Te Anau will have to wait until next year to be connected to ultra-fast broadband, while smaller townships Manapouri and Mossburn are tagged to get it this winter.

This year the nationwide Ultra Fast Broadband roll-out will come to rural Southland.

The massive programme has already arrived to more than 19,000 premises in Invercargill and is estimated to be finished in Otatara this month, followed by Gore and Mataura later this winter.

UFB uses fibre optic cables to deliver broadband to households and businesses. 

Winton will be the first town in the Southland District to have the build complete by July, followed by Blackmount/Manapouri and Mossburn in the spring. 

Only by January 2020 will Te Anau have its own roll-out complete, with Chorus saying almost 1900 premises are to be included.

When asked about the reasons behind the order of the roll-out, Chorus media and PR manager Nathan Beaumont provided a written statement saying scheduling the work was a massive logistical exercise.

"There are a number of factors that come into consideration when determining the work schedule for towns, including availability of contractors in each of the areas and ensuring the scheduling runs in a functional way to ensure the programme is efficient."

Within the Southland District alone, 18 locations are scheduled for ultra-fast broadband by 2022.