.nz |
| Key People | |
| Neil de Wit, CEO | |
History
The formation of CityLink dates back to late 1995, when it emerged as the result of a sponsored initiative by the Wellington City Council for the deployment of a low cost yet advanced communications network to give a competitive edge to government enterprises and local businesses.[2]
CityLink was born as the brainchild of Richard Naylor[3], who had been the IT Manager of the Wellington City Council since 1986.[4] He revolutionized the broadband connection network, making the city one of the best connected in the world. The young electrical engineer thought about connecting buildings for data exchange and soon, he was linking fiber-optic cables between the various council offices.[5] Soon, he also installed the Gopher server and Wellington City Council became the first to have a local government website in the world; free access to several residents with PCs was also made available.
In September 1995, the InfoCity project was approved by the council and CityLink was born.[6] With people discovering the superior advantages of high-speed broadband, CityLink’s business soared and within 10 weeks, a fishnet-type mesh network with 50 buildings was formed.
The first network to be established by CityLink was within the Wellington CBD, which was later extended to the Auckland CBD. Recently, the network has also been fleshed out to the Wellington suburbs of Petone[7] and Miramar, with further expansion projects to come.
Services
Connections
CityLink offers a full range of broadband services for meeting various business requirements. The company provides neutral broadband networks, which give both the users and service providers open access via industry-standard protocols and interfaces. Customers can select any service provider or even add their own services onto the CityLink network. Their services are summarized below:
Public Connections
PublicLAN – This service is meant for connecting ISPs to users and business partners using metro Ethernet LAN. It is now available in over 500 buildings across Auckland and Wellington.[8]
ExchangeNET – This service by CityLink is an internet exchange collection that facilitates independent IP traffic exchange between associated organizations.
Private Connections
Ultra 1G – This service gives complete 2-way access to unconstrained 1 Gigabit/second speed "light-paths" without link sharing or data rate limiting. [9]
FibreLINK – This 7x24 supported service provides users with the security and flexibility of dark fiere for building up self communication network and connecting self equipments.
PrivateLAN – This connection service gives the user a secure VLAN network between 2 or more sites, allowing easy office LAN extensions and unlimited traffic transfer.
CityBridge – This service is meant for connecting the networks in the metropolitan area with networks in other cities in conjunction with ExchangeNET, PrivateLAN and PublicLAN.
Other Services
SiteNET – A network neutral online data hub created by CityLink to enable the users in co-locating their servers with company and access the company’s high speed broadband services.[10]
Harmony – The CDN or Harmony content distribution network with two specialized services, ProPortion and ProStream, gives digital content owners of New Zealand a scalable solution to meet user requirements, optimizing end user experience and low cost delivery to both domestic as well as international viewers with pre-laid pricing plans.
CafeNET – This service enables the user to travel freely and use a PDA or WiFi-enabled laptop with the CafeNET wireless hotspot in the major metro areas.
WatchNET – This service provides remote monitoring to events, traffic or places of interest by way of its webcam collection.[11]