Hundreds of thousands of Kiwi broadband customers are out of contract and on legacy broadband plans with their old providers meaning they are often paying far more than they need to for their home internet connection.
Households which let their broadband deals lapse or don’t shop around at the end of their contracts are often paying significantly over the odds for their broadband bill and with Spark recently announcing it is increasing the price of copper broadband by $5 a month there will be an even bigger bills for almost 350,000 homes in New Zealand who remain on the old copper network.
The new research, carried out by New Zealand comparison company NZ Compare, found that over a third of Kiwis have been with their current broadband provider for over 3 years and during that period the price and quality of broadband connections in NZ have changed extensively.
Gavin Male, founder and CEO of NZ Compare commented, “Our research found that moving to a new house is the primary time and reason that people look to change their broadband provider and it’s frustrating knowing that so many households could save hundreds of dollars a year if they took the time to check the deals that are now available in the market. On Broadband Compare we now have a number of fibre broadband offers that start from just $60 per month and the average saving of those who have switched and said they saved money through Broadband Compare is almost $18 per month. That is well over $200 a year.”
Quite staggeringly, over 10% of those that switched were saving more than $400 a year by changing to a new provider.
The survey found that it is not just saving money that pushes people to change their broadband provider and over the last quarter 19% of those who switched are now paying more for a better broadband connection with faster speeds or a bigger data cap and this is supported by the majority of respondents who switched provider moving to Fibre broadband plans (67%). Of those that did not switch to a fibre plan only 27% had the option of fibre but did choose to take it up.
Male continues, “It pays for consumers to be savvy when it comes to their broadband bill. There are a number of ways to reduce your bill or get a better connection experience for your money. If you're out of contract or nearing the end of your deal, call your provider and say you're looking at options. They may well offer you a better deal than the one you're on and if you check out price comparison sites, such as BroadbandCompare.co.nz before you call, you’ll be aware of the best deals available on the market and you can use this data when negotiating with your current provider. Remember, you don’t just have to haggle on the price - you can negotiate for better speeds, an improved router or other freebies. If you still don't like what your current provider offers, walk away and find a better deal from a new provider elsewhere.”
The Broadband Compare survey was completed by 1,919 respondents through the period of June to August 2018 as part of the Broadband PULSE market research report produced by independent agency Tactix on market trends in the NZ broadband sector.
Broadband Compare (www.broadbandcompare.co.nz), is the free to use broadband comparison website that lists and compares hundreds of different broadband plans from 132 different New Zealand broadband providers. It is quick and easy to check connection type at your address and compare the most suitable broadband plans for your particular needs.
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