New Zealanders are opting for Internet plans that allow them to use larger quantities of data, Statistics New Zealand reports today.

Over three-quarters of broadband connections now have data caps of 20 gigabytes (GB) or more, with the largest increase occurring in the 50–100GB range, which rose 117 percent from 2012 to 300,000 connections in 2013.

“The Internet is becoming a bigger part of everyday life. As such, we’re opting for bigger data caps to accommodate our ever-expanding virtual lives,” says Hamish Hill, manager of ICT Statistics.

Hill says the most popular data cap range was between 20 and 50GB, at over 800,000 connections - this is reflected in the average monthly usage of 23GB across all connections.

“With 23GB of data, you could stream high-definition videos for about an hour every day of the month, and still have some to spare,” Hill says.

“It’s not only data volumes that are changing. There has also been a shift in the quality of the connections we are using.

"Download speeds continue to increase, in part due to changes in connection types.

"We’re seeing greater access to improved DSL connections over traditional copper lines, as well as expanding cellular and fibre technologies."

These figures come from the 2013 annual Internet Service Provider Survey, which covers all Internet service providers in New Zealand.