Chorus lifts broadband connections

Chorus workers lay fibre optic cable in Havelock North. Photo / Glenn Taylor

Chorus, the network operator spun out of Telecom in 2011, increased its broadband connections by 1.1 percent in the first quarter while its fixed-line connections edged up 0.2 percent.

Broadband connections rose to 1.144 million at March 31, from 1.132 million at Dec. 31, the Wellington-based company said in a statement. The biggest gain was in enhanced unbundled bitstream access connections which increased by 20,000 to 767,000 over the quarter.

The company's fixed-line connections edged up to 1.779 million from 1.776 million. The biggest gain was in fibre connections, which rose by 8,000 to 35,000. Chorus said some of the increase included trial lines not previously billed.

Chorus is investing about $3 billion, including up to $929 million of government financing, to deliver fibre optic broadband infrastructure directly to more than 800,000 schools, businesses, medical facilities and homes.

The company is extending its ultrafast broadband network, with fibre now passing about 228,000 premises, bring 297,000 end users within reach, it said. Some 66,500 rural lines were within reach of better broadband at the end of the quarter as part of its rural broadband rollout, it said.