Telecommunication in New Zealand

Development of telephone and internet connections

With an average download speed of 133.05 Mbit/second for fixed-network broadband internet, New Zealand ranks 21st in an international comparison. The upload rate was only 89.08 Mbit/second (22nd place).
In mobile internet, i.e., on tablets and smartphones, New Zealand comes 39th with a download speed of 52.23 Mbit/second. The upload speed of around 9 Mbit was only enough for 101st place.

The Speedtest Global Index published regularly by Ookla is based on several million individual measurements in February 2023 from 180 countries.

The following diagrams show the development of the various telephone and internet connections as a percentage of the country's population. Values above 100 percent mean that, on average, every inhabitant has more than one connection.

Access to the internet in New Zealand from 1990 - 2021

Broadband internet in New Zealand 2000 - 2021

The expansion of broadband internet in New Zealand is roughly on a par with the USA. Around 96 percent of all residents have access to the internet. Around 35 percent have their own fast internet connection, which is at least faster than the former ISDN (more than 256 kbit/s). All fixed connections via DSL, cable or satellite were counted here, but not those connected to the internet via mobile communications.

The increasing prevalence of cell phones and the simultaneous decline in landline phones clearly indicate a change in New Zealand. While the number of landlines has fallen significantly in recent years, the spread of cell phones has risen to 114 cell phone subscriptions per 100 people at last count. Such a clear shift does not occur in all countries, but the trend points in the same direction internationally.

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