The report states that “overall internet performance has remained stable for the vast majority of households” during the month of May when the report data was collated. New Zealand was in level 3 lockdown until May 13, and then in level 2 alert for the rest of the month. The report draws on broadband performance data collated from volunteer households across the country.
“The current level 3 lockdown in Auckland is once again reinforcing the vital importance of world-class telecommunications services to help New Zealanders keep earning, learning and enjoying life during these extraordinary times,” said TCF chief executive Geoff Thorn. “For our part, the telecommunications sector continues to work hard to keep networks and services running well and to support customers as much as we can.”
Thorn said the latest report drew attention to some inconsistencies in speeds for the highest-specification “Fibre Max” fibre plans offered by many broadband retailers. Both the Commission and the industry have been aware of this issue for several months, and broadband networks and retailers have been working collaboratively with the Commission and its independent testing partner SamKnows to investigate. This work is ongoing and includes laboratory testing to ascertain potential underlying causes as well as intensive network and hardware analysis.
Thorn said Fibre Max plans, which are marketed by retailers under various brand names, are designed for the minority of customers who want top-end fibre broadband speeds.
“Even with the speed inconsistencies cited by the Commerce Commission, most customers on Fibre Max plans would not notice any difference in terms of user experience and our member retailers have not seen any material change in feedback from customers on these plans. Fibre Max speeds are still generally several times faster than for Fibre 100 (which are New Zealand’s most popular fibre plans). That said, these speed inconsistencies are clearly of a concern and the industry is working collaboratively to get the issue sorted as soon as possible.”
