Open fiber network provider Chorus is expanding the reach of its wholesale broadband footprint with the goal of, “Making New Zealand a true ‘Giganation,” CEO Mark Ratcliffe said.
Chorus owns fiber and copper networks, which it makes available to other telecom providers. Beyond access, the firm offers co-location and field services.
Gigabit internet service was first made available in Dunedin in February 2015. The average download speed on the Chorus network now is 30.5 Mbps, according to the company. With the expansion of Gigabit, customers will see download speeds between 900 Mbps and 970 Mbps and upload speeds around 500 Mbps.
“We are delighted that other fibre providers have joined Chorus in championing gigabit residential and business services,” Ratcliffe said. Making New Zealand a true ‘Gignation’, beyond the 5,000-plus connections we have in Dunedin, should see us catapulted up the league tables of broadband speed rankings and reinforce the high quality of the broadband infrastructure we’re rolling out.”
To illustrate what customers can expect, Chorus reps said the Gigabit speed would enable the equivalent of uploading 25 high-res pictures to social in media in less than five second or downloading 25 MP3s in a second.
As far as pricing, Chorus says the gigabit service starts at $60 per month until June 30, at which point it increases to $65 per month. Business service is $75 per month.