From Ocean Depths to Your Device: How the Internet Reaches You in NZ
Ever wondered how that video call with family overseas, or your latest Netflix binge, makes it all the way to your device in New Zealand? It's a journey that spans continents, crosses oceans, and weaves through a complex web of technology right into your home. Let's break down how the internet works, from its global backbone to your personal Wi-Fi signal.
The Global Highway: Undersea Cables
The internet isn't delivered by satellites for the most part, especially for countries like New Zealand. Instead, it travels through a vast network of fibre optic cables that lie on the ocean floor. These aren't your average garden hoses; they're thick, armored cables packed with hair-thin strands of glass. Data zips through these strands as pulses of light at incredible speeds.
For New Zealand, key submarine cables connect us to the rest of the world. Historically, the Southern Cross Cable was vital. Today, we have a more diversified network, including:
Hawaiki Cable: Linking New Zealand, Australia, and the U.S.
Tasman Global Access (TGA) cable: Connecting New Zealand and Australia.
Southern Cross NEXT Cable: Further enhancing connectivity between NZ, Australia, the U.S., and some Pacific Islands.
Te Waipounamu cable (part of the Tasman Ring Network): A new system linking Invercargill to Sydney and Melbourne.
These cables land at specific points in New Zealand, where the data is then routed inland to data centres and local networks.
Getting to Your Home: Types of Internet Access in NZ
Once the data reaches New Zealand's shores, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) uses various technologies to bring it into your home. Here's a look at the most common types you'll find:
Fibre Broadband (Ultra-Fast Broadband - UFB) 🚀
How it works: This is the gold standard. Fibre optic cables run directly to your home, delivering data as light pulses.
Strengths:
Blazing Fast Speeds: Offers the highest download and upload speeds, ranging from 100 Mbps to Hyperfibre speeds of 4000 Mbps or even 8000 Mbps in some areas.
Reliability: Highly stable and less prone to interference or slowdowns, even during peak times.
Low Latency: Crucial for online gaming, video conferencing, and other real-time applications.
Benefits: Ideal for households with many devices, heavy streamers, online gamers, and anyone working from home with large file transfers.
Issues: Not yet available everywhere, especially in very rural areas, and installation can sometimes involve groundwork if fibre isn't already to your property boundary.
VDSL & ADSL Broadband (Copper) 🐌
How it works: These older technologies use the existing copper telephone lines to transmit data. VDSL (Very-high-bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line) is faster than ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line).
Strengths: Widely available where fibre isn't, as it uses existing infrastructure.
Benefits: A viable option if fibre isn't rolled out in your area.
Issues:
Speed Limitations: Significantly slower than fibre, with ADSL typically maxing out around 24 Mbps and VDSL up to 70 Mbps.
Distance Dependent: Performance degrades the further your home is from the local telephone exchange or street cabinet.
Congestion: Can slow down during peak usage times in your area.
Reliability: More susceptible to interference and weather events compared to fibre. The copper network is being phased out in favour of fibre.
Wireless Broadband (4G/5G Fixed Wireless) 📶
How it works: Uses mobile phone networks (like 4G or 5G) to provide internet to a modem in your home. It receives a signal from the nearest cell tower.
Strengths: A good alternative for homes without access to fixed-line options like fibre or where copper performance is poor. Quick to set up.
Benefits: Portable within your service area, can be a great solution for rural or remote locations with good cell tower coverage.
Issues:
Shared Bandwidth: Speeds can fluctuate based on the number of users connected to the same cell tower, leading to slowdowns during peak hours.
Coverage Dependent: Requires good mobile network coverage at your specific location.
Latency: Generally higher latency than fixed-line connections, which can impact real-time applications.
Environmental Factors: Performance can be affected by distance from the tower, physical obstructions (hills, buildings), and even weather.
Satellite Internet (e.g., Starlink) 🛰️
How it works: Internet is beamed from orbiting satellites to a dish at your home.
Strengths: Provides internet access in very remote areas where other options are unavailable.
Benefits: Excellent for isolated locations with no other broadband infrastructure.
Issues:
Higher Latency: Data has to travel a long distance to space and back, resulting in noticeable latency.
Cost: Equipment and monthly plans can be more expensive.
Weather Dependent: Performance can be affected by severe weather conditions (heavy rain, snow).
Beyond the Access: Your Home Network & Devices
Even with a super-fast fibre connection to your house, you might not always experience those top speeds on your devices. This is where your internal setup comes into play.
Your Wi-Fi Equipment (Router)
Your router is the gateway that takes the internet connection from your wall and distributes it wirelessly (Wi-Fi) or via cables (Ethernet) to your devices.
Older Routers: An older router might not be capable of handling the speeds of your internet plan. It's like having a highway but only a narrow access road.
Wi-Fi Standards: Routers use different Wi-Fi standards (e.g., Wi-Fi 5/802.11ac, Wi-Fi 6/802.11ax). Newer standards offer faster speeds and better efficiency. If your router is older, it might be a bottleneck.
Placement: The location of your router significantly impacts Wi-Fi signal strength. Walls, floors, large appliances, and even your neighbour's Wi-Fi can interfere. Central, elevated placement is best.
Wi-Fi Bands: Most modern routers offer 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.
2.4GHz: Wider coverage, better at penetrating walls, but slower speeds and more prone to interference. Good for general browsing and smart home devices.
5GHz: Faster speeds, less interference, but shorter range and struggles with obstacles. Ideal for high-bandwidth activities like streaming and gaming when close to the router.
Mesh Wi-Fi Systems: For larger homes, a mesh system can extend reliable Wi-Fi coverage by using multiple interconnected nodes, eliminating dead spots.
Wired vs. Wireless (Ethernet) 🔗
Ethernet cables provide the most stable and fastest connection within your home network. If your device has an Ethernet port (like a desktop PC, gaming console, or smart TV), plugging it directly into the router will almost always give you better performance than Wi-Fi. This frees up Wi-Fi bandwidth for truly wireless devices.
Your Devices 📱💻
Finally, the device you're using can also limit your internet speed.
Age and Hardware: An older laptop, tablet, or smartphone might have an older Wi-Fi card or less powerful processing capabilities that simply can't keep up with a high-speed connection.
Software & Background Processes: Outdated operating systems, too many browser tabs open, background app updates, or even malware can consume bandwidth and slow down your perceived speed.
Device Wi-Fi Compatibility: Just like routers, devices have Wi-Fi chipsets that support different standards. An older phone might only support Wi-Fi 4, even if your router is Wi-Fi 6.
In summary, while New Zealand benefits from robust global cable connections and an expanding fibre network, the speed you experience at home is a combination of your internet plan, the type of connection, your home Wi-Fi setup, and the capabilities of your individual devices. Understanding these elements empowers you to troubleshoot issues and optimise your online experience! If you feel your home could be doing better, get in contact with The I.T. Bear today at www.theitbear.nz for expect advice and support.