Kātoro
Currently there is no reliable internet connection available in the Coastal Taranaki area. Establishing a reliable connection will bring about numerous benefits not only for Parihaka whānau and visitors but also the local community and wider community of Aotearoa. There is a continuing increase of services and resources moving to the internet and to ensure access to these, Parihaka needs reliable access to the internet.
The Computers in the Homes project was then initiated within Parihaka which enabled whānau to become more familiar with internet technology, access hardware and receive a subsidy for a broadband service into their homes.
In seeking a long term remedy the Parihaka Papakainga Trust entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Taranaki’s largest rural broadband supplier Primowireless to put a tower up on Parihaka X Block to access wireless services for the papakāinga. This has resulted in the enabling the Trust to become a virtual ISP (Internet Service Provider) which has been branded to become ‘Kātoro’.
Kātoro derives from the term used to describe the way the news spread around the rohe after the first battle at Te Kōhia in Waitara that initiated the Taranaki Land Wars.
Presently the wireless services are available at Te Paepae o te Raukura, Te Niho o Te Atiawa and Te Raanui.