Broadband in the UK is worse than New Zealand

It has recently been found that the broadband infrastructure is now better in New Zealand, the former British colony, than it is in its mother country, the UK.

The South Pacific country has been more advanced in technological terms than Britain since the 1980s although many in the UK believe that New Zealand is the same as it was over 20 years ago. Even though New Zealand is currently experiencing big problems with its infrastructure the broadband systems there are now beginning to overtake those in the UK.

Using computer systems connected through a dozen ISPs over 11 cities the performance of broadband connections was examined by the consultancy firm Epitiro Technology. The firm found that the broadband ‘quality index’ in Britain in the June quarter fell to 2749, which was a drop of 10 percent whilst in New Zealand it rose to 2920 in the same quarter, an increase of 22 percent.

Christchurch and Wellington had the highest levels of approval with their Cable-based ISPs and in Auckland a company called Orcon was found to be the best. Recent years have seen substantial investment in New Zealand to increase the international capacity and make improvements to the backhaul links.

In contrast to this, as competition has increased in Britain, the standards in the broadband services have dropped. In December last year the number of unbundled lines in Britain came to 3.7 million and by August this year that figure has seen serious growth raising it to 4.5 million. The distinct differences in levels of service have occurred due to the increase in competition which has strangely led to the market fragmenting.

For many, the simple fact that a country that is roughly the size of the UK but geographically more difficult to manage is providing better broadband services means that Britain needs to take a close look at both what it is doing wrong and what New Zealand is doing right.