Fibre for more are you on the list?
By
September 10, 2018
One of the most popular questions we get asked on our Chorus Facebook page, is ‘why is one suburb or town selected for fibre broadband over another?’ or ‘How do you choose where and when fibre gets built?’
They are good questions and we appreciate it can be frustrating when your neighbour who lives less than 500m down the road already has fibre, but you’re still waiting.
The enormity of this once-in-a-generation infrastructure update means the delivery of fibre to New Zealand homes and businesses has to be staggered. Like all utilities, the decisions on where and when to build fibre are based on criteria that include population density, need, demand, costs and practical considerations including coordination with local councils and power companies. The areas and timings of the fibre roll out are agreed with Crown Infrastructure Partners, the entity that’s managing the government’s fibre build.
If you’ve been waiting and wishing for your suburb to be added to the fibre roll out list, you could be in for a nice surprise. A second stage has been added to the ultra-fast broadband build, meaning more of us will have access to some of the best broadband in the world.
Another 359 areas across the country will now get fibre, that’s 260,000 more households and businesses which is pretty exciting. The fibre build for the first 169 of these areas has been scheduled – check out the locations here. The schedule for the remaining 190 areas will be finalised by December. When our roll out is complete in 2022, 1.3 million Kiwis will be able to connect to fibre broadband on our network.
Our broadband checker now includes the first 169 additional areas to get fibre so if your suburb is on the list, do a quick search of your address to find out when fibre will be available at your place. Check back in December when more areas will be added.
If you can’t get fibre yet, have a look to see if VDSL is an option for you while you wait. Part-fibre, VDSL connections offer a better, more reliable internet experience with less buffering than basic broadband and is available to around 80% of properties on our network. Simply contact your broadband provider and ask for VDSL, they’ll upgrade your plan (usually for no extra cost), send you out a new modem and you’re away.