Unlocking Your Fibre Speed: The Big Fibre Boost & What to Do if You're Not Feeling the Speed!
Great news for many New Zealanders! Our local fibre companies – Chorus, Enable, Tuatahi First Fibre, and Northpower Fibre – have recently rolled out a significant, free speed upgrade to many existing fibre plans. This initiative, often referred to as "The Big Fibre Boost," is a fantastic step towards future-proofing our internet connections as our online lives demand more speed and capacity than ever before.
This means a faster, more robust internet experience for many households, without any extra cost to your monthly bill!
What Was Upgraded and Where?
The Big Fibre Boost primarily focused on upgrading two popular fibre plan tiers:
Fibre 50 (50/10 Mbps download/upload) plans were upgraded to Fibre 100 (100/20 Mbps).
Fibre 300 (300/100 Mbps download/upload) plans were upgraded to Fibre 500 (500/100 Mbps).
These upgrades have been implemented across the networks of Chorus, Enable, Tuatahi First Fibre, and Northpower Fibre. This covers the vast majority of New Zealand's fibre-connected homes, essentially everywhere Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) is available through these companies. If you're on one of these eligible plans, the upgrade should have happened automatically, with no action required from your side.
Noticing a Difference? Why Your Speed Might Not Feel Faster
While the fibre upgrade provides a significant boost to the raw speed delivered to your home, sometimes the experience at your device doesn't quite match the new advertised speeds. If you've been upgraded but aren't noticing a substantial increase in your internet speed, there are two primary reasons why this might be happening within your own home network:
1. Your WiFi Router is the Bottleneck
Think of your fibre connection as a super-fast motorway leading to your house. Your WiFi router is the off-ramp and the local road system within your home. If that local road system isn't designed for high speeds, or if it's congested, traffic will slow down, regardless of how fast the motorway is.
Older WiFi Devices: If you have an older WiFi router, it might not support the faster speeds now coming into your home. WiFi standards have evolved rapidly (e.g., from Wi-Fi 4/802.11n to Wi-Fi 5/802.11ac, and now Wi-Fi 6/802.11ax and Wi-Fi 7/802.11be). An older router might only be capable of delivering speeds up to 100Mbps or 300Mbps, even if your fibre plan is now 500Mbps.
WiFi Interference: Your router sends out signals on specific channels. If your neighbours' WiFi networks are on the same channels, it can cause interference, much like static on a radio, leading to slower and less stable connections. Physical obstacles like thick walls, floors, or even large appliances can also degrade your WiFi signal strength and speed.
Router Placement: The location of your router is crucial. Placing it in a central, open location (not tucked away in a cupboard or behind a TV) can significantly improve coverage and speed throughout your home.
What to do:
Restart your router: A simple reboot can often resolve minor performance issues.
Check your router's specifications: Find out what WiFi standard your router supports and its maximum theoretical speeds. If it's an older model (5+ years), consider upgrading.
Optimise router placement: Move your router to a central, elevated, and unobstructed location.
Consider a Mesh WiFi system: For larger homes or those with "dead spots," a mesh system creates a stronger, more consistent WiFi signal throughout your property.
Use Ethernet where possible: For devices that require maximum speed and stability (e.g., desktop computers, gaming consoles, smart TVs), connecting them directly to your router with an Ethernet cable will always provide the best performance. Ensure your Ethernet cables are Cat5e or Cat6 for optimal speed.
2. Your Devices Aren't Keeping Up
Even if your router is capable of pushing out high speeds, the device you're using (your laptop, smartphone, tablet, smart TV) also needs to be able to receive and process that data quickly.
Older Hardware: Just like routers, older devices might have outdated WiFi adapters or processing capabilities that limit the speeds they can achieve. A five-year-old laptop, for example, might not support the latest WiFi standards or have the internal hardware to fully utilise a 500Mbps fibre connection.
Software and Drivers: Ensure your device's operating system, web browsers, and WiFi drivers are all up to date. Outdated software can introduce inefficiencies that slow down your internet experience.
Background Processes & Malware: Other applications running in the background, active downloads, or even malware can consume bandwidth and slow down your device's perceived internet speed.
What to do:
Test on multiple devices: If only one device is slow, the issue is likely with that specific device.
Close unnecessary applications: Free up your device's resources.
Run a speed test directly connected via Ethernet: This will give you the most accurate reading of the speed actually reaching your router from the fibre network, helping you pinpoint if the issue is with your internal WiFi setup or an upstream problem.
Consider upgrading older devices: If you consistently find an older device is limiting your experience, it might be time for an upgrade.
The Big Fibre Boost is a fantastic development for New Zealand's internet infrastructure. By understanding your home network and ensuring your equipment is up to scratch, you can fully unlock the potential of your upgraded fibre connection and enjoy the blazing fast speeds you're now entitled to!