Web browsing speeds appear to have a tendency to be relatively slower for central city sites compared with suburban sites, the Commerce Commission says.In its latest report on broadband service quality, which covers the first six months of 2010, the commi
Web browsing speeds appear to have a tendency to be relatively slower for central city sites compared with suburban sites, the Commerce Commission says.
In its latest report on broadband service quality, which covers the first six months of 2010, the commission says possible reasons for the difference in speed are the age of copper lines and interference with other data services in the copper plant.
If those factors have contributed to slower browsing speeds for central city sites, the problem could potentially be alleviated with various interference management solutions, the report says.
It also notes the focus is moving to the replacement of copper with fibre broadband access, which does not suffer from the electromagnetic interference problems.
Web browsing is the most common activity undertaken by internet users and the speed at which webpages load is one of the factors measured by the commission.
In the latest report period, it finds a considerable reduction in the variability of web browsing speeds during the course of a day, particularly with internet service providers (ISPs) that have performed poorly in the past.
Internet availability is also found to have continued to improve, with only one ISP failing to meet the commission's monthly availability benchmark of 99.9%, the report says.
Telecommunications Commissioner Ross Patterson says the report also shows the benefits of local loop unbundling continues to provide greater choice and better services for consumers.
Web browsing speeds for ISPs with unbundled Telecom exchanges have improved to be around 20% faster than access provided using Telecom Wholesale services for the past two months of the measurement period.
