There are a variety of technologies in New Zealand for delivering a broadband internet connection. Internet Service Providers will often list broadband speed information alongside the connection type they are offering. It is important to note that the speeds quoted are more often than not, the theoretical maximum speeds available on that technology.
We have listed below the most common internet speeds and internet connection types on offer in New Zealand alongside their theoretical maximums and the average speeds they are widely acknowledged to achieve in the ‘real world’.
STATED SPEED – DOWN 7 Mbps / UP 128kbps
NZ AVERAGE SPEEDS - DOWN 5 Mbps / UP 13 kbps
STATED SPEED – DOWN 24 Mbps / UP 1 Mbps
NZ AVERAGE SPEEDS - DOWN 10 Mbps / UP 0.8 Mbps
STATED SPEED – DOWN 50 Mbps / UP 10 Mbps
NZ AVERAGE SPEEDS - DOWN 20 Mbps / UP 10 Mbps
Only Vodafone in Wellington & Auckland
STATED SPEED – DOWN 15 Mbps / UP 2 Mbps
NZ AVERAGE SPEEDS - DOWN 16 Mbps / UP 2 Mbps
Only Vodafone in Wellington & Auckland
STATED SPEED – DOWN 100 Mbps / UP 10 Mbps
NZ AVERAGE SPEEDS - DOWN 130 Mbps / UP 10 Mbps
There are a wide variety of speeds for download and upload quoted and the price increases accordingly with faster speeds.
SOME COMMON STATED FIBRE BROADBAND SPEEDS
DOWN 30 Mbps / UP 10 Mbps
DOWN 50 Mbps / UP 20 Mbps
DOWN 100 Mbps / UP 20 Mbps
DOWN 100 Mbps / UP 50 Mbps
DOWN 100 Mbps / UP 100 Mbps
DOWN 200 Mbps / UP 50 Mbps
DOWN 200 Mbps / UP 200 Mbps
DOWN 1000 Mbps / UP 500 Mbps
NZ AVERAGE SPEEDS - Speeds up to 50Mb/s are almost always as advertised whilst the speeds above 50Mb/s often not consistently achieved. You can look at various sites online for historic performance details around speeds that ISP’s achieve although it is important to note that this is historic data and past performance is no guarantee of performance in the future.
Available everywhere but only limited ISP’s offer this.
STATED SPEED – DOWN 10 Mbps / UP 5 Mbps
NZ AVERAGE SPEEDS - Consistent variation by time of day, but advertised speeds reached off-peak.
Coverage varies across New Zealand.
STATED SPEED – DOWN 100 Mbps / UP 20 Mbps
NZ AVERAGE SPEEDS – Highest 4G average download speeds in the world at 36 Mbps but does of course vary according to network coverage and can often achieve uploads of 10 Mbps.
These broadband speeds are the best possible speeds achieved on the best possible internet connection, your own broadband connection may not achieve these speeds for a wide variety of reasons. A connection may deliver a best speed at 5am in the morning when very few people are online at your internet exchange, but during peak hours of 6pm to 11pm, your speed may reduce - usually due to congestion somewhere in your ISPs network.
Here at Broadband Compare we are not obsessive over the speeds that ISP’s advertise and deliver. Of course we don’t want anyone being misled and the speeds quoted throughout the Broadband Compare website are the same speeds quoted on the ISP’s own website, so these are down to their product marketing people. As we said above, you can look at various sites online for historic performance details around speeds that ISP’s have previously achieved although it is important to note that this is historic data and past performance is no guarantee of performance in the future. Depending on what you need your internet to do there is little reason to stress if you have a 50 Mbps connection but average speeds of only 35 Mbps… you will still be able to stream HD on multiple devices at the same time with no loss of quality. There’s enough stress in the world without worrying too much about your internet speed, but it is important that you are accurately informed and we back the Government’s ongoing initiative to change the way broadband speeds are advertised and listed.
As always – if you have any questions, please contact a member of the Broadband Compare team on 0508 2COMPARE or through our online chat window.
