Stuff.co.nz's Reuben Schwarz reports that the Chatham Islands (population 717) are looking for a wireless network to support the islands' residents and businesses.

"Broadband will bring an awful lot of benefit to the islands," says Don McLaren, chief executive of the Chatham Islands Enterprise Trust.

The potential benefits of wireless broadband for the islands, McLaren says, include telemedicine, support for the fishing and farming industries, and communication between parents and their children attending school on the mainland.

"The trust will own the network once built, with Internet access possibly handled by a local service provider trained up by the network supplier," Schwarz writes. "The tender also covers satellite capacity for backhaul, as well as network maintenance and operation."