Last week the Commerce Commission published a report on the performance of selected broadband services. Fibre was shown to be fast, and faster than in Australia. However the results for 4G wireless broadband were more revealing.
Data from the report showed that most of the 4G speeds were either “very slow” or “slow” at peak times.
The report showed that there is wide variation in speeds, and that some people could be disappointed. Typically only national average speeds are published for 4G wireless broadband . For example, Vodafone are currently advising that “Average download/upload speeds are 32/18 Mbps at busiest times “.
- What causes these variations?
- congestion/overloading
- distance from tower
- geography and local obstructions
What can be Done?
If you live in an area with good performance then 4G wireless broadband can often be had for bargain prices.
If the performance is bad, then it is often possible to exit the service without penalty. See section 59 of the Broadband Marketing Code.
You can check what alternative services are available at your address at Broadbandmapnz. In addition, Starlink is available in most of NZ.
Don’t rule out copper either, VDSL is often faster than 4G wireless broadband.
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