MEDIA RELEASE - Opito Bay has topped Vodafone’s list of the most connected holiday hotspot in New Zealand for the second year running, according to data that’s just been released.
Opito Bay experienced an extreme spike in data usage over the summer period, up nearly 30 times compared to the first half of December – the most of any holiday hotspot across the country, as holidaymakers flooded the Coromandel Peninsula.
Kiwis at the popular holiday destination consumed 898 GB of data during the peak holiday period compared to just 31 GB of data for the same time period at the start of December.
“Christmas at the beach is a quintessential kiwi tradition, but for most people it’s not about going completely off the grid. We know people love being connected – particularly at special times of the year, like Christmas and during the holidays,” said Vodafone’s Consumer Director Matt Williams.
Vodafone’s top ten holiday hotspot list is based on mobile data traffic carried over 1,569 different cell sites around New Zealand, between 24 December 2016 and 7 January 2017.
The most connected holiday hotspots this summer were:
- Opito Bay
- Otematata
- Kaiteriteri
- Matarangi
- Waihi Beach
- Whangamata
- Cooks Beach
- Hahei
- Onemana
- Pauanui
Nationally, 1,845 Terabytes of data was used on Vodafone’s network over Christmas – that’s equivalent to streaming 615,000 HD Netflix episodes back to back. This data consumption was up 72 per cent on the same period last year, (1,072 Terabytes) showing Kiwis’ increasing appetite for streaming music, video entertainment and staying connected with family and friends, via social media.
“Smartphones, laptops and tablets are at the heart of people staying in touch now. We’ve been working really hard to make sure Kiwis get the same great experience via our network at holiday destinations, as they do when they’re at home,” adds Williams.
Vodafone invested heavily in its network for holiday hotspots in the lead up to Christmas 2016, spending more than $2.5 million upgrading sites from 3G to 4G and adding extra capacity, to bring faster speeds to support the influx of holiday makers.
