The Commerce Commission provides charts that rate how well different internet connections stream Netflix in 4K. Above, Netflix's Don't Look Out. Photo / Supplied
Mobile telcos have been annoyed for some time that the Commerce Commission has left 5G fixed-wireless out of its broadband performance reports. Only slower 4G fixed-wireless has been included, a choice that amplifies the appeal of Chorus' UFB fibre.
Now, the spat has gained a new edge, given a new telco marketing code is in the works, which will draw on the ComCom's broadband performance reports.
Meanwhile Federated Farmers says the testing panel should include more people in rural areas - and that the testing should expand to include small local wireless broadband providers, and Elon Musk's new Starlink satellite broadband service, which is catching the eye of more and more Kiwis, if not always behaving.
Chorus' new 300 megabit per second UFB fibre service - introduced, in part, to thwart the rise of fixed wireless - gets the tick from the Commerce Commission in its latest round of benchmarks, released this morning.
Our four largest ISPs all achieved average speeds well above the advertised 300Mbps (see chart below), according to testing for the commission by UK company SamKnows, which has recruited a panel of users in 1000 Kiwi households for its Measuring Broadband NZ (MBNZ) reports.
Late last year, Chorus tripled the speed of its cheapest wholesale UFB fibre plan, at no extra cost to retail internet providers like Spark, Vodafone NZ, Orcon Group and 2degrees.
UFB fibre has always done what it says on the tin, so while it's great that the new plans top their target 300Mbit/s speed - and more so when Australia's equivalent benchmarking survey tops out at 100Mbit/s - it's no real surprise.
The way the Commerce Commission's broadband benchmarks treat fixed wireless continues to be more contentious. Fixed wireless is where Vodafone, Spark or 2degrees use their mobile network to beam fast broadband into your home. A modem/Wi-Fi router then shares it around your house.
To make its report more digestible, the ComCom provides charts that rate how well copper, fixed-wireless, HFC Max and different types of fibre connections stream Netflix in 4K (that is, data-hogging ultra-high definition).
If three family members are streaming Netflix in full HD at once, then UFB Fibre 300, UFB Fibre Max (a 1000Mbps or 1Gbit/s line) or HFC Max could handle it 100 per cent of the time, according to the ComCom's testing. HFC Max is the hybrid cable service that Vodafone offers in parts of Wellington and Christchurch.
A VDSL line could hack the pace 41 per cent of the time. VDSL is a souped-up form of copper line available to those who live very close to an exchange or roadside cabinet as, with all copper lines, speed degrades rapidly with distance.
A fixed wireless connection would fall over a third of the time.
An ADSL or standard copper line would choke on three full HD Netflix streams 100 per cent of the time.
What riles some in the industry is that the Commerce Commission only includes 4G fixed-wireless in its benchmarks, not the much faster, much lower latency - or lag - 5G fixed-wireless.
"We note the shortage of volunteers to provide measurement of 5G fixed wireless and we urge the commission to prioritise volunteer recruitment for this product and allow providers more flexibility to do so," Vodafone NZ lead Richard Llewellyn said, after the Herald approached him for comment.
"In particular, we believe giving providers the ability to incentivise customers to volunteer is key," he added.
"5G fixed wireless has been in the market over a year now and is performing very well by our measures, so it not being independently reported is preventing consumers having a more informed view of their internet access choices.
"This is particularly important as the new guidelines from the commission on the marketing of broadband services has significantly increased our reliance on MBNZ testing."
And Paul Brislen, chief executive of the Telecommunications Forum, said: "The introduction of 5G services, both mobile and fixed wireless, add a new dimension and deliver yet more choice and opportunity in the market. We look forward to the Commerce Commission including these plans in future benchmarking studies."
And not everything's rosy on the fibre side either, given the MBNZ does not benchmark Hyperfibre, which launched in 2020 and is the fastest flavour of UFB, offering 2Gbit/s, 4Gibt/s or 8Gbit/s connections.
A Commerce Commission spokesperson said, "We do test 5G fixed wireless but the number of MBNZ volunteers who have this connection is too few for our results to be statistically robust. We want telecommunication retailers to help boost these volunteer numbers so we can report on them going forward.
"We don't currently test Hyperfibre due to the low number of customers on those plans (fewer than 1 per cent), but we are keen to include these plans and other new services in the next version of the programme."
Volunteers receive a "white box" to test the speed of your internet when you're not using it. You can apply here.
Asked how the benchmarking allowed for the variance in wireless 4G performance by location, the ComCom spokesperson said:
"We accept as many 4G wireless broadband volunteers as possible so we can include results for this technology in the MBNZ reports.
"Wireless broadband services, like all other services in the programme, are tested and reported by SamKnows on the basis that the number and distribution of 'white boxes' are statistically significant and provide independent and reliable results.
"The performance of wireless broadband is, by its nature, influenced by a range of different factors. Going forward, we want to be able to report on individual RSP [retail service provider] wireless broadband performance, which will again require RSPs to work with us to get more white boxes into people's homes to enable this more granular analysis."
The Commerce Commission is part-way through a public consultation on its broadband testing.
Although those in the telecommunications industry have their various vested interests, Federated Farmers has provided an interesting outside perspective.
In its submission, the group said, "We support the suggestion of greater geographic breakdowns and local results."
Too many farmers suffered a "take it or leave it" sole-internet provider situation, Fed Farmers said.
But it added, "Our own rural connectivity survey results suggest an increase in the proportion of rural consumers taking up wireless broadband provided by regional wireless internet service providers, satellite broadband services - whether Starlink or other geosynchronous satellite services - and mobile broadband, identified as 'fixed wireless' in MBNZ quarterly reports."
It wanted testing extended to cover those emerging options.
Communications Minister David Clark last month made $47m in Covid funds available to boost rural broadband, with the money divided between Spark, Vodafone and a string of small provincial and rural wireless broadband providers.
"The Covid-19 pandemic has shown us reliable internet is critical to being able to work, learn and socialise from our homes. Having been through lockdowns, it's clear some rural networks had trouble adapting to the extra usage," Clark said.
Vodafone's Llewellyn supported the push for more rural benchmarking, and more testing across the board.
"As the broadband measuring report matures to reflect the different things that we know customers want such as ease of installation and value, we believe the report should reflect the different types of fixed wireless, such as 4G and 5G, and rural and urban, in the same way that they can now differentiate between different types of copper and different types of Fibre," he said.
The ComCom's review could change the way it tests broadband, or it could award the contract to a new provider. That's happened before. In 2018, the ComCom ditched local tester TrueNet (owned by Wellington-based Catalyst), replacing it with the London-based SamKnows.
TrueNet had complained the budget for testing ($680,000 per year) was too small. SamKnows enjoyed a bump to $933,000 a year.
Now the contract is up for grabs again. The ComCom says it will make its decision by September.
The industry faces challenges but hopes to bring newcomers and veterans together.