One NZ has the fastest mobile network, while 2degrees has the lowest latency (or lag with the likes of videoconferencing and gaming), according to Ookla.
The firm, which offers an app that tests mobile and landline speeds, says One NZ’s mobile network had a median download speed of 74.20 megabits a second during the September quarter.
That put it ahead of Spark (65.72Mbps) and 2degrees (62Mbps).
Any of those speeds give you enough mobile grunt for the likes of streaming Netflix in high definition.
Mbps = megabits per second. Higher is better. The bars either side of the median represent a 95 per cent confidence level. Source / Ookla
In latency, or lag in two-way connections - where a lower number is better - 2degrees topped the survey with a median multi-server latency of 41 milliseconds (or 0.041 of a second).
One NZ had median latency of 46ms, Spark 56ms.
ms = milliseconds. Lower is better. The bars either side of the median represent a 95 per cent confidence level. Source / Ookla
Any of those latency rates are fine for the likes of Zoom.
Still, what does Spark have to say for itself as the wooden spooner - if only by a few hundredths of a second?
“We invest heavily in our network and are currently in the process of completing a full network swap out and upgrade, where we are replacing both the radio technology on our cell-sites and the technology that connects the cell-sites back to our core,” a Spark spokeswoman said.
“This update will introduce more resilience, automation and ultimately a better customer experience over time. We are also currently the only mobile network provider in New Zealand investing in a 5G core, which will bring many benefits including network performance for our customers.
“It’s also important to note that mobile broadband works by connecting customers to the nearest cell tower. Each cell tower has a certain amount of capacity available, which is shared by nearby wireless broadband users at home, and mobile customers while out and about.
“This means that the speed and latency of a connection will vary depending on things like the customer’s proximity to the nearest cell site, the number of users connected to the tower, and their combined usage of the network at the time. We regularly monitor usage on our network to ensure our customers are getting a good experience.”
One NZ spokesman Matthew Flood said the company has been working hard to ensure its “customers experience is the best it can be”.
“This recognition from Ookla reflects the significant investment we’ve made upgrading our 4G/5G network over the past 18 months and up to 30 per cent speed increase customers are now enjoying following the full network retune taking advantage of our new 5G spectrum back in July.”
A 2degrees spokesman said it too has made a big investment in modernising its wireless network, with new Ericsson equipment being rolled out at upgraded sites. “The new equipment, modern network and network design will be major contributors to the low latency score that we are seeing.”
In its early days, 2degrees customers roamed on Vodafone’s network in places. Today, “it’s worth noting that 2degrees has roughly the same number of cell sites as our competition”, the spokesman said.
Ookla light on details
Ookla’s app also tests mobile upload speed, and upload, download and latency speed for landlines, but that data wasn’t released at provider level for the third quarter.
Its September quarter Measuring Broadband New Zealand report, based on tests on more than 1000 broadband connections carried out by SamKnows, found that for Fibre 300 plans (the most popular pick for new connections), One NZ was the fastest with an average download speed of 322.9Mbps, closely followed by Spark (319.7Mbps) and 2degrees (313.4Mbps). The ComCom doesn’t test mobile broadband, but a spokeswoman said it would look at testing it in future.
Spark and One NZ have previously complained that another survey, the Commerce Commission’s quarterly Measuring Broadband New Zealand, doesn’t cover people using fixed-wireless 5G, which has much lower latency than 4G (the regulator says it needs a larger 5G sample).
Ookla did not immediately respond to a query about how many of its tests for each telco were on 3G, 4G or 5G, or 4G or 5G fixed-wireless connections, nor on the number of samples its third-quarter data is based on - though it said the number was in the “tens of thousands” - the geographic breakdown, or which Ookla servers people connected to (a person gets better numbers on an Ookla test if they connect to a server hosted by their own provider, which is not always the default). The firm, owned by Mashable publisher Ziff Davis, has refused previous Herald requests to disclose those data points.
Ookla did tell the Herald that last month it measured a median download speed of 38.27mbps for 4G and 316.89mbps for 5G - but it did not offer a breakdown of 4G vs 5G by provider, or how many of the tests were 4G or 5G for One, Spark and 2degrees.
