As all of us began spending more time online during the COVID-19 lockdown, we’ve seen a lot of questions about our internet services.
Many of us in Aotearoa asked whether they had the best connection during that time, so it’s helpful to understand how the different broadband technologies work, so you can make the right choices for you and your whānau.

What’s the difference between fixed broadband and wireless broadband?

There are three main types of internet connections used in New Zealand.

• A fixed broadband connection is either a fibre optic, or copper line. That means a cable going into your home to provide broadband and phone services. From there you connect over an Ethernet cable or over a WiFi connection.
• A mobile network uses cell sites equipped with GSM technology with 3G, 4G, and 5G, to deliver an internet connection to your mobile phone. Our mobile network can also deliver a fixed wireless access (FWA) connection to your home, through a Wireless modem. And we’re seeing people at small businesses and construction sites finding fixed wireless broadband useful.
  • If you’re in the city, a clear line of sight from the top of a cell site helps to get service. Trees, mountains and other land features can block signals.
  • In rural areas, we use long-range radio spectrum that can travel up to 35kms to connect homes in the area, mostly using 4G. So you can see that 4G is good, strong and consistent in these areas. Usually this has more than enough capacity to service country communities, at peak times there is potential for sites to be more congested.
• There another less common type of connection for broadband, usually for very remote areas where satellite connections deliver internet via a satellite.

If you think about the internet like a road, in Aotearoa we have highways, one-way streets and sometimes there are gravel roads in the country.

Each road will get your car to its destination, but some highways can be faster or carry more cars, depending on how it’s built and how many lanes (or ‘capacity’ in internet terms). The internet can be much the same.

What’s the difference between wholesalers and retailers?
The telco industry has lots of companies working together to keep you connected.
We work with many of those companies. Our part in delivering internet to you is referred to as an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

We are one of around 80 Retail Service Providers (RSP) in New Zealand who sell internet plans to customers across the country, as well as provide mobile connectivity and fixed wireless services.

A wholesaler is a company like Chorus – or one of the other Local Fibre Companies (LFCs): Northpower Fibre, Ultrafast Fibre or Enable.
They have built the physical fibre network across the country.

If you’re a Fibre Broadband customer with us, we’re working with Chorus or another LFC to keep you online – and we pass up to 50% of your broadband plan’s cost on to an LFC to pay for the wholesale cost of fibre.

How do mobile networks work?
All around our cities, you might notice lampposts or cell sites that send mobile signals to and from your phone via radio waves.

In the early 2000s, five cell sites were enough to service all of Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland – but after 20 years, we need hundreds of cell sites around 1-2kms apart to keep up with the demand as more people rely on their phones.

We have many cell sites in cities, and now have around 1,600 cell towers across Aotearoa. And we will be building more cell towers to keep you connected, especially in rural areas.

Over the years, we’ve made huge investments in upgrading our infrastructure.
We’ve significantly upgraded rural connectivity and evolved our networks starting from 2G, and 3G, and progressing to more advanced 4G and 5G networks, which means our mobile network is very resilient.

As part of an industry collaboration, we also work with the Rural Connectivity Group (RCG), along with Spark and 2Degrees, to build joint cell sites in rural areas to keep people in the country connected via the Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI1 and RBI2).

How can I manage my data allowance more efficiently?
If you want your data to last the distance, there are lots of easy things you can do to ensure you’re using your data efficiently and effectively.

• You can keep an eye on data usage by using our App.
• Check what devices are connected to your WiFi and turn off any you don’t need.
• Try closing down apps on your phone when it’s connected to WiFi so they don’t keep using data in the background.
• Save large file downloads until you’re connected to free WiFi or download at a time when we’re offering unlimited data.

If you want to learn more about how New Zealand’s networks work, visit the Telecommunications Forum’s website for more info.
We want you to stay well, stay safe and stay in touch. Kia haumaru te noho, kia kaha Aotearoa.