Wholesale fixed line provider Chorus has announced that the first connection to its 8Gbps fibre broadband service is now live and accessible to around 150,000 residential and business customers in Auckland and Wellington. The new symmetric broadband service forms part of the company’s Hyperfibre family of open access next-generation optical network technology, which launched nationwide in October 2020 with 2Gbps and 4Gbps connections.
Commenting on the launch, Chorus Chief Customer Officer Ed Hyde said: ‘Fibre is energy-efficient, fast and offers a stable broadband connection. It is rapidly becoming essential with the ever-increasing uptake of ultra-high-definition video, cloud storage, video uploads, advanced gaming and working from home. As a result, broadband speed and sufficient capacity are now more critical than ever. Expanding the Hyperfibre family with an 8Gbps choice guarantees New Zealand’s place in the most technologically advanced countries in the world.’
The first retail ISP to offer the 8Gbps service is Orcon. Taryn Hamilton, Consumer and Business Chief Executive of Orcon’s parent company, Vocus, said: ‘If there’s one thing we have learned over the years, it’s that people will always find ways to make the most of the latest technology. Hyperfibre plans offer speeds that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, but we have innovative and enthusiastic Kiwis getting onboard with 2Gbps, 4Gbps and now 8Gbps speeds.’
Hyperfibre 8Gbps is available in ten central exchange areas across Auckland and Wellington, namely Albert, Mt Eden, Ponsonby, Mayoral Drive, Remuera and Browns Bay in Auckland, and Khandallah, Courtenay Place and Kelburn in Wellington. The company notes that Hyperfibre connections currently number in the hundreds, with 86% of connections taken out by consumers and 65% of all customers opting for the 4Gbps symmetric service.