Chorus announced the average monthly connection speed across its network has reached 100Mbps for the first time. This represents a ten-fold increase in eight years.
The company said it has also seen the busiest day on the network on February 7 when usage reached 1.815Tbps. This surpasses last year's record of 1.792Tbps.
Chorus network strategy manager Kurt Rodgers says increasing speeds are driven by the rapid uptake of high-speed plans, with 71 per cent of customers on 100Mbps, and 44,000 now on 1Gbps plans. Awareness of VDSL technology is also on the rise.
"Dunedin has the highest average connection speed at 361Mbps, largely due to the high volume of gig connections. Coming in second is Wellington City, at an average of 116Mbps, followed closely by Auckland at 111Mbps," he says.
"It's particularly exciting to see people choosing higher speed plans as it shows a growing awareness of the need for great broadband to be to do the things we love, such as watch live sports events, including the upcoming Rugby World Cup in September," Rodgers says.
"We're encouraging everyone to ensure they're getting the best broadband possible in time for the upcoming games. Those who leave it too late to order fibre in particular, may not be able to get it installed before the first game," he says.
"With more and more consumers choosing gigabit plans and our recent announcement that we will start trialling 10Gbps in mid-March, we can only expect average speeds to continue to grow," Rodgers says.
Chorus also recently announced that it has successfully trialled a wireless solution that could provide gigabit speeds without the need for fibre from the street into a customer's premise.
The company is considering Nokia's WPON, Wireless Passive Optical Networking, solution for use where direct fibre deployment may not be feasible, for example in multiple dwelling units, rights of way, or business parks where there are consenting challenges.
WPON uses a small access point on a nearby telephone pole or lamppost that is connected to the fibre running down the street.
On the customer's side, they simply need an outdoor antenna which links to their router inside the premise using an Ethernet cable. WPON uses the unlicensed 60GHz spectrum, so it is not subject to spectrum auctions.
The technology requires line of sight between the access point and the customer's premise.
Chorus' trials have shown speeds of around 1.6Gbps over 150m, with WPON delivering a theoretical maximum of 3Gbps.
