Satisfaction with fixed-wireless broadband has dropped since 'demand challenge' of Covid-19, says Chorus

Tuesday, 18 August 2020

Fixed-wireless broadband services run of the cellphone network but offer data caps and speeds that are designed to make them a viable alternative at least to copper-based home broadband products.

Kiwis who are using fixed-wireless broadband have become significantly less satisfied with the technology since Covid-19 began impacting broadband demand in March, according to Chorus.

But Vodafone spokeswoman Nicky Preston said Chorus’ survey data still showed fixed-wireless coming out ahead of the fastest copper broadband technology, VDSL.

Chorus owns the copper broadband network and the bulk of the fibre-optic ultrafast broadband network, so it has a vested interest in encouraging consumers to use those technologies instead of fixed-wireless.

Spark and Vodafone have marketed fixed-wireless services which run on their own mobile networks as an alternative to copper broadband in particular, with Spark alone claiming 150,000 fixed-wireless customers.

Quest Ponsonby is holding on for $35,000 compensation for unused phone and broadband services.

* Better copper broadband helps Chorus stem defections

* Chorus weighs in over advice given to consumers

Chorus said research it commissioned from Colmar Brunton suggested satisfaction with fixed-wireless services had fallen from about 62 per cent to 48 per cent over four months.

Those figures are a “rolling average” of survey responses received from about 80 customers a month over a period of six months, up to the ends of March and June.

In contrast, satisfaction with ultrafast broadband (UFB) was relatively steady through the period at about 70 per cent, according to Chorus’ poll.

Satisfaction with copper services dipped by a few percentage points to 45 per cent and 34 per cent over the same period, depending on the type of copper broadband technology customers could access.

Chorus spokeswoman Holly Cushen said the drop in fixed-wireless satisfaction overlapped with the “demand challenge” caused by Covid-19, which has resulted in increased broadband traffic.

Spark suggests 150,000 customers can’t be wrong.

Chorus reported that traffic on its networks reached a record of just over 3 terabits a second on Saturday night when the level 3 alert that has confined many Aucklanders to their homes coincided with a major update to popular online game Call of Duty.

The relative merits of different broadband technologies have been a source of fierce argument between Chorus and Spark in the past.

In 2017, Chorus wrote to MPs, accusing Spark of creating 'anxiety' and confusion about the future of its copper broadband network.

All broadband networks can be subject to different degrees of contention when demand for broadband traffic rises.

Vodafone notes that even Chorus’ latest data shows fixed-wireless broadband coming out ahead of the fastest copper technology VDSL in terms of customer satisfaction.

For fixed-wireless networks, the radio access equipment on cellphone towers is one potential bottleneck.

Preston said that even with the reported customer satisfaction dip, Chorus’ survey results “underpin what we’ve been saying for a long time – that fibre and fixed-wireless are the best ‘21st century’ broadband options for New Zealanders”.

“Fibre is brilliant for high-usage customers, while fixed-wireless broadband offers ‘plug and play’ convenience anyone can easily set up in a few minutes.”

Straight comparisons of customer satisfaction that didn’t take into account what technologies were available in an area could also be problematic, she indicated, given some fixed-wireless customers were in rural areas where UFB might not be available.

Vodafone had seen a spike in wireless broadband connections during alert level 4 in April, when new UFB connections were put on hold and wireless broadband was “the only self-installation internet option”, she said.

“Some customers with larger families reported getting a second fixed-wireless internet modem to protect their home office from patchy wi-fi when other family members were streaming Netflix and YouTube on the home fibre line.”

Spark spokeswoman Cassie Arauzo said data traffic rose 27 per cent during the Covid-19 lockdown while traffic on its mobile network rose 22 per cent.

“Spark made the decision to lift data caps nationwide in order to help our customers adjust to their new normal without having to worry about restriction,” she said.

“Almost every single New Zealander was working, learning and connecting from home, with our network seeing an unprecedented surge in traffic.

“So considering the increase in traffic, some congestion during peak times was expected,” she said.

But customers valued the convenience of wireless broadband, she said.

“You can be connected within minutes and there is no waiting for any physical installations.

“We also know that some customers prefer the end-to-end support that wireless broadband offers, rather than dealing with multiple parties if you have a copper or fibre broadband fault.”

Spark’s own surveys showed wireless broadband had a higher “net promoter score” (NPS) than any other broadband product it offered, she said.

NPS is a measure of customer satisfaction.

“We have about 150,000 customers on wireless broadband which demonstrates the scale and popularity of this product across New Zealand.”