One of the most common broadband questions in NZ is: “Do I need Fibre 300 or Fibre 900?” For most households, the answer is Fibre 300 — it’s significantly faster than most people’s actual needs. This guide explains what different speeds mean in practice.
1–2 people: Fibre 300 is more than enough
3–5 people with streaming + gaming: Fibre 300 is comfortable
5+ people, heavy simultaneous use: Fibre 900 worth considering
Content creators / large file uploaders: Fibre 900 for faster upload speeds
For almost all NZ households, Fibre 300 is the right choice.
Understanding Broadband Speed
Download vs Upload Speed
Download speed is how quickly data comes to your devices — streaming video, loading web pages, downloading files. Most activities are download-heavy.
Upload speed is how quickly you send data — video calls, cloud backups, uploading files to Google Drive, live streaming. Upload matters much more for remote workers, content creators, and video callers.
NZ fibre plans:
- Fibre 300/100 = 300 Mbps download / 100 Mbps upload
- Fibre 900/500 = 900 Mbps download / 500 Mbps upload
For reference, a 4K Netflix stream uses about 25 Mbps download. Fibre 300 can support 12 simultaneous 4K streams.
Mbps vs MB/s
- Mbps (megabits per second) = broadband speed measurement used by ISPs
- MB/s (megabytes per second) = used for file download progress bars
To convert: divide Mbps by 8. So 300 Mbps = 37.5 MB/s.
A 1GB file download at 300 Mbps takes about 27 seconds. At 50 Mbps (old VDSL), it takes about 2.5 minutes.
How Much Speed Does Each Activity Use?
| Activity | Speed required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic web browsing | 1–5 Mbps | Almost any connection handles this |
| Video call (FaceTime, Google Meet) | 2–5 Mbps per call | Including upload |
| Video call 4K (Zoom HD) | 5–10 Mbps | Upload and download |
| Netflix / NEON HD (1080p) | 5 Mbps | Per stream |
| Netflix / NEON 4K | 15–25 Mbps | Per stream |
| Online gaming | 3–10 Mbps + low latency | Speed isn’t critical; latency (ping) is |
| Large file download (e.g., game on Steam) | As fast as connection allows | A 50GB game downloads in 22 min on 300 Mbps |
| Cloud backup (photos/files upload) | Upload-limited | 100 Mbps upload = 45GB/hour |
| 4K content creation upload | Upload-limited | Raw video is huge; Fibre 900 upload speed helps |
Speed Requirements by Household Type
1–2 People
Recommended: Fibre 300
- Two people streaming different content simultaneously = 50 Mbps peak
- Video calls, general browsing, gaming = well within 300 Mbps
- Fibre 300 provides comfortable headroom
3–4 People
Recommended: Fibre 300 (comfortable), Fibre 900 if budget allows
- Three 4K streams + two gaming devices + a video call = peak ~100 Mbps
- Still well within Fibre 300
- Fibre 900 is future-proofing rather than necessity
5+ People or Power Users
Recommended: Fibre 900
- 5+ simultaneous heavy users could push toward the 300 Mbps limit during peak evening hours
- Fibre 900 provides significant headroom
- Also relevant if multiple household members upload large files regularly
Content Creators / Remote Workers with Heavy Upload
Recommended: Fibre 900 for upload speed
- The main benefit at this level is upload speed (500 Mbps vs 100 Mbps)
- Uploading a 10GB video file: ~2.5 minutes at 500 Mbps upload vs ~13 minutes at 100 Mbps
- If you regularly upload large files to cloud storage, YouTube, or client servers, Fibre 900 saves meaningful time
What Slows Down Your Broadband (It’s Usually Not the Plan)
If your internet feels slow, the bottleneck is usually not your fibre connection speed — it’s:
1. WiFi
The most common bottleneck. Standard 2.4GHz WiFi maxes out at around 50–100 Mbps in practice. Even a 300 Mbps fibre connection will feel slow on an old router or at long range from the router.
Fix:
- Use 5GHz WiFi band (more bandwidth, less interference)
- Move the router to a central location
- Consider a mesh WiFi system for large homes (TP-Link Deco, Netgear Orbi)
- Use a wired Ethernet connection for devices that don’t move (desktop computers, Smart TVs, gaming consoles)
2. Router Quality
ISP-supplied routers are often basic. A better router significantly improves WiFi coverage and throughput.
3. Device/App Limitations
Older devices may have WiFi chips that can’t receive beyond 50–100 Mbps even on fast connections.
4. Server Speed (for downloads)
When downloading from a slow server, your connection speed is irrelevant — the bottleneck is the remote server. This is why Steam downloads sometimes max out even on fast connections.
Speed Tests
Test your actual connection speed (not just what’s advertised) using:
- speedtest.net (Ookla) — most widely used
- fast.com (Netflix’s speed test)
- 2degrees or Spark speed test pages — may give more accurate NZ-to-NZ results
For a fair test: connect a device directly via Ethernet to your router (bypassing WiFi), close other applications, and run 2–3 tests. The result is your true connection speed.
If your wired speed is significantly below your plan speed (e.g., 80 Mbps on a Fibre 300 plan), contact your ISP — there may be a fault in your connection or ONT configuration.