According to the latest Annual Telecommunications Monitoring Report published by New Zealand’s Commerce Commission, fibre broadband overtook copper connections as the main way households accessed the internet in 2019.
The most recent figures indicate that 880,000 homes and businesses subscribed to fibre packages at 30 September 2019, an increase of around 31% year-on-year, while copper connections fell 23% to 581,000 over the same period. Fixed wireless connections rose 14% to 188,000, although the rate of growth was far lower than the 36% recorded in 2018.
‘New Zealanders are increasingly moving to the fibre broadband network. This trend is set to continue with nearly three-quarters of a million homes and businesses yet to switch in areas where fibre is available to be connected,’ noted Telecommunications Commissioner Stephen Gale.