New Zealand’s broadband networks are among the best in the world, says Chorus CEO JB Rousselot. He says customers do well. Yet they are not well served when it comes to getting the information they need to make informed broadband buying decisions.
“We have a world-class fibre network,” he says. “There are excellent fixed and mobile networks, and 5G mobile technology is on the way. Our technology is advanced. And yet New Zealand telecoms users have to contend with a lack of transparency about what they buy.”
Rousselot says this contrasts with what happens in many overseas markets. There, you’ll find much more information about the actual speeds consumers get. As in New Zealand, service providers overseas display a headline speed. They then tell customers what speed they can expect during peak hours, or even state a guaranteed minimum speed.
New Zealand’s industry set out to solve the product transparency problem in 2013. The Telecommunications Forum, which represents most telcos, drew up a broadband product disclosure code. It has 13 signatories, including all the large providers, and, according to the forum’s website, it is mandatory.
The code is a comprehensive document running to 17 pages. Yet Rousselot says it hasn’t delivered what was intended. “If you go online and shop for broadband, you often have to fish to find any mention of downstream performance. There’s little information to help customers compare fixed-line with wireless or mobile broadband. That’s a pity, because fixed wireless can be a viable option but it’s hard to know if it is the right service for you.”
Rousselot says there’s an independent tool that consumers can use to help them make an informed choice. The Measuring Broadband New Zealand report is a regular snapshot of the broadband technologies and how they perform. SamKnows, an independent testing company, compiles it for the Commerce Commission. The report includes speed and performance comparisons. It covers copper (ADSL and VDSL), fibre (Fibre 100 and Fibre Max) and fixed wireless technologies.
At present, SamKnows aggregates downstream speed information across providers. But as the spread of data collection points increases, there’s interest in disaggregating the results by retail provider and applying weighted averaging to accommodate for market share.
Today’s SamKnows data can tell customers what kind of performance they might experience, say, when taking part in an online video conference call or using a streaming service like Netflix. It can also give them useful performance data.
The lack of speed transparency is not restricted to broadband.
In September, Telecommunications Commissioner Tristan Gilbertson wrote to New Zealand’s three mobile carriers asking them to provide better information so customers can make meaningful comparisons. His letter made clear he wants the industry to find a solution. He says if that doesn’t happen, he will act.
There’s a case for taking a similar approach with broadband. Customers deserve to get the information they need. It isn’t easy for consumers to make the right choice between options such as fibre, fixed wireless and hybrid fibre-coaxial services without being able to compare them. And soon, a new generation of low-earth-orbit satellites will start operating. They will only make choosing harder.
Overseas, providers often use this kind of service-comparison information to sell themselves and their products. Rousselot says that in Australia – where he worked for NBN, the national broadband network – one particular broadband company found it to be a powerful tool in its marketing strategy.
“TPG had a reputation for being a low-cost service provider. When the Australian speed report showed TPG was the top performer, the company used that at the top of every billboard. It rated as the best provider for speed, the best performance and the best peak-hour data speed provider. They turned product disclosure information into advertising.”
This story was paid for by Chorus, which is a sponsor of BusinessDesk's technology section.
