Bill Bennett - New Zealand telecoms and technology news
WEBHome of the Download Weekly, the New Zealand telecommunications newsletter – also covers personal productivity tools and local technology issues.
What is this site about and who is Bill Bennett?
WEBBill Bennett is a freelance New Zealand technology and business journalist. He started writing about technology in 1980 as staff writer on Practical Computing magazine. He left the UK in 1987 to work in Wellington on The Dominion as Computer Page editor. He spent a decade working in Sydney, Australia. There he was managing editor of two ...
New Zealand got lucky twice with fast broadband - Bill Bennett
WEBMost New Zealanders have world class broadband. Our UFB network proved its worth again since the Covid–19 forced large numbers to work from home.
How the 2degrees-Vocus merger affected competition
WEB4 days ago · Broadband competition. Fixed broadband is more competitive. In 2022, prices for most users, but not high end users, were higher in New Zealand than in other OECD countries. Entry level plans here cost $65 a month, with the OECD average being $53. High end plans at $73 were significantly lower than the OECD average of $111.
NZ Tech Podcast: Skills shortage, fibre installs, satellites
WEBApr 25, 2023 · The latest New Zealand Tech Podcast where Paul Spain and I discuss farmer's satellite woes, Chorus' technician shortage and ChatGPT cheats.
Extending New Zealand's fibre network - Bill Bennett
WEBNov 28, 2019 · The UFB1 fibre network reaches three quarters of New Zealand. UFB2 will stretch that to around 87 per cent. We can take fibre further, but that needs taxpayer money. A lot of it. When New Zealand built its copper telephone network, government saw it as a nation-building exercise. Copper phone wires reached almost everywhere.
The year we filled in the telecommunications gaps
WEBIn the first part of this week’s technology segment on RNZ’s Nine to Noon show I talk with Kathryn Ryan about some of the big trends in tech this year, starting with plugging gaps in broadband coverage, the work done by the Rural Connectivity Group and extending the 5G network.. The most recent update from MBIE was in September. At the time the UFB network reached 85 percent of the population.
NZ broadband faces competitive reset - Bill Bennett
WEBLow Earth orbit satellites, 5G and a fibre speed bump are set to reboot New Zealand broadband competition.. It’s a decade since the first customers connected to Ultrafast broadband. At that time fibre looked the likely Kiwi broadband future.
Working from home: Networks for beginners - Bill Bennett
WEBTypically there will be one incoming port and four outgoing ports. They all use something called Ethernet, which is a 40-year-old wire network technology. Ethernet is reliable and can run at speeds from a few megabits per second up to 400 gigabits per second. Today’s home routers also offer Wi-fi.
Benoit Felten on the UFB fibre upgrade - billbennett.co.nz
WEBIn late 2021 New Zealand’s fibre wholesale companies boosted standard speeds on their networks from 100 mbps to 300 mbps. Paris-based analyst Benoit Felton puts the move into perspective: As an international analyst of all things broadband, I use few examples more frequently than New Zealand when discussing decisive and effective policy.