Central Hawke's Bay looks to have claimed the title of regional Netflix capital, with residents there binge-watching movies and television shows at double the rate of everyone else in Hawke's Bay.
Statistics from Chorus show Hawke's Bay households are consuming much more broadband data than last year, with Hastings leading the way, ahead of Napier and Central Hawke's Bay Districts.
The increase in broadband use is driven by surging demand for streaming services such as Netflix, according to new statistics from Chorus.
The average Hastings home used 166GB of broadband data in March 2018 (compared with 134GB in 2017), while Napier households consumed 165GB and Central Hawke's Bay 113GB.
Although CHB was still behind Napier and Hastings in total usage last year, usage in CHB increased by more than 52 per cent - double the rate of increase in both Napier and Hastings.
"These figures really demonstrate that faster broadband is an integral part of many New Zealanders' day-to-day lives", Chorus network strategy manager Kurt Rodgers said.
"Many Kiwi homes now have several connected devices going at any one time. We're using far more data and requiring faster and more reliable broadband speeds.
"People's viewing habits have shifted online. It's now very mainstream to watch television shows and movies via an app on a smart television or tablet.
"Services such as Netflix are a huge factor behind increased data usage and it's possible that residents in the Central Hawke's Bay are jumping on board this trend, hence data consumption soaring."
Nationally, the average New Zealand home used about 139GB of broadband data in March 2017 – this figure sits at 185GB for March 2018, showing a more than 30 per cent increase.
New Zealand has already seen dramatic improvements in broadband thanks to the Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) initiative, UFB2+, and the Rural Broadband programmes. Improvements have also been delivered through availability of faster broadband on the Chorus copper network.
"While fibre is the fastest form of broadband, for areas where it's not yet available VDSL on the Chorus copper network provides a faster, more reliable service with less buffering for streaming TV, movies and video than regular ADSL."
Rodgers said Chorus had made it easier for people to work with their broadband provider to upgrade to VDSL.
"If VDSL is available at your address, we may be able to upgrade you without a technician visiting your place. VDSL really is a great alternative where fibre isn't an option now or in the future."