Competition improves broadband browsing speed says Commerce Commission

The performance of New Zealand’s broadband services is continuing to improve according to a report released by the Commerce Commission today.

The report is part of a continuing series measuring broadband performance in New Zealand. Covering the period from July – December 2010, the report provides a summary of the performance of internet service providers (ISPs) in delivering broadband services in New Zealand’s major cities.

"The report shows that increased competition from unbundled copper local loop services has improved broadband performance,” said Telecommunications Commissioner Dr Ross Patterson.

Key findings of the report include:

• Minimum, average and maximum web browsing speeds achievable on Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) have all increased, with maximum speed increasing from 5.5Mbps to 6.5Mbps.
• TelstraClear’s cable service provided the best browsing performance (in the areas where it is available), but was closely followed by service providers using unbundled copper local loop lines.
• Average web browsing speed diminishes with increasing distance from infrastructure in Auckland.
• Use of local storage (caching) for international content continues to provide a significant international browsing performance boost. Average international web browsing speed to the Commission’s test site falls from around 2Mbps to 0.5Mbps when the test site content is not locally cached.
• There was a marked reduction in network availability over the six month period, with all tested ISPs falling below the Commission’s benchmark at times.

The full report is available on the Commission's website at:
www.comcom.govt.nz/broadband-reports