Chorus has announced the ability to get connected to fibre is now possible via just one visit from a Chorus technician, with more than 400,000 homes and businesses having the capability.

Connecting to the fibre network usually involved at least two visits from a technician, and the process could take a matter of days to be completed. According to Chorus, the company has been working over the last 18 months to refine the connection process.

Now more than 75% of connections - those that are not subject to consenting restrictions or more complex installations – are able to be completed in a single visit.
 
Niran Nayagam led the initiative at Chorus. He says Chorus has designed the single appointment installation with customer convenience in mind.

“We're building a fantastic fibre network across New Zealand and we're delighted to be able to make the process to connect as seamless as possible," says Nayagam.

"Our goal is to make getting connected to fibre less onerous for customers who now only need to take time out from their busy schedules once.

“Basically, we don't want anything deterring customers from switching to fibre as we know once they have it, they love it,” he says.

Nayagam said the approaching Rugby World Cup meant Chorus was paricularly keen to get the single visit fibre installations across the line.

“With the Rugby World Cup just a few months away, and with live coverage of all the matches only available streaming online via Spark Sport's app, we're eager to get as many fans as possible on fibre ahead of the tournament so they can have the best viewing experience," he explains.

Chorus says its network is ready to support the demands of streaming the tournament for all New Zealanders.

Chief customer officer Ed Hyde says the company's preparations allow for a 44% upsurge in traffic over the tournament period - the equivalent of bringing forward two years of network capacity growth.

"Allowing two hours of viewing per game means Kiwis could use 5GB of data on top of what they normally use. Clearly families will want to be on fibre or a VDSL connection and armed with unlimited data," he says.

Hyde says Chorus has invested heavily to maintain a congestion-free network since video streaming took off in 2015. 
"Our preparations in advance of the Rugby World Cup mean there will be no buffering on our modern network despite the anticipated volume of simultaneous HD video streams," he explains.

Online live coverage of the Rugby World Cup will be available to stream in New Zealand up to 1080p full high definition.