Telecommunications company Chorus is meeting the Government entity Crown Fibre Holdings on Friday to try to renegotiate the terms of its contract for laying much of the country's ultra-fast broadband network.
Accountancy firm Ernst and Young Australia has told the Government that Chorus may not be able to fulfil its contract on time after the Commerce Commission halved what it could charge for copper broadband. A final report into its finances will be released next week.
Chorus says part of negotiations with Crown Fibre Holdings is likely to include how the rollout could be done more cheaply and one option would be to target only areas where the fibre network is in demand.
Telecommunications Minister Amy Adams has said the contract can be re-negotiated but the $1.35 billion budget for the project will not increased.
Federated Farmers vice president William Rolleston says his organisation is worried the changes could mean rural areas will either miss out or have to wait longer for the roll out.
He says broadband is becoming a critical part of farming and it needs this technology to function and stay competitive in the future.
The Shareholders Association says there wasn't adequate information to predict Chorus' revenue would be so significantly cut by the commission.
Chairman John Hawkins says the regulatory body decision on Chorus has been and will continue to be detrimental to other infrastructure companies.
"Tens if not hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who've saved and invested into infrastructure shares for the steady dividend flow that they normally give are being affected by a drop across the board. The loss of confidence is huge, and money is flowing out of the country at a rate of knots."
