By
July 30, 2020
With the outbreak of Covid-19 internationally you may be in a situation where you need to work from home to prevent the potential spread of the virus here. As the situation continues to unfold, it’s a good time to check your home broadband to see if you’re set up to work remotely.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced new restrictions requiring travellers to be quarantined for 2 weeks upon entry into the country to stop the spread of Covid-19. On top of this, some of the world’s largest companies including Google, Microsoft and Apple have rolled out mandatory work-from-home policies.
These are unprecedented times and it’s realistic to assume that shifting to the ‘home office’ may be the case for a number of New Zealanders.
With the right internet set-up at home, productivity should stay as status-quo even if you have to stay out of the office. Follow our tips below to get the best broadband set-up and work-from-home experience.
Can you upgrade your work from home experience with fibre? Check out the Broadband Checker to find out.
Tip 1: Get fibre if you can
When it comes to working from home, the faster your broadband, the better. Nobody wants to have to deal with slow speeds when they're in the middle of a crucial business pitch over Skype or trying to download a large file that needs to be reviewed by a pressing deadline. The same goes for everything from sending large email attachments through to accessing cloud systems.
For the best broadband experience, choose fibre on a plan with speeds of 100Mbps or more. Gigabit fibre is the fastest broadband available and there are some great deals on offer. Fibre provides a fast, reliable connection that you can count on throughout the day to handle all your work plus any movies or games the kids are streaming in the next room.
If you’re not already on fibre, enter your address in our Broadband Checker to see if it’s available at your place. If you can't get fibre just yet, consider VDSL, it's the fastest broadband on our copper network.
Tip 2: Choose an unlimited plan
If your broadband plan has a data cap your provider may charge you extra for any data you use over your monthly allowance. Some providers may even slow down your connection once you go over your cap.
The more often you work from home, the more data you're likely to use. We recommend choosing a broadband plan with unlimited data so your whole household can do as much as they like online without worrying about receiving an unexpected bill at the end of the month or a slowing internet connection.
To get a better idea of your data usage, check out our Data Calculator.
Tip 3: Set up your space
Last but certainly not least, you'll need an office to match your new and improved broadband. Having a dedicated space is crucial when working from home, and the last thing you want is to find yourself distracted by noisy kids or a sudden urge to do some cleaning around the house.
If you're connecting via WiFi, try and set yourself up as close to your modem as possible for the best signal. If your workspace is far away from where your modem is located, it may be worth buying a WiFi extender to ensure you’re making the most of your connection.
If you work from home a lot, consider investing in having an electrician install a new Ethernet jack next to your working space. You can then directly plug your computer or laptop into for a rock-solid connection.
The best work from home set up
So there you have it - when you have fibre broadband, on a plan with speeds of 100Mbps or more and unlimited data, plus the right home office set up, you'll be ready for optimum productivity at home.
Can you upgrade your work from home experience with fibre? Check out the Broadband Checker to find out.
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