Published15 Aug 2024

The Commerce Commission's latest Annual Telecommunications Monitoring Report released today highlights an increasingly competitive broadband market in rural New Zealand - illustrated by a new interactive map revealing detailed coverage and connection information.

Telecommunications Commissioner, Tristan Gilbertson, says the telecommunications market in New Zealand has reached a major milestone in urban areas with the successful completion of the UFB roll-out and the widespread availability of Fixed Wireless to cater for those with lower data needs.

He says attention is now on closing the connectivity gap in rural areas to help boost digital inclusion for consumers and productivity in a critical sector of the economy.

"It's exciting to see competition heating up as Starlink - using its Low Earth Orbit satellite technology - disrupts the rural market and forces a response from existing providers.

"Starlink is delivering speeds three times faster than other rural alternatives and consumers are voting with their feet - making Starlink the fastest growing rural broadband provider.

"We're expecting new entrants in this space next year - including Amazon - which is likely to further intensify competitive dynamics. Starlink is already trying to get ahead of this by offering a 'deprioritised' service that, so far, seems to deliver speeds close to its standard service for a lower price."

Mr Gilbertson says the mapping tool launched today is the result of significant effort from the Commission and wider industry to produce a detailed picture of the market - including the options available to rural communities, businesses and farmers, beyond the national UFB fibre footprint.

"Our new interactive map closes the information gap between urban and rural areas. It provides - for the first time - a comprehensive picture of what technologies are available and where and how they are performing. This is a powerful tool that will be useful to different stakeholders for a wide range of purposes - including our current investigation into the future of copper regulation in rural areas."

Mr Gilbertson encourages rural consumers to stay on top of developments in the market because they may have more broadband options than they realise.

"37% of rural consumers still pay for a copper connection - pricing for which is $28 more per month than the OECD average - and we know from the data that many of these consumers could be on a lower-priced or better performing technology.

"Competition in the industry continues to heat up across the board - whether fixed or mobile, rural or urban - so we encourage Kiwis everywhere to keep an eye on what services are available to them and to check they're getting the best deal."

The Annual Monitoring Report and the interactive map are available on the Commission's website, alongside findings from its Measuring Broadband New Zealand programme and telecommunications customer service rankings - all of which help inform consumer choice.