​Streaming options trigger huge Kiwi internet data usage spike

New Zealanders are using more data than ever, consuming 143 percent more data in June 2015 than in June 2013.

Statistics New Zealand claim Kiwis used more than 84,000 terabytes of data in the month of June 2015, compared with over 34,000 terabytes in June 2013 - excluding data used by mobile phone Internet connections.

Findings show that residential connections (households) up and down the country used over 90 percent of the total data.

“This is equivalent to 45 gigabytes per household. It equates to every household watching around 27 hours of on-demand TV, or streaming 11 hours of HD video, per week,” says Jason Attewell, Senior Manager of Business Performance, Statistics New Zealand.

“New Zealanders now have more options for streaming movies and TV online, and we’re making the most of them.

“The greater availability of online streaming options, including subscription and non-subscription based services, has opened the door to content that often isn’t broadcast in New Zealand.

“Having access to more content has proved to be very popular - New Zealanders like to keep up with the rest of the world.”

Attewell says some of these streaming platforms are included with an ISP connection plan, such as Neon, whereas others are on a paid subscription basis, such as Netflix and for a limited time, Spark broadband customers were given a six-month free Lightbox subscription.

“The increasing use of data shows how much Kiwis have embraced these services, which have only recently been introduced,” Attewell adds.

Attewell says the increase in data usage coincides with a large increase in the proportion of broadband connections that have no data cap.

As at June 2015, one in three broadband connections had no data cap, compared with one in 12 in 2014.

“The increasing number of unlimited broadband connections goes hand-in-hand with the increasing amount of data people are using, and enables households to use as much data as they would like,” Attewell adds.