Broadband has been upgraded in Waipa
Chorus has finished work upgrading a rural cabinet in Waipa District, meaning more local residents can now benefit from better broadband.
This latest work means Chorus has now upgraded 32 cabinets in the Waipa District under both the Government's Rural Broadband Initiative and Chorus' own separate cabinet upgrade programme.Another 20 premises in the district will now have increased connectivity.
Chorus Network strategy manager Kurt Rodgers says he looks forward to residents and businesses receiving better broadband performance as a result of the upgrades.
"Unreliability in particular, and slow internet speeds have been a source of concern and frustration for businesses and residents in these areas, so it's great to be able to provide substantially-improved infrastructure."
Before the cabinet upgrades, residents and businesses in these areas could generally only access broadband speeds of 5Mbps or less.
Following the upgrade, residents and businesses should now be able to experience speeds of up to 25Mpbs on ADSL2. About 80 per cent of customers are able to upgrade to VDSL broadband for even faster internet. Average speeds on VDSL connections is 45Mbps.
"More importantly, the upgraded cabinets are fibre fed which means people are connected to a congestion free network with no data caps.
"Peak time on broadband is around 9pm but with a fixed connection from Chorus' network speeds remain constant throughout the day, any time of day. This is in contrast to wireless broadband which shares capacity with neighbours, meaning deteriorating performance at busy hours.
"Consistent and reliable broadband speeds at any time of day over fixed line will provide quicker upload and download speeds of all types of digital multimedia. Enhanced video conversations with friends, family and business associates is another advantage.
"There's absolutely no doubting the benefits of reliable connectivity to the lives of rural New Zealanders. We're passionate about ensuring as many Kiwis as possible have access to this world-class technology.
Latest figures from Chorus also show a surge in demand for broadband in Waipa District. On average, households in the district used 127GB in July, an increase of 67 per cent in a year.
The work Chorus has completed to date in Waipa District through the Rural Broadband Initiative has already resulted in a significant improvement to broadband speeds for those connected to the copper network. For example, the average broadband connection speed in the district has increased by 31 per cent to 21Mbps since this time last year.
"Better broadband allows rural businesses to connect easily to the world stage and run applications from cloud-based services while reducing IT costs and improving business resilience," says Mr Rodgers..
"Practically speaking, rural businesses, such as farms, are afforded better connection to services like livestock improvement records and markets overseas. Business operators can be confident in their broadband reliability and in turn, in improving the day to day running of operations. Technology plays a big part in rural industries and now residents in these more remote areas can reap the benefits that their urban counterparts are already experiencing."
Mr Rodgers says households and businesses have an important part to play in realising the potential of the upgraded broadband capability.
"A broadband service is affected by factors including your internet connection plan, modem and the wifi in the home or business.
"We encourage residents and businesses to talk directly with their internet service provider to find out how they can make the most of our upgraded network. The Chorus website features a broadband checker which is easy to use and informs people or businesses of what speeds they are able to get."