Chorus lost 23,000 fixed-line connections in the final three months of 2017. Photo / File
Chorus lost 23,000 fixed-line connections in the final three months of 2017, shedding lines at the same pace as the September quarter when it embarked on a marketing campaign extolling the virtues of fixed-line service.
The Wellington-based telecommunications network operator's total connections shrank to 1.56 million as at December 31
from 1.58 million as at September 30, and down from 1.68 million a year earlier. Within that, broadband connections decreased 3,000 to 1.18 million in the quarter and were down from 1.21 million a year earlier.
Chorus identified connection losses as one of its biggest challenges last year when Spark New Zealand - its biggest customer - launched a fixed wireless broadband product as an alternative to the traditional copper-based connection, prompting the network operator to promote its fixed-line business more aggressively and staunching the outflow.
Chief executive Kate McKenzie has started encroaching on Spark's turf, floating the prospect of a shared infrastructure build for fifth-generation mobile network infrastructure along the same lines as the government-sponsored ultra-fast broadband fibre network.
Chorus is already dabbling in wireless technology in a pilot project with Network For Learning expanding wi-fi access for schools in an effort to bridge a gap between classrooms and homes.
