By Federated Farmers Dairy Chair and telecommunications spokesperson Richard McIntyre
Living 2km from the exchange, I am one of the few fortunate ones who have pretty good ADSL/VDSL internet speeds. But friends who live just up the road on the other side of the exchange had their copper line cut and have been battling away with issues ever since, and while it may be for different reasons, it seems they aren’t alone. In our recent Rural Connectivity Survey, nearly half of respondents using copper-line ADSL/VDSL broadband were dealing with speeds below 5Mbps (in plain speak – that is very slow, the median speed in New Zealand for this type of broadband is around 25 times faster).
The 2022 Rural Connectivity Survey highlighted a number of things about the way our members receive their internet. Some still live in areas where their only choice until Starlink showed up was copperline dial-up or ADSL/VDSL. But, some also still continue to use these services (and put up with the terribly slow speeds) when their neighbours are using wireless internet.
Until a few years ago, wireless internet was only available from a few providers. However, this year the survey highlighted that members are now getting their internet from over 50 different providers, most of which you have probably never heard of (which is why if you are still battling away with your copperline, you probably don’t know who to call to change to the copper wire free option of wireless!).
What are the advantages of wireless internet over hardwired copper?
Other than the majority of our survey respondents reporting substantially faster download speeds on wireless internet compared to copper, copper is an aging technology. Remember that this wiring may be very old and was not designed to meet the demands of internet streaming of today’s world.
Many homes have this old wiring, which was installed well before they even invented the internet. It isn’t designed to carry the internet bandwidth that you can experience with more purpose-designed technologies like fibre (if you are lucky) and wireless. While Chorus can’t withdraw the copper service to your property before you have a better alternative, they are likely unable to deal with all the small breakages in the line that may be interfering with your quality (copper landline users may notice this especially).
How do I get wireless internet?
To start with you need to find a provider who services your area. While the larger providers may provide wireless, chances are you best option will be through a Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISPs) through their tower network.
WISPs have changed how rural New Zealand engages with their internet; just under a third of our Otago respondents get their internet from a company called Yrless; nearly all Gisborne respondents get their internet from a provider called Gisborne.net.nz and a small provider called Primo is taking over the Taranaki with nearly half of respondents using them as a provider. You can type your address into the website broadbandmap.nz to find what is available at your address along with information on the internet type, the provider and the speeds they can provide.
Why should I change?
Of those respondents who were still with Spark (a quarter of our respondents), 62% had been with them for more than 10 years and of those, 43.3% put up with speeds below 10Mbps (22.8% below 5Mbps). Wireless internet providers had less than half that number battling away with internet speeds below 10Mbps with 74.7% experiencing speeds above 10Mbps and 39.2% experiencing speeds between 21-40Mbps which can comfortably handle multiple devices (but probably not gaming!).
What if I can’t get wireless?
For those of you that are stuck in the wireless broadband blackspots, copperline may have been your only option before looking at satellite. Satellite largely used to be an expensive and slow option but with Starlink now being available specifically for rural and remote communities in New Zealand, they could be a great alternative. The receiver is ‘easy’ to install and for sharemilkers and employees, it is mobile so you can take it with you if you ever move. The initial equipment purchase is around $1000 but the price of monthly plans are about the same as most wireless plans and this is for unlimited internet at speeds that rival town fibre of over 100Mbps.
Making a change might not completely solve your connectivity woes but with more options available now than ever, it could be worth a look to see if there is something better out there.
