What is fibre?

Fibre provides a fast, reliable, consistent experience – even at the busiest time of the day. It delivers speeds in excess of 25 Megabits per second (Mbps), using optical fibre technology rather than the slower copper technology (ADSL or VDSL).

Fibre allows multiple people in a household or business to be online at the same time. You will experience faster download and upload speeds, more reliable connectivity, speeds will be consistent and you won’t have to deal with buffering.

How do I get connected?

Getting fibre in your present home or building

Most home wiring installed since the 1970s should be sufficient to deliver UFB. You will have a new External Termination Point (ETP) fitted on the outside of your house, through which the fibre connects to an Optical Network Termination (ONT) point inside. Your RSP can provide more specific advice applicable to your circumstances.

The UFB Network

There are three stages to receiving services over fibre: the Local Fibre Company (LFC) or Chorus will build distribution fibre down your street, then they will put in a connection ( the service line or “drop” from the street) to your home, school or business; and finally inside your building you’ll have your computer and other devices connected to an Optical Network Termination point (ONT).

1.) Constructing the network in your neighbourhood

The UFB initiative is building what is known as the “last mile”, that is the fibre connection from the exchange, or the cabinet, to your door.

You will be advised several weeks in advance of when work is starting in your street. Your local fibre company will let you know when work will get underway, they’ll tell you when or if you should make alternative parking arrangements and will ensure the work site is safe.

If you already have connection above ground, then your fibre connection will also be above ground. If your connections is currently underground, then your fibre will be connected underground as well.

2.) The fibre service line or “drop” from your property boundary to your building

Once the network is in place in your street, you will contact your preferred Retail Service Provider and request a connection.

The line will either be strung from a pole or run underground from a fibre access point on the boundary.
Whichever way the “drop” is delivered to your building, it will extend to what’s called an External Termination Point (ETP). Just like the current copper service, the ETP is a small box fixed to the outside wall. LFCs/Chorus do not charge your service provider for a standard installation, but an up-front charge may apply if your drop is longer than the standard length. You are best to confirm if there’s a cost when you buy a service.

3.) Inside your home, school or workplace

You can get set up for fibre when you get the service line. The installer will put a small box called an optical network termination (ONT) point inside the building and connect it to the external termination point. Generally, the ONT is located in a central place in the building, near the other devices you’ll want to run over fibre. It needs a power source and you may request a battery backup in the event of an emergency.

Your retail service provider (RSP) may invite you to purchase a residential gateway. This connects to the ONT as well as your TV, your phone and your computer or laptop. It can be linked to devices over a fixed connection, or wirelessly, and it will replace your old broadband modem or DSL router. If you’ve got an alarm, that will be connected to your fibre service line directly via the ONT.

Indicative only. Individual circumstances may vary.

Getting fibre in your apartment, office-block or down a shared driveway.

People with shared driveways, who live or rent apartments or are the owners or tenants of offices in multi-storey buildings will need to go through the Land Access Reform process for consents when they do request fibre following completion of the build in their area.

The LFC will need to notify your neighbours of this planned work and in some instances, they may need them to give consent before getting the work started.

When the LFC receives a request for fibre, they will scope the work and decide which of a number of ways is the best fit for that particular connection.

Information on these options is available on each of our partners’ websites:

www.Chorus.co.nz
www.Enable.net.nz
www.Northpower.com
www.tuatahifibre.co.nz

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