Why am I dealing with slow internet at home?

You know what’s incredibly frustrating? That moment when you’re at home and you’re about to queue up your favourite song, or indulge in a well-earned Netflix binge -- and you’re hit with a slow internet connection.  
 

“Typical homes these days have several devices connected at any one time and we’re doing more and more online. This means we’re using more data than ever before and expect faster and more reliable broadband connections to stream or download high definition TV and video,” says Rosalie Nelson, Head of Market Insights for Chorus. 
 

At this point, you have two options:

• Throw your phone or the remote in frustration. (Just to be clear, we don’t recommend this option).
• Or troubleshoot to see what you can do to improve your connection.

First, you will want to make sure that there isn’t an outage in your area. Consider using a mobile device to visit outages.chorus.co.nz to ensure it’s not just you. 

If Chorus reports no issues, then try a speed test to see how fast your connection actually is. Your internet service provider may even offer a speed test on its website. 

According to Chorus: If you are paying for an ADSL line, your speed test results should confirm download speeds of up to 2 Mbps. ADSL2+ should get you speeds of up to 24 Mbps. VDSL could go as fast as 70 Mbps. Fibre connections, currently being rolled out nationwide, will bring speeds of 100 Mbps or more, depending on the plan you select from your broadband provider. For reference, Netflix recommends 5 Mbps for HD quality video.
 

If the network is functioning, and your speed test is delivering what you paid for, you may want to consider addressing another factor that affects performance, such as how many people are using your connection. Chorus has a great list of things that can affect your internet speed.

Ultimately, you may want to consider upgrading your plan or switching your internet provider to one who may be able to offer you better speeds and greater value. The good news is that a majority of Kiwis could get faster speeds at little or no cost, says Chorus’ Rosalie Nelson. You can see what is available for your home with Chorus’ Broadband Checker.

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