Telecom launches unlimited broadband data plans

Telecom, soon to be Spark, has announced that it will offer residential customers Unlimited Broadband Data plans from today.

The Unlimited Broadband Data plans range across all data speeds from the basic ADSL through to Ultra Fibre, and start from $99 a month on ADSL when bundled with one of Telecom’s Ultra Mobile plans.

"We’re seeing demand for broadband data almost double year-on-year, as New Zealanders fundamentally change how they live to do more and more online," says Chris Quin, CEO Retail, Telecom.

"Many of our customers are now going online for everything from watching TV shows to playing games with friends to shopping to talking to family. This means for the average Kiwi data is an increasingly valued commodity.

“Over the past few years we have increased our data allowances on a regular basis to accommodate this growing demand.

"However, we think the time is now right for Telecom – as New Zealand’s biggest broadband provider - to offer a plan that gives customers the freedom to do everything they want to online without worrying about what their bill might be at the end of the month, and so we’re introducing our Unlimited Broadband Data plan."

According to Quin, this plan comes on the back of some big strides the telco has made across its network, such as the launch of free WiFi, 4G, Ultra Fibre and free Spotify.

“When we announced that we were changing our name and invited New Zealanders to tell us what they wanted Spark to be about, Unlimited Broadband Data plans were one of the most asked-for products," Quin adds.

"We see this as another crucial step in our transition to Spark – a company that will give New Zealanders access to the incredible experiences that data enables.”

Quin says that given its expected popularity, Telecom may need to manage traffic on the Unlimited Broadband Data plan, particularly at peak times, to ensure the best experience possible for the greatest number of users.

This traffic management would aim to prioritise time-sensitive traffic such as Skype, TV streaming or gaming.

Some fast facts on data…

· More than 90% of the world’s data ever in existence has been created in just the past two years

· By 2015 there will be over 25 billion connected devices in the world

· On any given night, over a third of all internet traffic in the US is Netflix

· Every day, more than 500 million photos are uploaded and shared on the internet

· 72 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute