Far North district gobbling up data

Northland households are consuming much more broadband data than last year, with the Far North leading the way, ahead of Whangarei and the Kaipara, driven by surging demand for streaming services such as Netflix, according to new statistics from Chorus.

The average Far North home used 133GB of broadband data in March (compared to 95GB in 2017), while Whangarei households consumed 114GB and Kaipara 110GB.

“These figures really demonstrate that faster broadband is an integral part of many New Zealanders’ day-to-day lives,” Chorus Network strategy manager Kurt Rodgers said.

“Many Kiwi homes now have several connected devices going at any one time. We’re using far more data, and requiring faster and more reliable broadband speeds.

“People’s viewing habits have shifted online. It’s now very mainstream to watch television shows and movies via an app on a smart television or tablet,” he added.

“With faster broadband you can potentially have each member of a household streaming a programme on a different device all at the same time, without facing long delays or frustrating buffering.”

The average New Zealand home used about 139GB of broadband data in March 2017, rising more than 30 per cent to 185GB last month.

Mr Rodgers said dramatic improvements had been made thanks to the Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) initiative, UFB2+, and the Rural Broadband programmes. Improvements had also been delivered on the Chorus copper network.

In areas where fibre was not yet available, VDSL on the copper network provided a faster, more reliable service with less buffering for streaming TV, movies and video than regular ADSL.