Ideal broadband for someone moving to NZ?

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chloesgoingplaces

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#317527 23-Oct-2024 19:31

Laying groundwork for when we need to move over to Wellington soon. Haven't done such a large move before, it's quite insane.

Where can i read up on getting house wifi sorted etc? Any help would be great.

Let me know if i'm in the wrong forum!

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#3300677 23-Oct-2024 19:43

Any preferences in terms of speed?

You could try Fast Connect which offers the following:

Slingshot: $59.95/Mo Unlimited 300/100 Fibre Broadband on 12-Month Term (+ Extra $5/Mo Modem Hire or BYO)

Fill in the form and see what they offer you: Compare Broadband Deals | Cheap Internet Plans From Various Providers

More instructions here: Slingshot: $59.95/Mo Unlimited 300/100 Fibre Broadband on 12-Month Term (+ Extra $5/Mo Modem Hire or BYO) @ Fast Connect - ChoiceCheapies

chloesgoingplaces

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#3300688 23-Oct-2024 20:26

Thanks for the help, definitely not a tech geek so as long as I can get work done + multiple devices can be used at the same time without lag, think we're sorted.

Do people generally use this in NZ?

Also thanks for the Cheapies rec, saw it in the other thread too. Will start an account there. Does Geekzone not have people posting deals?

Linux

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#3300690 23-Oct-2024 20:35

Check the address you are moving to has fibre or HFC connection

RunningMan

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#3300691 23-Oct-2024 20:37

Deals here https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=164

Probably need to provide a bit more info if people are to make recommendations. How many devices, what do you use the connection for etc? In terms of wifi, what's the property like, how big, what construction?

Assuming urban Wellington, UFB fibre would be the best medium. Check the address here: https://www.chorus.co.nz/

You then got multiple speed plans from a bunch of different companies to compare, but if you can give some idea of your likely usage people will be able to give some recommendations.

Eva888

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#3300692 23-Oct-2024 20:38

Welcome to NZ!

I would suggest you subscribe to Money Hub and receive their weekly emails to start with. There is a hive of information for all sorts of things you will be needing once you arrive.

https://www.moneyhub.co.nz/broadband-resources.html

Jase2985

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#3300704 23-Oct-2024 20:51

https://www.chorus.co.nz/help/tools/broadband-checker

That will be able to tell you if you can get fibre of Xdsl broadband, just pop your address in there.

Fibre is the best, fastest most reliable option, so go for that if you can. Most internet service providers will give you a modem or rent you one, and if you are not a techie then it should do the job.

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antoniosk

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#3300773 24-Oct-2024 04:05

Wellington is a hilly city and nearly all the houses are built on sloped land, meaning lots of wooden houses up and down stairs, in gullies and so on. Quite a few people have left for Australia so there is a lot of flats to let and houses to choose from, as well as new shoebox apartments etc.

There are 3 main network types:

Cable Internet from one.nz only. It’s nearly 35 years old now and is not being invested in, but it runs at gig speeds and is connected to many houses as a mature network. It’s cheap but you can tell it’s at the end of its life - it’s typically about $30/month cheaper than top end fibre plans.
Fibre Internet from pretty much everyone. Many houses connected but also many may not have been hooked up yet. Landlords have to make it reasonably open to you, but people can still be difficult and slow. Many older apartment buildings may have had wired installs. If internet matters, check before you commit to a tenancy agreement. The wholesale price is set by a regulator, and a decent plan (300/100mbps) will start around $80/month and go from there, with gigabit plans all pitching around $110/month before discounts.

2degrees is the mass cheap retailer now, one.nz (formally Vodafone) is rebuilding its brand, spark is the former big telco, and there are a range of smaller providers (energy companies for bundling etc) as well as focused providers (quic, voyager).

Internet really matters now, and in-house wifi will be affected by the size and construction of your house. The larger provides will rent you a single cheap wifi all in one router, which is usually ok for a very small apartment. Anything larger and you will need more wifi access points for good coverage.

because the wholesale fibre price is about $55/month be VERY careful of too good to be true offers. If it’s less than $80/month get your BS detector out.
There are also offers for 4 and 5G wireless only connections from the big orgs, but these are very dependant on where you are for quality and consistency. They can be cheaper than fibre, but the trade off will be varying network quality - and if you need Internet for income and work, can be a royal PITA

________

Antoniosk

nztim

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#3300787 24-Oct-2024 08:29

antoniosk:

Cable Internet from one.nz only. It’s nearly 35 years old now and is not being invested in, but it runs at gig speeds and is connected to many houses as a mature network. It’s cheap but you can tell it’s at the end of its life - it’s typically about $30/month cheaper than top end fibre plans.

Not entirely true, most of the nodes have been upgraded to fiber to the node and DOCSIS4 to the end user, making the last mile less and 500M which gets gigiabit

But you are right, the physical cables in the ground are now approaching 40 years old

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

Asteros

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#3300821 24-Oct-2024 09:32

Welcome to NZ! Fibre optic (Fibre) internet is widely available across the country - >87% population has access. It is fast and reliable. I recommend any large provider - Spark, One NZ, 2degrees.

There are other companies, especially if you are technically minded - ask for recommendations here.

cddt

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#3300830 24-Oct-2024 10:04

Get fibre if your house is in the fibre area (and most residential properties are, unless you're in the wop wops).

My referral links: BigPipe | Mercury

freitasm

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#3300834 24-Oct-2024 10:17

Once you know fibre is available at the address, you must sign up with a provider. 2degrees, Quic, Slingshot, Spark, OneNZ, or Voyager are good choices. Skinny and BigPipe are also options although they are really Spark.

If it's a building, you might not have fibre to your apartment, and the building should provide access.

If the house doesn't have fibre yet (which is unlikely), the landlord must ask Chorus to install it. This is free. Once installed, then you can sign up with an ISP as above.

As mentioned, some areas have cable (also known as cable modem, DOCSIS). This is not fibre but gets some okay speeds, sometimes unreliable because of the old infrastructure. This is only available through OneNZ in Wellington and Christchurch. If you get a house in this area and ask for fibre OneNZ might push cable or mobile broadband. If fibre is available, never get the others.

If fibre or cable is unavailable, the large telcos (2degrees, Spark, OneNZ) offer mobile broadband (4G or 5G).

Most ISPs will provide the router/Wi-Fi access point for a monthly fee. You can also use your own, but you willl need to configure it yourself.

In any case, always sign up for fibre if available. If you have the option of fibre or mobile broadband, get fibre. Do not fall for the telcos trying to sell something else if fibre is available.

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chloesgoingplaces

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#3301187 24-Oct-2024 19:10

Thanks so much all for the info, this has been great! We’ll be moving to Wellington in the next couple of months (fingers crossed). Trying to wrap my head around the best setup ahead of time.

Think some of you were asking: We're a small family of three, so we’ll probably have around 4-5 devices connected at any one time... i think? Mostly for remote work, watching shows, shopping, general usage, nothing too intense like a full-out gaming set-up?

The property we're eyeing is a medium-sized house, not huge, but I’m guessing we’ll need good coverage throughout. I’ve heard good things about fibre so I’ll definitely check out the Chorus links + OneNZ and Spark. (haha had to search what was "wop wops")

quickymart

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#3301193 24-Oct-2024 19:35

What area/suburb in Wellington? Asking as not all locations will have everything available.

Jvipers2

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#3301480 25-Oct-2024 15:34

I usually use broadbandcompare to get an idea of how much I should pay for internet at my address...

antoniosk

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#3301514 25-Oct-2024 16:15

nztim:

antoniosk:

Cable Internet from one.nz only. It’s nearly 35 years old now and is not being invested in, but it runs at gig speeds and is connected to many houses as a mature network. It’s cheap but you can tell it’s at the end of its life - it’s typically about $30/month cheaper than top end fibre plans.

Not entirely true, most of the nodes have been upgraded to fiber to the node and DOCSIS4 to the end user, making the last mile less and 500M which gets gigabit

But you are right, the physical cables in the ground are now approaching 40 years old

ok missed that development - so docsis4 modems being deployed as standard now? thats a good thing

________

Antoniosk

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