Data use soars in South Canterbury

Returning school children and entertainment-loving families are pushing South Canterbury broadband use to new heights, just-released data reveals.

Households in the Timaru district are using 46 per cent more broadband data than last year, and Waimate district households are using 63 per cent more, as demand for online entertainment – especially for streaming services – grows.

National network provider Chorus on Tuesday said the average Timaru home used 123GB of broadband data on the company’s copper and fibre networks in April. They used 84GB in April 2016.

Across the border, the average Waimate home used 96GB of broadband data compared to 57GB in April 2016.

Chorus network strategy manager Kurt Rodgers said homes were increasingly had several connected devices at any one time.

that meant households were using far more data which, in turn, fuelled demand for faster and more reliable broadband speeds, he said.

On an average day in both district, data usage on the network was at its lowest at 5am and rose between 6am and 8.30am.

Usage remained relatively consistent during the day and jumps sharply from 3.30pm.

‘‘It is unlikely to be a coincidence that it’s the same time certain data-hungry members of the family wander in from school.’’

‘‘Household usage slows down again over dinner time, and from 7.30pm it climbs to the highest usage period of the day – between 8pm and 10.30pm – as people get through one or two Netflix shows, upload the homework or Skype friends and family.’’

Nationally, the average New Zealand home used about 150GB of broadband data in April compared to about 101GB in April 2016.

‘‘Our use of new technology is also driving the increase in speed.

‘‘It doesn’t matter whether you live in the cities or live rurally, content is flying into our homes faster due to newer technology such as high definition online television and more interactive and complex online games

Rodgers said it was likely the impact of online television would continue to be felt in peak network traffic growth.

‘‘As more content becomes available online, new devices are released to watch it on and higher video resolutions such as 4K (and eventually 8K) see increasing pressure on the bandwidth required at peak times.’’

Chorus is New Zealand’s largest telecommunications infrastructure company.

It supplies about 90 per cent of all fixed network connections.

Timaru was the fifth town in New Zealand to have its fibre network completed under Chorus’ ultra fast broadband programme.

The rollout, part of the government’s national package, made faster internet available to more than 14,000 properties.