Slingshot cuts the cost of unlimited gigabit fibre plan

Slingshot has dropped the price of its fastest unlimited data fibre broadband plan to a shade under $100. The Gigantic fibre plan is $99.95 a month. Slingshot says it is available in most towns and cities where there is fibre.

It is an aggressive price move from Slingshot. The company has thrown down the gauntlet to larger service providers who already complain about margins. Offering the cheapest option is vital in a market like New Zealand where consumers tend to buy on price more than any other criteria.

Spark charges $40 more for a service with similar characteristics although it does offer streaming TV and WiFi hotspots as added incentives. The company’s no-frills BigPipe brand charges $130 for a naked, unlimited gigabit plan. Vodafone’s comparable plan is $110. 2degrees charges $115 for a similar product.

ISPs can't call it 'gigabit' and yet...

The Gigantic plan includes gigabit technology. While the term is in common use elsewhere in the world. New Zealand’s Commerce Commission rules don’t allow ISPs to describe plans as gigabit.

That’s because there are network overheads so the available speeds to customers are less than the full 1000 mbps. In most cases customers get around 800 to 950 mbps. Slingshot’s announcement is more cautious, it warns customers may only see speeds in the 700 to 900 mbps range.

Either way, it is still by far the fastest option and the best choice for heavy media users or homes with many devices. Whatever you call them, these plans mean there is never a case of not having enough broadband at home.

Speed makes a difference

Slingshot General Manager Taryn Hamilton says the extra speed: “Makes a huge difference to the quality of the online experience”. He says the price cut is designed to stimulate greater take up of the faster plans.

Gigabit plans are still relatively new. Only a small number of users choose them, in part that’s because they normally come at a premium price. However, that’s changing fast.

By dropping the price under $100, Slingshot has reduced the gap with the more popular 100 mbps plans. This means customers can upgrade to the best experience for a small extra amount each month.

Netflix surges

Nielsen research says 1.2 million New Zealanders now have Netflix access. The company's Connected Consumer Report for 2018 says around 434,000 households subscribe to the video on demand service. On that showing Netflix's New Zealand reach has almost doubled its reach since December 2015, when Roy Morgan research showed 684,000 New Zealanders had the service.

Netflix's biggest competitor in this market is Spark's Lightbox, which according to its annual report currently reaches 810,000 New Zealanders via 300,000 subscriptions. Spark says around 44 percent of the population now use streaming video. In comparison Sky TV has around 700,000 subscribers.

The business continues to grow fast internationally, it added 8 million new subscribers in the last three months of 2017. That's a record and comes after a price increase. Netflix now has close to 120 million subscribers worldwide, that's about the same number as the US television viewing audience.

Southern Cross Next cable

CommsDay reports Southern Cross Cable has new contracts for its planned Next submarine cable including links for Fiji, Kirobati and Tokelau. The plan is for a 60TB cable linking Sydney, Auckland and Los Angeles with branches to Pacific island nations. It is scheduled to be ready for service by the end of next year.

Internet access improves in least-developed countries

The International Telecommunication Union says the world's least developed nations are doing well when it comes to increasing internet access. All 47 nations labled by the United Nations as 'least developed countries' now have 3G services and over 60 percent of their populations are covered. They are on track to reach an average of 97 percent population coverage by 2020.

Grant McBeath to replace Spark's Jason Paris

Grant McBeath has been moved to an interim role replacing Jason Paris as chief executive office of Spark's home, mobile and business division. McBeath was previously the company's current general manager of customer channels. He has been with Spark for five years. Paris announced late last year he was leaving the company to take a role with an overseas company.

Telstra hits 400Gbps on Melbourne fibre

Telstra, Ericsson and Ciena say they have hit the world’s fastest speeds on a new transmission network trial in Melbourne. Comms Day reports the companies demonstrated speeds of 400Gbps which they say is the highest spectral efficiency ever managed on a fibre pair, that's enough for 30.4 Tbps on the infrastructure.