New Zealand wholesale fixed line provider Chorus has revealed that its fiber network footprint covered a total of 1.486 million homes and businesses at 30 September 2023, having passed an additional 9,000 addresses during the quarter.
According to the company’s latest quarterly connections update, wholesale fibre accesses on its network increased by 19,000 in the three months to end-September to stand at 1.051 million, with the entry-level 50Mbps ‘Home Fibre Starter’ service adding 7,000 connections following mainstream advertising campaigns by larger retail ISPs. The 50Mbps service now comprises 2% of Chorus’s residential fibre connections, while demand for 1Gbps and Hyperfibre services made up 36% of net adds in the quarter. Fibre uptake across Chorus’s footprint increased by 0.8 percentage points during the quarter to reach 70.2%.
Fibre growth more than offset ongoing reductions in copper broadband connections, with the result that total broadband connections (including fibre leased lines) increased by 3,000 to end the quarter at 1.201 million. Copper fixed voice lines fell by 8,000 and drove an overall reduction in fixed line connections to 1.266 million, down from 1.271 million at end-June. The company noted its copper withdrawal programme continues to gain momentum in those areas where fibre is available. Copper services have now ceased for about 29,000 notified connections, up 7,000 during the quarter, and more than 660 copper broadband cabinets have now been closed. Outside of fibre areas, the ongoing migration of consumers to alternative wireless and satellite networks saw copper connections reduced by 6,000 connections to 106,000.
The company also reported that average monthly data usage on fibre was flat at 585GB in September compared to June. Consumers on 50Mbps plans averaged approximately 260GB of data in September, compared to 480GB for those on 300Mbps connections and 940GB for those on 1Gbps accesses.
Source: https://www.commsupdate.com/articles/2023/10/20/chorus-reports-steady-growth-in-fibre-connections/