New data released by Chorus shows just how much having kids at home changed how we used our broadband during the summer school holidays.
"When the kids are at school, there’s a clear peak at 4pm when they come home, but when they’re on holiday, you can see much more consistent use throughout the day. In fact the biggest difference is at 10am which is nearly 30 percent higher than when the kids are at school," says Chorus network strategy manager, Kurt Rodgers.
"The figures shows a 36 percent increase in data consumption compared with January 2019 and in fact the total amount, 385 petabytes, is equivalent to over a hundred-million hours of streaming in HD quality," he says.
"However for those of us who fret about kids spending too much time online, we can clearly see that when the sun is out usage drops. It’s good to know that kids still like to play outside too.
"But when it’s raining, nobody needs grumpy kids complaining about slow internet, so I encourage those not yet connected fibre to contact their broadband provider and get their order in," he says.
If your broadband struggled to keep up with increased demand it may be time to consider upgrading your connection type, or upgrading your plan.
Ensuring you’re on a fibre broadband connection is the first step to improving your broadband. If it’s available at your address, fibre broadband is a great option.
Mr Rodgers says, "Fibre is the obvious choice if you’re upgrading your broadband. Nationwide independent testing by the Commerce Commission shows that it’s faster, more reliable, more responsive, and more consistent than competing technologies. Not only that, if you shop around it can be cheaper too. With free residential installations continuing even more Kiwis can join the hundreds of thousands that are already enjoying the benefits of New Zealand’s most popular broadband."
Managing internet and device use during school holidays can feel far from straightforward. The top parental concerns we see at Broadband Compare are outdated internet plans with slow connection times and buffering connections. Concerns about the amount of time kids and teens are spending on their digital devices, and safety concerns about the content kids and teens are exposed to.
The good news is that there are simple steps that you can take today to protect your family online and avoid screen-time stress. Check out our top tips for protecting children online.
Plus, you can upgrade your connection today so that you don’t spend another school holiday suffering with a poor broadband connection.
At Broadband Compare we make it as simple as possible to make an informed choice about broadband plans for your family. Compare the options side by side and choose the features that are important to you – unlimited data, super-fast download speeds, and family filter services.
