According to data, New Zealand has hit record numbers of internet use. Be sure you're connected to the right fibre plan!
In June, Kiwis used more internet than ever before, when referring to the amount of data sent and received.
According to Chorus, in the month of June, the average internet connection used 623 gigabytes. This is even higher than the record-number hit during the height of COVID-19.
There were even more people using a terabyte of data. This percentage increased from 15% in March to 16%.
This is a testament to just how much our need for fibre has grown since the first public-private roll-out of UFB fibre began in 2011. Back then, the average household only used about 13GB of data per month.
To see this rapid progression and growth, we can look to April 2016. This was the year that Netflix launched in New Zealand, and our average household usage increased to 100GB per month.
Let’s give some context as to how much data common online activities use.
Streaming a movie on Netflix will take about 3GB of data or about 7GB for 4K ultra-high definition.
If you have Spotify playing all day, you’ll use about 1GB.
For gamers, you would use around 0.5GB for an evening playing Fortnite. And lastly, using Zoom for an hour will gobble between 0.3 and 1.3GB, depending on the quality of the video.
With the rise of Tik Tok, which can use 1GB of data for every hour you spend doom scrolling, our need for data is going to continue increasing. And not to mention the addition of AI such as assistants and chatbots. While they use relatively little data, it’s a reminder that our need for the internet is continuing to grow, evolve and expand.
The Benefits of Fibre
Most Kiwis don’t worry about hitting their data limit. With more than 80% of households now on unlimited data plans, Kiwis have unlocked endless connection. And most of us are connected to the fibre network.
Chorus is planning to improve the reliability of the performance of fibre. It’s already an incredibly reliable technology, able to withstand the pressures of storms and heat changes, and doesn’t suffer from worsening performance when more people use the same bandwidth at busy times, Fibre also has very low latency, meaning there is little to no lag and buffering with two-way connections such as video calls or multiplayer games. Kiwis in
Other Options for Rural Kiwis
5G Fixed Wireless
The competitive landscape has been shaken up with the Commerce Commission release of 5G fixed wireless average speed. This fixed wireless uses 5G mobile technology to deliver broadband to certain homes with the help of a special modem. Volunteer households who signed up to test the programmer were all on the Spark Max Wireless plan, which delivers 5G fixed-wireless. On this plan, the average download speed measured at 348 Mbps during all hours and 329 Mbps during busy hours. For households who don’t have access to fibre, this could be a great option.
The Commerce Commission did clarify that users on 5G fixed wireless networks “will likely experience higher latencies due to the nature of cellular technology.” However, they said that this technology could support “data-heavy applications” such as ultra high definition or 4K streaming. So, while it isn’t quite as fast as fibre, it is still a lot more capable than 4G fixed wireless technology, which struggles to handle multiple devices streaming 4K. Again, if fibre isn’t available to your home, this could be a great option to consider!
Starlink
The Commerce Commission has also recently begun testing the Starlink satellite broadband for the first time. The Elon Musk technology is also dubbed LEO or Low Earth Orbit satellite.
A report from June showed that 78% of Starlink customers could stream 4K Netflix streams on 4 devices, at the same time. This is an increase of 60% from last year. Average speeds for Starlink are reportedly 224 Mbps. Starlink is another great option for rural Kiwis.
Copper
According to Chorus, of its 1.24 million connections, 87% are now on fibre. There are about 45,000 still on fibre. This is an improvement from a year ago, when there were 72,000 copper line connections. Copper lines in areas with fibre have been gradually switched off. This technology served us well during the early 2000s. But as our need for speed and data has grown, Kiwis have joined the rest of the world in switching to fibre.
The highest uptake of ultra-fast broadband fibre is in Auckland, with 76.6% connected. Although Wellington has the lowest uptake of 70.7%.
Most Chorus connections are now on 300 Mbps plans, which is perfect for families of four or more, who have lots of devices connected.
There are even 3500 now on hyperfibre, the next generation of fibre which offers incredible speeds of 2 Gbps (2000 Mbps). For a household of several gamers with multiple wired devices, this is amazing!
While there are some great options for rural Kiwis who can’t connect to fibre, if you can, definitely get yourself connected to fibre. You won’t regret experiencing the super fast speeds, and the ability to have multiple devices connected and streaming at the same time, without anyone experiencing buffering issues. So long any arguments about whose turn it is to watch something!
For those unsure about which fibre speed suits them, you can click the button below to try our fibre speed calculator tool.
What Internet Speed Do I Need?
Compare Fibre Plans
Once you have an idea of what speed is right for your household, be sure to jump on Broadband Compare to compare fibre plans available to you within minutes and for free. This is one of the most effective ways to unlock savings, by empowering you to make a fully informed choice. Our comparison platform will show you all the plans available, based on your preferences and filters, so you can find the best deal. Why pay for more, when you can make savings?