'Contention Ratio' refers to how many users are sharing the data capacity on a provider's line. To put it even simpler, it's a count of how many customers are using the same main internet line as you. If your contention ratio is 20:1, for instance, that means twenty customers are using one line. Standard contention ratios are from 50:1 or higher
With Fibreplus we provide business grade low contention connections. Look at our business internet product for low contention and experience a quality service. Or do you need no contention (1:1) then look at our DirectNet product with 1:1 contention.
For connections via the Vector fibre network, there is no CIR as it is NZ's only Metro Ethernet Fibre rated network and is carrier grade. For connection via UFB there is a 2.5mbps CIR on the UFB network however from monitoring connections we find that no connection drops down below 60% of service bandwidth.
If you require a higher CIR the business internet plans also have an advanced SLA option which can provide as higher CIR on the UFB network.
Please be sure to state any CIR requirments when requesting a quote.
Does your internet dip out from 3pm every day? chances are you are contending with not only other businesses but also the household users.
Fibreplus connections for business use a business only network, and our education connections use an education only network.
When your contention ratio is high - meaning a lot of people are connected to the same line as you - it can potentially drag down your internet speeds.
If the line you have access to is a 100Mb, for example, you can easily get speeds of up to and over 80Mb on a good day. But if your contention ratio is 50:1, with 50 people connected to it, and you're all using it at once then you can drop down to 2Mb.
That means that if you're in an area with a high contention ratio, you'll probably get slower speeds when more people are on line.
Think of it like a road. Each customer has 1000 cars, with no contention 1000 cars can travel down a motorway and reach the speed limit 100KMph, at 20:1 at peak times that 20,000 cars trying to go down the motorway at the same time, they won't be able to go very fast and might cause a jam. Even worse at 50:1 that 50,000 cars going down the same road at the same time it's likely to be very slow or even stop/start traffic.
With other suppliers... good luck finding this information. Contention ratio doesn't seem to be information other providers tend to advertise or even know about these days. However contention is a way to reduce the running cost of internet, beware the cheap deals aren't always the best, you certainly get what you pay for with internet. If in doubt ask, if they wont/can't tell you, avoid it.
With Fibreplus, yes, we provide quality internet connections and are happy to share our contention ratios as we know the are low.
If you are downloading from NZ based websites your speed should be nice and fast. But, if you access and downloaded from overseas websites congestion can occur at busy times. Unfortunately, this congestion will affect your speed, even on UFB. You may also want to consider our DirectNet service for no contention. The UFB network has a CIR(see above) this can also be a contributing factor, Fibreplus connection utilising the Vector Communications network are not subject to this and received the full benefits of the only MEF verified network in New Zealand.
We don't believe in locking you in for an extended period, so our minimum term is one year only. We do offer longer terms contracts of 24 and 36 months this can help reduce the monthly price and install cost or enable us to release special pricing.
We can offer these services throughout New Zealand, anywhere there is fibre we can reach, and in some places where fibre is not available we can use the copper network(speed limited) or can provide a wireless service.
Contact us and we can check the options available for your address.
You can increase your bandwidth at any time to your service. The additional monthly charge for this will be added to your monhtly bill along with a one-off change fee.
If you want to get the most out of the web, you should be able to use the net without keeping one eye on your usage and worry about data caps and over use charges.
Our unlimited is really unlimited and doesn't contain data gaps. All Fibreplus packages have no data cap, subject to a fair use policy.
Fibre refers to Fibre optic technology - the way in which an internet connection is established, using light instead of electricity to carry signal. Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) is the name of the New Zealand government's plan to roll out Fibre to more than 830,000 homes and businesses. More than $1.3 billion will be invested by the government to make Fibre more affordable and accessible to New Zealanders.
On the whole we find our customers have existing hardware as such we do not by default provide hardware for the service, we recommend you use a router with a firewall for security which is capable of specifying a VLAN ID which is a requirement for the UFB network.
We can recommend hardware, or our installers can provide hardware for an additional fee.