Key internet equipment being located in Auckland is the main reason why broadband speeds are slower around the country, says the Commerce Commission. Photo / Kenny Rodger
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National broadband speeds have improved but are slower outside of Auckland and vary considerably between internet service providers (ISPs), the Commerce Commission says.
It released today its report on broadband quality between July 1 and December 31 2009.
The report examined the quality of broadband services provided by
ISPs and compared performance of ISPs across major cities.
The cities tested - Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin - had improved in web browsing speed since the start of 2009, with a significant improvement in the speed of browsing international sites, the report said.
The main reason for the improvement was the increased 'caching' by ISPs, which stored international content locally, therefore bringing content closer to New Zealand users.
National web browsing speeds were good in Auckland but slowed markedly the further away the test site was from Auckland, the report said.
The decline was partly due to ISPs locating key equipment in Auckland.
Web browsing speeds throughout the day varied considerably between ISPs, with some considerably slower at peak times.
Telecommunications Commissioner Ross Patterson said the commission intended for the report to show ISPs' performance against their competitors in different locations and identify methods to improve their performance.
The commission had developed a range of performance benchmarks to replace the index used in previous reports, including web browsing speeds, variability of speed throughout the day and the availability of service.
Performance against the benchmarks identified considerable room for improvement, the commission said.
- NZPA
