Chorus broadband connections edge up in third quarter on accelerating fibre migration

Monday 19th October 2015

Chorus, the telecommunications network operator, increased broadband connections 0.9 percent in the September quarter as more customers switched to higher-speed fibre products.

Total broadband connections increased to 1.22 million as at Sept. 30 from 1.21 million three months earlier, the Wellington based company said in a statement. Fibre connections jumped 23 percent to 92,000, of which 86,000 were in the government sponsored ultrafast broadband areas, indicating a 17 percent uptake of the high-speed internet service.

Chorus's fixed-line connections shrank 1 percent to 1.78 million in the quarter as the company removed dual copper-fibre lines and fibre uptake outside the firm's UFB areas grew, and as more customers ditched their landlines to take 'naked' broadband services.

The company won the lion's share of the government's programme to roll-out a fibre telecommunications network to 75 percent of the country, a target which has since been extended to 80 percent.

Chorus estimates the cost of the fibre network will cost between $1.75 billion and $1.8 billion to build, and forecast capital expenditure of between $580 million and $630 million in 2016.

The shares last traded at $2.75, and have increased 3.4 percent this year.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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