Home Support Centre Rural broadband How does distance impact broadband connections?

How does distance impact broadband connections?

On our copper network, a broadband signal can be delivered within a 6km radius, but its performance worsens the further your connection is from the exchange or cabinet.

Where possible, Chorus has used fibre to extend the reach of the copper network by rolling out fibre-fed cabinets to rural areas. The fibre essentially powers up the broadband services at each cabinet meaning the speed and broadband performance is improved, so much so, that if you are located close to a cabinet you can potentially access a VDSL service with speeds over 100Mbps.

As we install more cabinets, we are also making more broadband ports available. Older rural cabinets only have about half the number of broadband ports, so in some areas there has been a waiting list for broadband. Our new cabinets have a port for each phone line, and many are now future proofed to cater for increased demand.