Chorus has announced free speed upgrades to some of its most popular wholesale plans, anticipating New Zealand’s ever-growing demand for high-speed internet.
Chorus has consulted with its broadband retailers on how best to work with them to deliver these upgrades – with significant download speed boosts to Fibre 50 plans (including Home Fibre Starter) and Home Fibre 300. This will be at no additional cost to broadband providers from Chorus – so that the speed upgrades can be passed through to consumers.
From June 2025, the fast-growing 50/10Mbps plan will have double the download and upload speeds to 100/20Mbps; while the most popular residential plan, 300/100Mbps, will see a significant boost to 500/100Mbps. Any upgrades to eligible consumer plans will be determined by the broadband providers.
As the country’s largest wholesale fibre provider, Chorus recognises the need to meet the evolving internet demands of Kiwis – as well as anticipate future growth in data consumption and the emergence of new digitally-connected technologies.
Evident by Chorus’ recent network usage ‘peaks’ across 2024, Kiwis are becoming more data-hungry in general, and major events such as streaming the Black Caps test match and Fortnite updates are taking more broadband bandwidth than ever. New Zealanders’ household data usage growth has skyrocketed over the last decade, growing 13-fold from less than 50GB on average per month to about 650GB today.
Chorus CEO Mark Aue says high-speed, reliable and uninterrupted broadband performance is expected of Kiwis’ internet experience, and fibre is undoubtedly the best network to deliver this.
“Whether we’re working from home, streaming entertainment or taking a virtual health appointment, our world is increasingly shifting online. New Zealand has long been at the forefront with other global broadband leaders, and we believe it’s time to step up the game again, so customers can continue to reap the best benefits in an increasingly digital world.”
Kiwis’ modern online activities and usage habits are demanding higher download speeds to deliver a seamless in-home internet experience. Video streaming applications, whether social media or on-demand platforms are built to pre-load videos in advance, requiring high internet speeds to accommodate a continuous, non-buffering viewing experience.
Similarly, online gaming such as Fortnite relies on large downloadable updates. Once started, these types of downloads can impact the internet experience of the whole household. The shift to multi-screen use, where people in a household use multiple devices at the same time, can also add to the broadband load.
Chorus' boosted speeds can better enable an uninterrupted scrolling and viewing experience, allowing for multi-tasking and many devices to operate smoothly on the same connection.
The transition from linear broadcast to live streaming is yet to finish. Live sports and 4K content streaming, AI functions and virtual reality applications are still early in their development and popularity. Chorus forecasts speed requirements and data usage will only accelerate, with most households projected to near double average monthly data usage to 1TB by 2029.
“Chorus’ speed upgrades demonstrate our commitment to keeping New Zealand at the forefront of digital connectivity. This isn’t just a speed boost — it’s an investment in New Zealand’s digital future, backed by the fact our country’s fibre infrastructure has already delivered $31bn worth of economic benefits over the past decade.
“We are committed to supporting New Zealand’s evolving digital habits and ensuring that our customers’ broadband can grow with them and their everyday needs,” adds Aue.
