New, faster home UFB, but only for some

A new plan from UFB wholesalers Enable, Ultrafast Fibre and Northpower gives residential  users more speed for a few more dollars each month.

Chorus is not offering the new plan for now, which means only 20 percent or so of the country is covered. It will be available in the Christchurch area, in Northland and in the regional North Island towns served by Ultrafast Fibre.

The companies will introduce a 50Mbps download, 20Mbps upload option from the end of August. It will have a wholesale price of $40 a month, that’s $2.34 more than the base level 30/10Mbps plan.

Retail price yet to be fixed

While it is not yet clear how much service providers will charge for the product, existing base plans start at around $70. The new plan will probably not cost much more, perhaps $75 to $80.

In a press statement Enable CEO Steve Fuller said he recognises the need for a more advanced product than the base-level 30/10Mbps product.

The move comes at a good time with English Premier League football moving to an online service. Presumably more content will follow.

It’s interesting to see the three small UFB wholesale companies push fibre harder than Chorus. Will this put pressure on the company, what do you think?