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What’s the best broadband for me?
With a few broadband options available, it’s good to do your homework before choosing one. Fibre is popular with over 2.3 million Kiwis now using it to connect to the internet at their home or business.
Your home broadband options
There’s different types of network connections to get broadband in your home. Some perform better than others, so before choosing a plan, have a look below to understand the differences.
Check what's available at your address
- The old school option, ADSL is broadband delivered over our legacy copper network. It’s a dedicated connection from your house to our congestion-free network.
- It still supports everyday web browsing, emails and is okay for small households to stream TV shows via On Demand, Netflix and YouTube.
- Broadband that’s delivered over 4G mobile networks. It’s a shared connection from the nearest mobile tower, so you share the network signal with others in your area. Your internet can be affected by congestion due to number of people in your area using the mobile network at the same time.
- Wireless supports a range of online activities, like web browsing, emails and video streaming.
- Broadband delivered over the Chorus copper network, it’s a dedicated connection from your house to our congestion-free network.
- VDSL is generally faster and more reliable than ADSL.
- Supports a wider range of activities than ADSL, like Ultra High Definition video streaming, video calling with apps like Skype, and uploading large files.
- The gold standard for your internet. Broadband is delivered over the newly built fibre network – and designed to make the most of it too. Fibre and Fibre Max provide a dedicated connection from your house to our congestion-free network, providing a consistent and reliable experience at any time of the day.
- Easily supports a range of online activities without breaking a sweat, with better capacity, reliability and faster speeds than VDSL.
- Broadband delivered over the newly built fibre network but with next generation technology to enable even faster speeds.
- Hyperfibre supports all online activities that standard fibre broadband does but 40x faster and with much more data capacity.
- Great for businesses and households with very high data use.
New Zealand runs on fibre
Chorus has spent the last decade building a big fibre network to rival any in the world. The glass fibres that run underground connecting homes, schools, hospitals, offices and industries in New Zealand is more than big enough to cater for New Zealanders ever-growing need for streaming, gaming, up and downloading and endless video calls.
That’s right, that tiny cable that runs up to your doorstep is massive. New Zealand runs on fibre.
Find the right connection for you
Not all broadband is created equal. Before you choose a plan with your service provider it’s good to understand the different types of network connections that deliver a broadband service. We've provided an indication of the performance and cost of broadband connections based on the latest Measuring Broadband New Zealand (MBNZ) report. The names of the connection types might vary from the name a broadband provider uses when selling you a service.
To learn what's available at your address CHECK YOUR ADDRESS
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* Speed and latency: The broadband speeds quoted are national peak time average speeds based on the Commerce Commission’s latest Measuring Broadband New Zealand (MBNZ) report. These performance measures are indicative and you may experience faster or slower speeds depending on a range of factors, including: your broadband plan, modem, home WiFi setup and the capacity of your broadband provider’s network. Read our tips for getting the best home WiFi experience and the steps you can take to improve your broadband speed.
Latency refers to the time it takes for data to move from one device to another and is an important consideration when using real-time applications like video calls and online games. Lower is better. The Measuring Broadband New Zealand report doesn't provide data on Home Fibre Starter and Hyperfibre connections yet, so these latency figures are based on Chorus data and reflects the MBNZ finding that there is no material difference in latency between different fibre connections.
** Hyperfibre is available at connection speeds of 2,000 Mbps, 4,000 Mbps and 8,000 Mbps.
+ Cost: Offers vary between service providers - these indicative prices come from Broadband Compare as at October 2022 and don’t include any other costs (like modems) your service provider might charge. Please contact a provider to understand the actual cost.
++ Netflix streaming reliability: The proportion of households able to stream two Ultra High Definition videos from Netflix with variable bitrate encoding based on the latest Measuring Broadband New Zealand (MBNZ) report. The MBNZ report doesn't report on Hyperfibre streaming reliability yet, but does note that higher bandwidth connections like Fibre 300 and Fibre Max are able to reliably stream high-quality video more of the time. We've given Hyperfibre a 100% Netflix streaming reliability value because it offers higher bandwidth than Fibre 300 and Fibre Max.
What makes a good internet connection?
Chomping through the data
Back in November 2011, the average monthly usage per household on the Chorus broadband network was 13GB. In April 2016 we reached 100GB per household.
VDSL vs ADSL
Fibre is your best choice, delivering the highest performance with average peak download speeds of 850Mbps. But if fibre isn’t yet an option for you, VDSL is next in line, delivering an immediate speed increase from ADSL.
Made your decision? Here’s what to do next:
Check what’s available to you
Before you sign up for a new broadband plan, find out what’s available at your address.
Contact your broadband provider
Because Chorus only manages the network, you will have to order your preferred broadband plan through your service provider. Here are some tips on what to ask for when speaking with your provider.
Unsure who your broadband provider is? We can connect you to your provider.
Didn’t recognise your provider in that list? Look up your broadband provider and then try again.
Tips for talking with your provider
To ensure you get the best possible online experience, it’s important to ask the right questions when ordering your broadband plan through your service provider. Here are some tips on what to ask.
What speed can I get?
Ask your broadband provider:
- Is this the fastest broadband connection I can get at my house?
- What speed am I going to get at my place at peak hours of the day (when more people are online)?
How much data do I need?
Ask your broadband provider:
- What happens if I go over my data cap – how much does it cost?
- If I buy a capped plan today, can I increase it free of charge within my contract period if my usage changes?
Do you have the right equipment?
Ask your broadband provider:
- Is the modem you provide fibre ready?
- What speed is the modem capable of reaching?
- Will this modem give me WiFi coverage throughout my house?
Still unsure?
We hope the information on this page has been helpful, but we understand there is a lot to think about when deciding on the best broadband option for you. If you’re still unsure, feel free to share this page with a tech savvy friend or family member who might be able to help.
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