Telecom reveals UFB connection numbers
Says connections picking up pace; launches first UFB plans not wholesaled from Chorus.
Telecom says nearly 1300 customers signed up for Telecom Ultra Fibre during November, the highest month of sales since Telecom entered the UFB market in March and besting the previous month’s record.
The company says it now has almost 6,000 customers on Ultra Fibre or awaiting connection.
Telecom launched its UFB service without voice over fibre or billing software.
Spokesman Richard Llewellyn told NBR that Telecom still does not have a date to launch voice-over-fibre.
"In the meantime we continue to provide voice services over copper connections," he says.
Billing was added in September. Previously, the lack of billing software had meant every Telecom UFB customer effectively had unlimited data, whatever their plan.
According to Commerce Commission figures, Telecom holds around 50% share of the retail broadband market. Vodafone, which has only just released UFB plans, holds around 29%, with no other player above 10%.
Although Telecom is gaining UFB momentum, overall update remains low.
ICT Minister Amy Adams reported on November 15 that 320,000 end users now have access to Ultrafast Broadband (UFB) fibre - and increase of 21,000 in the three months to September 30.
The number who have chosen to actually subscribe to a UFB plan rose from just under 10,000 to more than 14,000 during the period, or from around 3% to 4%.
Fibre, VDSL customers using 3x as much data
Telecom also says that its customers are now using more data (in part a self-fulfilling prophecy as it raises data caps).
It says average home broadband usage is now 34 Gigabytes (GB) per month – up 89% in the past year
Average usage by Ultra Broadband customers (using Fibre or VDSL technology) is almost three times higher, at 80-90GB per month
Life beyond Chorus
Yesterday, Telecom said it had broadened its UFB base beyond Chorus areas for the first time, launching its first fibre plans in Christchurch via Enable.
NBR Staff
Tue, 03 Dec 2013
Tue, 03 Dec 2013
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Telecom reveals UFB connection numbers
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