Tag Archives: broadband

New Zealand’s world class broadband – Stevezone

Engineer Steve Biddle’s post at Geekzone is a breath of fresh air.

It is often too easy to lose sight of all the good things we have. In NZ. The home of world class broadband he reminds us that we are well served by telecommunications providers. Biddle also points out how far ahead of Australia we are.

This is something I constantly think about in my work. Part of my day involves monitoring Australian technology publications, Day after day I see how ridiculous things are when ideology and politics get in the way of building a telecommunications network.

Biddle also makes a good point about home wiring being important. I’ve had my wiring checked and fixed twice in the last three years – it makes a huge difference to broadband performance. So does being ready to spend a little money. Skimping is not worth it.

If you’re at all interested in the internet and communications, read Biddle’s post.

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New Zealand broadband costs middle range

New Zealand broadband prices are in the middle of the range when compared with other countries around the world according to data from Point Topic and reported in Communications Day.

The survey shows New Zealanders pay US$63 per month (when adjusted for purchasing power parity). This compares with just US$19 a month in Romania, the cheapest, and US$161 in Thailand, the most expensive. We are in 50th spot out of the 84 countries surveyed.

Unlike some European countries, broadband services in New Zealand are not subsidised.

Remember this the next time someone tells you New Zealanders pay over the odds for broadband access.

Korean telcos: Beware the curse of 4G Internet

Are 4G networks cursed?

Are 4G networks cursed?

New Zealand’s telecommunications companies planning to bid for the 700Mhz spectrum should listen to what their South Korean counterparts have to say about 4G mobile.

Korea’s top carriers warn that although the rollout of faster mobile networks has been good for consumers, they struggle to make money.

A report in Independent.ie says:

South Korea is often held up by European governments as the model they would most like to replicate, with superfast networks enabling millions of people to shop online, communicate and become more productive.

Yet the report goes on to say competition means SK Telecom Co Ltd and KT Corp have to fight for every customer. This means heavy marketing spends, handset subsidies and continually offering more for less.

The story says 30% of the 50 million South Koreans now use fast networks and while Korean customers spend more – an extra US$13 each on average – the money doesn’t cover the huge investment poured into the 4G networks.

 

4G – the best broadband down my street for now

When fibre comes down my streetAccording to the Chorus availability map the UFB network isn’t coming to my house any time soon.

We were almost the last street in Auckland to connect to the cabinet network. We’re probably at the back of the queue for fibre.

Thanks to the New Zealand government’s short-sighted intervention over copper network regulation I’m unlikely to see much VDSL action from any of the major ISPs in the near future.

On the other hand, I expect to see a choice of 4G networks by Christmas. And if my experience with the network formerly known as XT is anything to go by, I won’t have much competition for the local tower.

It isn’t unrealistic to expect VDSL-type speeds from wireless data.

Sure that’s not as good or as reliable as a fibre link and the cost per GB of data is high. But until Chorus runs fibre past my house it is the best deal I’m going to get.

The wait for fibre could easily be six years. That’s a long time in technology. Six years ago smartphones and tablets barely existed.

Maybe when the network reaches here I’ll be gagging for fibre. Or maybe, I’ll have learnt how to live without it.

What do you think?

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Vodafone NZ: about your 4G business model

Vodafone 4G mobile dataVodafone NZ has stolen a march on its competitors rolling out 4G mobile to parts of Auckland earlier today.

Although coverage is limited, only 30% of Auckland gets the faster service at the time of writing, the company is getting runs on the board while rivals seem to be months away from a full launch. Vodafone plans a fast ramp-up with Christchurch getting a service in May, Wellington in August-September and a further 15 towns by year-end.

4G will give users faster data downloads and smoother experience with data heavy applications like   video conferencing and gaming. On a good day and a uncrowded tower, 4G sends data at around 10 times the speed of 3G networks.

How will Vodafone make its 4G investment pay?

First the company will charge most customers an extra $10 a month on top of their existing plans. Big spending customers – those already paying $120 a month or more – won’t pay the surcharge.

The second part is more subtle. There’s no increase in monthly data allowances. Given that 4G makes it easier and quicker to shovel bits into a phone that could see customers bust their existing limits and begin paying for more data. Extra data typically costs more per unit than bundled plan data, so Vodafone has an opportunity to extract more from customers this way.

Or possibly not. Vodafone chief executive Russell Stanners told the NBR’s Chris Keall faster speeds don’t necessarily mean users will download more data. He said overseas users only get through one or two GB a month.

And the business model?

Carriers like Vodafone often treat 4G as a bigger pipe for selling mobile broadband by the gigabyte. That appears to be what’s happening here. Over time Vodafone will collect hundreds of thousands of $10 per 4G account per month and will sell bigger data plans.

There’s another opportunity that Stanners and his executives must have considered: how to boost revenues by adding paid-for applications and extra value-added services to the mix. Carriers around the world struggle with this – can Vodafone’s New Zealand operation come up with some answers?

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New Zealand shows Australia how to do FTTP

Auckland's first fibre

Steven Joyce installing Auckland’s first UFB cable – Albany – 24 August 2011

While Australia’s politicians continue to wrangle over that country’s FTTP (fibre-to-the-premises) project, New Zealand’s is progressing nicely. However, New Zealand’s relatively low fibre uptake could yet inform Australia’s FTTP debate.

Figures releases yesterday by communications minister Amy Adams show that 134,000 homes and businesses are now able to connect to the  UFB (ultrafast broadband) network. Building is taking place in 24 of the 33 towns and cities that will eventually be on the government’s network.

Meanwhile 89,000 rural homes and businesses are able to connect to the Rural Broadband Initiative through fixed wireless connections and a further 36,000 rural users can now use fixed-line services.

To date only 3800 customers have signed for UFB fibre services. That’s a relatively low take-up rate – less that 3%.

The priority at this stage is to sign businesses, schools and medical facilities. Yet the fibre companies deliberately started their residential build in areas where they expected the highest uptake.

GIven that fibre isn’t any more expensive than existing copper-delivered broadband plans, this suggests there could be problems persuading consumers to switch to fibre.

There are two reasons why more haven’t moved. First, the big ISPs, who account for the overwhelming majority of the market, have yet to begin selling fibre services. That’s likely to happen  in the coming months – having more people on the UFB will give them more incentive to move into the fibre market.

Second, the government and the people boosting fibre have done a terrible job selling the advantages of the technology to everyday consumers. Instead of telling people fibre is fast and reliable, there’s been a focus on ridiculous and, to most people, irrelevant high-end applications. Telecom and Vodafone are likely to do a far better sales job than the government.

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