10 New Zealand cities have 60% or more residents on fibre

Fibre uptake passes 60% mark in 10 cities

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's latest Quarterly Connectivity Report shows 10 cities now have fibre uptake rates of greater than 60 percent. The highest figure is at Rolleston where 74 percent are connected to the fibre network.

Nationally the uptake rate is now 55 percent, that's up from 52 percent in the June quarter. An additional 58,912 premises were connected to the UFB network in the three months to the end of September.

Commenting on the figures Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Minister, Kris Faafoi says it shows the UFB network is not just providing benefits in the larger cities.

Still ahead of schedule

He says; “With UFB roll-out in 126 cities and towns around New Zealand, the deployment is now 87 per cent completed and still ahead of schedule.

“This investment and the connectivity it is making available shows this government’s continued commitment to closing the digital divide so all New Zealanders who want connectivity, have it”.

Rural broadband is also surging. The report says phase two of the Rural Broadband Initiative means 40,000 households and businesses in "hard to reach regions of New Zealand" now have access to improved broadband.

In the September quarter 17 marae were connected to broadband. This brings the total number of connected marae to 31.

Sky takes 2022, 2026 Commonwealth Games rights

In the seemingly never-ending battle to sign up sports broadcasting rights Sky will cover the next two Commonwealth Games. The company says it will show the games on multiple channels. It will stream and offer video-on-demand coverage on Sky Go and Sky Sport Now. There will also be daily free-to-air coverage on Sky's Prime channel that will focus on New Zealand athletes.

Chorus wins equal pay awards

Chorus won the Supreme Award at the sixth annual YWCA Equal Pay awards. It also won the Leadership and Progressive categories. The judging panel says it was very impressed with Chorus’ internal and external communications which includes publishing gender pay data in the company's 2019 Annual Report. Chorus has reduced its gender pay since 2017 and aims to eliminate it entirely by 2022.

Spark offers 600GB fixed wireless broadband plan for some Auckland customers

Spark has revamped its 4G fixed wireless broadband service for people in some parts of Auckland. The new plans include tiered price options where consumers are charged more for using more data.

Prices start at $65 a month for uptown 60GB of data rising to $75 for up to 120GB and $85 for up to 600GB. The service availability depends on whether the local cell tower has been upgraded. There is no word about similar offers elsewhere in the country.