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Telecommunications infrastructure company Chorus has been upgrading broadband speeds in the Mahurangi area since April.
Chorus stakeholder communications advisor Holly Cushen says the upgrades boosted average VDSL (very fast broadband over the copper network) speeds by 7Mbps and average ADSL speeds by 2Mbps.
“We are aware that unreliability and slow speeds have been a source of frustration for businesses and residents,” she says. “Upgraded cabinets are fibre- fed, which means people are connected to a congestion-free network and aren’t constrained by data caps.”
There are about 9800 broadband connections between Puhoi and Kaiwaka, with 2800 on VDSL and 7000 on ADSL.
Two-thirds of connections can get VDSL where speeds averaged 47Mbps last month, and 14Mbps on ADSL.
The average connection speed overall was 24Mbps in August, up from 17Mbps in August last year.
The Government’s rollout of ultra fast broadband (UFB2 and UFB2+) will be completed in the following towns by the end of 2022: Leigh, Wellsford, Omaha, Matakana Village, Warkworth, Snells Beach, Puhoi, Mahurangi, Mahurangi West/Waiwera and Point Wells.
Holly says the rollout schedule is expected to be available in November.
“We are also planning to introduce vectoring technology to some existing cabinets in rural areas.”
Chorus anticipates this will mean:
• 44% of lines will be capable of getting speeds of more than 50 Mbps,
• 64% of lines will be capable of getting speeds of more than 25Mbps.
Holly says overall, many homes and businesses in these areas can get much better broadband.
“We encourage consumers to visit askforbetter.co.nz to see what is available to them, and then contact their broadband provider to make it happen.”
Westminster upgrade
Chorus recently upgraded a cabinet that services 47 customers in the Westminster Glen and Matakana Road area. As a result, these households can now get VDSL with speeds up to 80Mbps, depending on their distance from the cabinet. However, most connections at the cabinet are still on ADSL, which has a maximum connection speed of 27Mbps. Average speeds for this cabinet have gone from 7Mbps in August last year to 21Mbps last month. Average VDSL speed is 31Mbps, and 18Mbps on ADSL. Most of central Warkworth can get VDSL.
