Internet Service Providers in New Zealand

19th November 2009
I have just switched from Xtra and Telecom to Orcon - in order to take advantage of the ADSL-2 service and extra digital phone services that Orcon provide in the Pukekohe area. I also rented their Homehub combined ADSL + Wireless router. My download speed has trebled to a consistent 16Mbs, while upload speeds remain around the 0.5-0.7Mbs speeds. Changing ISPs and Telephone provider was seamless, and any enquiries I did have with Orcon were handled promptly and informatively. They do have a problem with the support for the wireless hub (as this has been handed over to the NZ distributors for this product - who are useless (using a foreign call centre with 7pm-11pm NZ time access!). But the router comes with documentation and an easier interface than most. Orcon are going to be the new Telecoms/Internet provider for NZ if they can keep rolling out their new Orcon + ADSL-2 service across NZ. Their service, pricing, and feature list show just how bad Telecom have been in letting their own infrastructure lag years behind the rest of the world. I'm really impressed. No down-time at all - just a trebling of access speeds and simple email account setups.