Fibre connections ramp as lockdown rules ease
Network build to resume
Chorus and the other fibre wholesalers are preparing to resume network building and adding connections when lockdown restrictions are eased from Tuesday.
Contractors and other technical staff are being instructed to continue practicing social distancing and regular hand washing, among other safety measures. Chorus says technicians will also call ahead to check homes are safe before making visits.
Andrew Carroll, Chorus GM for network and customer operations says during the lockdown the company only made essential fibre installs. There were about 500 a week, far slower than the usual rate which peaked in the run-up to the 2019 Rugby World Cup with 26,000 connections in a single month.
High levels of interest in fibre
Retail service providers continued taking fibre orders during the lockdown period. Some recorded high levels of interest in home connectivity upgrades as families increased home broadband use for work, study and entertainment.
Carroll says there is a backlog of orders to work through. He says; "There may be instances where we need to prioritise those most in need as we ramp up capacity and work within the Alert Level 3 restrictions”.
He also said that if customers are uncomfortable with a technician visit, Chorus can remotely upgrade an existing ADSL connection to VDSL.
Enable, the Christchurch fibre company says it will resume connections after performing only essential work while the nation was at Level 4. The company says it is contacting customers with connection orders to reschedule postponed appointments. It says it has capacity to manage 100 connections a day.
Steve Fuller, Enable CEO says he is confident the company can quickly meet the needs of existing and potential new orders. He anticipates new orders from people wanting the benefits of fibre as they spend more time at home.
Spark profit on target as capex priorities shuffle
Spark says it should meet full year profit expectations of around $1.1 billion. This is despite its retail outlets being closed and a collapse in lucrative mobile roaming revenue.
The company went on to say it will reprioritise the year’s $370 million capital expenditure budget to support economy recovery as the Covid–19 epidemic moves on from a full lockdown.
CEO Jolie Hodson warned there will be flow-on effects from a broader economic slow-down including reduced usage and some customers having difficulty paying their bills.
While voice calls and broadband use have both jumped, most Spark customers are unlimited plans. Those on capped plans are not being charged for running over their limits as part of the company’s support package. Likewise, it is not enforcing late payment fees or disconnecting customers.
Netflix subscriptions boom as lockdown bites
Netflix posted a record first quarter result. The streaming video giant added 15.5 million new subscribers taking the total to a shade under 183 million. This is double the subscription growth shown in recent quarters. Revenue for the quarter was US$5.7 billion, operating income was US$958 million. Both figures are records.
In its filing to the the United States Securities and Exchange Commission Netflix says this may not be indicative of future results.
Although the subscriber numbers climbed, the company says adding new customers at this pace meant the average revenue per user declined during the period. There’s also a warning that the pipeline of new shows will be curtailed as film crews stopped working during the lockdown.
Spark bowls digital cricket opener
Spark Sport’s partnership with New Zealand Cricket is now live. The streaming service will show all New Zealand Cricket fixtures played at home, a deal that includes archive material as well as new games when play resumes. It will show games from both the men’s team, the Blackcaps and the woman’s White Ferns team.
While live cricket remains on hold, Spark Sport will show old games and historic moments. The service will remain free of charge to customers until the end of May.