Ever wondered how good your broadband connection is compared to other Kiwis? Well you’ll want to check out the recent Measuring Broadband New Zealand report then! It covers everything to help consumers figure out whether they’re on the right broadband plan or if they need to switch!
We’ve got the highlights of the report right here! Plus, we’ll help show you how to get the best broadband connection for your place!
To improve transparency around the actual performance of fixed broadband across Aotearoa, the Commerce Commission started a programme called Measuring Broadband New Zealand. Since 2018, the Commission has been using SamKnows, a leading broadband measuring company, to track the broadband speeds and performances of real Kiwis.
Currently, the programme tests 2degrees, Spark, Vodafone, Trustpower, Slingshot, Orcon, MyRepublic, and Skinny.
The programme informs consumers about the quality of different broadband connections and pushes providers to compete on performance. This results in Kiwi consumers being able to make informed choices around their broadband connection.
The newest report from the programme has just been released! It covers data obtained from the 1st May to 31st May 2022.
The report found that download speeds remain super fast for Fibre Max and HFC Max (also known as Cable) with speeds over 834 Mbps. Fibre 300 has download speeds at around 313 Mbps. There’s a sharp drop in speeds for Fixed Wireless (32 Mbps), VDSL (42 Mbps) and ADSL (9 Mbps) connections.
When it comes to upload speeds, Fibre Max and Fibre 300 remain fast while HFC Max takes a sharp drop and Fixed Wireless, VDSL and ADSL all come in at very low speeds.
So, if you want fast download and upload speeds, then get a Fibre connection!
The programme also tests latency. Latency relates to the time it takes to transmit information between your router and servers, which is important for interactive websites and video calls.
The report demonstrates that all fibre connections and HFC Max have low latency results (lower is better) while all the other connections have much higher latency with Fixed Wireless suffering particularly badly.
This is due to the strong Fibre infrastructure across the motu. However, the data shows that there is barely any difference in latency between Fibre plans. Fibre Max will not necessarily give you better latency results than Fibre 300.
For most Kiwis, Fibre will be the best option. So, Fibre 300 or Fibre Max?
The data shows that across 2degrees, Orcon, Slingshot, Spark, and Vodafone, all the Fibre 300 plans perform at or above their advertised speeds (300 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload)!
On the other hand, Fibre Max offers much higher bandwidth but there are large speed variances between different providers. Speeds also vary across different regions, with the North Island averaging higher speeds compared to the South Island.
The programme investigates three common uses of broadband: online gaming, social media, and video streaming.
Online Gaming
Online gaming requires low latency!
The report tested multiple online games including Among Us, Fortnite, and League of Legends.
Overall, Fibre connections received low latency results while Fixed Wireless, ADSL, and VDSL all experienced high latency. Most providers had similar latency results, except for 2degrees which saw much higher latency for games with servers in North America and Asia.
Social Media
Social Media similarly relies on low latency. For most applications like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Whatsapp, latency remains very low for Fibre plans. However, there is a sharp increase in latency for Snapchat.
Netflix
Video streaming is impacted by bandwidth rather than latency.
This report found that most consumers on Fibre 300, Fibre Max and HFC Max plans could stream four simultaneous videos from Netflix in Ultra High Definition. Most Fixed Wireless and VDSL consumers could manage one stream, while only a small portion of ADSL consumers could stream anything on Netflix.
According to the report:
ADSL and VDSL will manage simple web-browsing tasks but suffers from high latency.
Fixed Wireless experiences slow speeds and high latency. However, it is often the only choice in remote areas.
Fibre 300 is the best option for most Kiwis! It can handle interactive webpages, streaming, and experiences low latency.
Fibre Max is recommended if you do heaps of downloading and uploading!
HFC Max (or Cable) is only available in parts of Wellington and Christchurch. It provides strong speeds and is a suitable option if you live in these areas.
If you want to find the best broadband plan for your household, then you need to head to Broadband Compare!
Broadband Compare is a comparison website where you can compare different broadband providers and plans, and see which one is right for you.
Best of all, it’s super easy to use!
Just follow these simple steps:
Alternatively, if you’d rather chat to a friendly human, then give our customer support team a free call on 0508 22 66 72. They’ll help you out!
To read the full Measuring Broadband New Zealand report, click here!
