Championing better broadband for New Zealand 2018 / ISSUE 6

Orcon sold for millions. Now serial entrepreneur, Seeby Woodhouse, returns with Voyager

Brought to you by SMART CITIES KATE MCKENZIE FIBRE AND WIRELESS How technology can transform Chorus CEO on Our future networks our population centres challenge and innovation work together Contents 2018 / ISSUE 6

22 10 Closing Taranaki digital divide SMART CITIES PrimoWireless is pushing fibre deep into hard-to-reach Putting intelligence into our rural areas population centres needs more than just technology 27 Networking in the cloud 14 Software Defined Networks Sensing Water promise much, but can they Tussock Innovation uses IoT to really deliver? keep water clean 28 16 Amazon threat inspires retailers Local stores respond to global online competition

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THE BEST WAY TO NETWORK YOUR HOME Moving data around your house doesn't have to be hard 16 Kate McKenzie The Chorus CEO doesn't plan to run a boring utility 19 Broadband Compare Mining for ISP gold COVER STORY: 20 SEEBY WOODHOUSE Where fibre meets wireless VIEWPOINT The Voyager CEO says the move to Often seen as rivals, fibre and 8 fibre is an opportunity he can't resist wireless work best together 33 Why don't you have REGULARS fibre yet? InternetNZ deputy CEO 1 2 Andrew Cushen thinks uptake Editorial In Brief could be higher Fibre and wireless Falling broadband prices, Stuff Pix, 33 school Wi-Fi trial

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7 HOW STREAMING TV WORKS The key lies in red server boxes The Download | Editorial 1

Editor Bill Bennett Chorus Editorial Consultants Ian Bonnar, Steve Pettigrew, Holly Cushen Fibre and Contributors Rob O’Neill, Scott Bartley, Heather Wright, Hadyn Green, Johanna Egar, Andrew Cushen Senior Account Director wireless, LauraGrace McFarland Senior Designer Julian Pettitt Publisher not fibreor Ben Fahy On the cover Photography by Robin Hodgkinson, art direction by LauraGrace McFarland, design by Julian Pettitt wireless

Some telecommunications folk like to paint fibre and wireless as rivals. They tell us Published by Tangible Media, ICG. PO Box 77027, Mt Albert we have an either/or choice. In most cases Auckland 1350, New Zealand www.tangiblemedia.co.nz they’ll then go on to say why one of the two is preferable and that it is the future.

The Download is championed by WHILE THERE ARE times when the two go head And yet Primo uses fibre to fuel its wireless connections. Chorus to head, that’s rare compared with the times when Fibre means PrimoWireless can reach further and PO Box 632, Wellington 6140 fibre and wireless go hand in hand. The two are deliver better performance to its rural customers. www.chorus.co.nz complementary technologies, not opponents. It’s also worth remembering that when Telecom, now

The contents of The Download This is a theme that runs through many of the Spark, first built the cellular network it now uses to deliver are protected by copyright. Please stories in this edition of The Download. We look at the fixed-wireless broadband, the company’s marketeers feel free to use the information issue in some depth in Fibre and wireless, on page 20. were at pains to point out that it performed better than in this issue of The Download, You rarely see fibre without its rival because its towers with attribution to The Download wireless. And wireless works were “fibre-fed”. Fibre gave by Chorus New Zealand Limited. Opinions expressed in The so much better when fibre is the company a key advantage Download are not necessarily part of the picture. It almost Because fibre will also then. It still does. those of the publisher or the editor. always is too. By the time New Zealand’s Information contained in The When New Zealand’s reach many of the current wave of land-based Download is correct at the time of printing and while all due care UFB fibre network reaches towers used for wireless networks are complete, and diligence has been taken in the a neighbourhood, strands broadband technologies, fibre will extend to about 87 preparation of this magazine, the of glass carry data from the percent of homes. It will reach publisher is not responsible for any exchange to the cabinet its benefits will stretch an even greater proportion mistakes, omissions, typographical and from the cabinet to the of businesses, schools and errors or changes to product and to almost everyone. service descriptions over time. buildings. Once the data is medical centres. Because fibre inside the house or office, will also reach many of the nine times out of 10 the job of moving it is then handed towers used for wireless broadband technologies, its over to Wi-Fi. benefits will stretch to almost everyone. Scott Bartley covers this in The best ways to network your Likewise, fibre will have an important role to play in Connect with us home, on page 30. Even when homes and offices have a year or so when the mobile companies start building Facebook.com/ChorusNZ Ethernet connections to smart televisions or desktop 5G cellular networks. If 5G is to deliver on its promise, Twitter/ChorusNZ Chorus NZ Limited on LinkedIn PCs, Wi-Fi is used to connect tablets and phones. fibre will be essential. At first sight, the name of Matthew Harrison’s The future is not fibre or wireless, it is fibre and wireless. Taranaki-based PrimoWireless — see page 22 — firmly www.thedownload.co.nz nails the company’s colours to one technology mast. Bill Bennett

2018 / Issue 6 2

In brief

BY THE Netflix surges Researcher Nielsen says 1.2 million New NUMBERS Zealanders now have Netflix access. The research company's Connected Consumer Report for 2018 says around 434,000 households now subscribe to the video-on-demand service. On this showing, Netflix's New Zealand reach has almost 174GB doubled since December 2015, when researcher Average household Roy Morgan reported 684,000 New Zealanders data internet usage had the service. Netflix's biggest New Zealand competitor is Spark's Lightbox, which, according to its AVERAGE BROADBAND SPEED IN NZ annual report, currently reaches 810,000 New Zealanders, via 300,000 subscriptions. Spark 64Mbps says around 44 percent of the population now use streaming video. In comparison, Sky TV has Broadband prices around 700,000 subscribers. Peak traffic on the network Netflix continues to grow fast internationally. tumbled in 2017 on 1 February 2018 It added eight million new subscribers in the last three months of 2017. That's a record and Research company IDC says the average price comes after a price increase. Netflix now has of a residential 100/20 Mbps fibre plan with 1.45Tbps close to 120 million subscribers worldwide uncapped data fell from $119.07 to $87.78 during – that's about the same number as the US 2017. That's a 26 percent drop. Prices across the television viewing audience. telecommunications industry as a whole fell by 6.3 percent. This continues a long-term trend. Telecommunications Forum CEO Geoff 20,000 GIGABIT CONNECTIONS IN NZ Thorn puts the drop in context, pointing out that the cost of comparable utilities has been increasing over time. “The latest figures continue a trend seen across the board in Uptake of Chorus UFB fibre New Zealand since 2006. The real cost of telecommunications services is decreasing, even 42% as the quality and quantity of services provided is increasing,” he says. Jason Attewell, Statistics New Zealand's senior manager, Labour Market and Household Statistics, says the price consumers pay for 300,000 CUSTOMERS WHO COULD BE technology effectively falls over time. “In the ON BETTER CONNECTIONS Consumer Price Index, we adjust prices to reflect improved products or services, even if the sticker prices stay the same,” he says.

"The New Zealand IoT Alliance's research says that IoT could bring NZ$2.2 billion of benefit to the economy over the next ten years." IDC New Zealand research manager for telecommunications Monica Collier after reporting the number of local organisations implementing IoT doubled between 2016 and 2017.

thedownload.co.nz The Download | In brief 3

Communications services flat as NZ spending on IT KORDIA REVAMPS WITH rises to $12 billion NEW TV BROADCAST- Research company Gartner says it expects the New Zealand technology AS-A-SERVICE OFFERING products and services sector to climb 2.2 percent in 2018. It will rise from Kordia is making it easier for local content producers to NZ$11.7 billion to a shade under $12 billion. This is close to the 2.5 percent distribute their content with the aid of its Cloud for Digital growth expected in Australia. Both countries are well behind Gartner's Playout service. A one-stop shop, it treats the transmission part worldwide growth forecast of 4.5 percent of broadcasting as a service that is paid for monthly. Spending on software is set to see the biggest increase during the year. The company’s head of media, Dean Brain, says there is Gartner says spending on communications services is likely to repeat the already a lot of interest. Several shopping channels and ethnic recent pattern and post a modest increase of around one percent. In 2017, television companies – Chinese and Indian, but also some the market was worth $4.37 billion, in 2018 this will rise to $4.41 billion. smaller ethnic communities – are interested. “To play their content, our TV customers have to first load Gartner forecasts $4.42 billion in 2019. it on to a server, then create a play list, then play it. Some of The research company includes consumer and enterprise, fixed and them can’t afford the equipment needed, so we’ve developed mobile, voice and data services in its communications services forecast. a customer-agnostic service that distributes to web platforms like YouTube or to their own branded platform, like Rhema TV’s; New Zealand 2017 2018 2019 the Christian broadcaster.” Devices 1,648 1,657 1,635 Brain said the new service was aimed at New Zealand- Data Centre Systems 364 353 345 focused television content providers. The service is an initiative of Kordia’s revamped media division. Brain is its newly Software 1,487 1,630 1,788 appointed head. IT Services 3,836 3,907 3,976

Communications Services 4,378 4,413 4,425

Total Sum of End-User Spending 11,703 11,959 12,169

Source: Gartner (January 2018)

Dr Stephen Gale ComCom educates broadband beginners The Commerce Commission has released two more guides as part of its consumer education project. All the consumer education guides are aimed at beginners. The latest additions show users how to choose a telecommunications service provider and how to monitor its performance. “When consumers experience problems, we want to help them identify the potential causes, as well as giving them practical advice about what they can do to try and improve their broadband before they take it up with their internet service provider,” says Telecommunications Commissioner Dr Stephen Gale.

2018 / Issue 6 4 The Download | In brief

New Zealanders less likely to complain about telecoms The New Zealand Telecommunications Forum says the number of consumer complaints about the industry is lower than in other countries. According to the annual Telecommunications Dispute Resolution report, the number of complaints in the year to July 2017 was steady, following a rise in complaints the previous year. The TCF says the number is “substantially lower than the number of contacts [complaint enquires] received as a percentage of connections by dispute resolution bodies in other comparable sectors and telecommunications disputes services in other jurisdictions, such as Australia and the UK.” During the year, the dispute service received 2,252 complaint enquiries from consumers. Only six percent became formal complaints. The TCF says that in most cases service providers were able to resolve the issues raised quickly.

Telco LEVY ALLOCATION 2degrees offers QLP Qualified revenue % of Amount of TDL to ($) industry pay ($) Wi-Fi calling Development qualified Levy finalised revenue to fill mobile Spark 1,502,143,973 35.43 17,668,014.48 coverage gaps The Commerce Commission has Vodafone 1,119,526,777 26.34 13,167,722.70 released its final decision on the 2degrees has introduced a service Chorus 960,502,000 22.59 11,297,294.77 $50 million Telecommunications that allows customers in areas with Development Levy for 2016/17. 2degrees 356,180,198 8.38 4,189,343.37 poor cellular coverage to make calls The levy is, in effect, an extra tax on Vocus 134,057,695 3.15 1,576,768.50 or send texts using a Wi-Fi hotspot. telecommunications companies. Ultrafast Fibre 38,659,000 0.91 454,701.94 The Wi-Fi calling service only In round numbers, it adds about works with some handsets. At the Teamtalk 34,401,000 0.81 404,619.91 one percent to the end-user cost of moment that's just recent Samsung Enable Networks 25,674,000 0.60 301,974.12 telecommunications services. models. 2degrees says it will add The money raised is used to pay Vector 21,721,000 0.51 255,479.47 other phones to the service in the for rural broadband, fixing mobile Kordia 16,476,000 0.39 193,788.49 coming months. When in use Wi-Fi blackspots, the 111 emergency calling appears like an ordinary calling service and services to help Trustpower 13,901,000 0.33 163,501.68 phone service. deaf people use phones. REANNZ 9,327,000 0.22 109,702.91 Wi-Fi calling also works if As in previous years, New Zealand's Now 5,659,908 0.13 66,571.07 largest telco, Spark, will pay the lion's customers are overseas. It means share of the levy for the year: almost Northpower 5,443,000 0.13 64,019.83 people can receive incoming calls and $18 million. The five biggest telco Compass 4,935,000 0.12 58,044.80 texts on their usual phone number. companies, Spark, Vodafone, Chorus, Transpower 2,419,000 0.06 28,451.95 2degrees' chief marketing officer 2degrees and Vocus, will pay around Roy Ong says: “If you’ve got Wi-Fi, Total Industry 4,251,026,551 100 50,000,000.00 $48 million of the $50 million total. you’ve got 2degrees cell coverage.”

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Stuff Fibre in TESTING UNDERWAY FOR HAEATA media play COMMUNITY CAMPUS TRIAL Network for Learning and Andy Kai Fong, Principal of Stuff Fibre now offers Stuff Pix, a movie- Greater Christchurch Schools Haeata Community Campus, streaming service. The ISP says it has a Network have been working described the initiative as a catalogue of movies that can be watched with Chorus on a school Wi- game-changer in that it allows online for between $1 and $7 each. Fi trial at Haeata Community “seamless education between Paddy Buckley, previously head of Campus in Christchurch. The school and home.” Quickflix in New Zealand, is Stuff Pix’s project is now well underway. “A good proportion of families general manager. The trial aims to extend the here who make weekly decisions Stuff Fibre is a joint venture part-owned school’s managed internet about which bills they can afford by Fairfax New Zealand that boasts a service into the homes of to pay; whether they pay rent, sizeable number of media properties. students in some of the most food or power. When battling With rival service providers also offering deprived areas of the city. this reality, the internet is a luxury online media, the movie business gives The free service offers you don’t afford,” he says. students the benefit of internet “Yet, the notion of learning Andy Kai Fong Stuff Fibre an opportunity to differentiate access outside of normal these days without the internet itself from the pack. school hours. is almost unthinkable.” telephone poles in the street, Stuff Pix is a relatively modest entry into Chorus and Network for Joseph Wong, Chorus’s and even trialling supplying the streaming market, which is dominated Learning have been working network strategy and planning power to the access points by Netflix. The company offers a list of on the pilot to help bridge this manager, is positive about over unused copper pairs.” 700 movies; they are not exclusive. digital divide since November. the programme’s progress. Once it goes live, the Haeata Buckley says the operation is a A prototype extended Wi-Fi “Considering what we are trying Community Campus Wi-Fi replacement for closed video stores and network is now in place in two to do is totally different and new, network will let students log is not a Netflix competitor. Stuff Pix of the streets within the school’s we’re tracking well,” he says. in to their own account from will be open to all internet users and its catchment area and testing is “We’re making use of our home. They will have full access main attraction will be price. There is no underway in six homes. existing copper, fibre and to online educational resources. subscription fee. Instead, customers pay a one-off fee to view each movie. He says the prices will be the lowest on the market. While it is technically possible to buy movies for less by parallel importing, customers need to set up a VPN (virtual private network) to do this. New Zealand's two largest ISPs, Vodafone and Spark, have their own media offerings. Vodafone resells Sky TV content through its Vodafone TV service, while Spark has its Lightbox streaming service.

ON THE BALL Kordia’s on the ball when it comes to in such remote locations is both a joy and a broadcasting the popular Super Rugby games challenge. “It’s like taking Meccano apart and from the Pacific. It now delivers HD-quality then putting it back together again.” video of Fijian and Samoan games to fans However, Pacific rugby is getting global attention, around the world. and Kordia is earning an international reputation Dean Brain, Kordia’s head of media, says for its expertise in broadcasting the games to the Paddy Buckley flying in and setting up broadcasting equipment world. HD’s reliability helps a lot, says Brain.

2018 / Issue 6 6 The Download | In brief

Chorus network FCC ENDS US NET NEUTRALITY hits 1.45 terabits In December, the US Federal Communications certain types of content often doesn't apply. Commission voted to undo the net neutrality The US net neutrality debate is often per second regulations established by the Obama framed as a fight over free speech. It pits giant Chorus’ broadband network hit its 2017 peak at administration. telecommunications companies like AT&T 9.25pm on December 10. At the time it’s network This means US internet service providers are and Verizon against wealthy internet giants was delivering 1.328 Tbps per second. Less than free to charge users more to access certain types like Facebook, Google and Amazon. four weeks later it hit a new high. On January of content. The ISPs will be able to decide which The internet companies fear the end of net 4, at the same hour, the network was spitting content their customers can access. neutrality will give telcos too much power and out 1.33 Tbps per second. Within a month that They will also be able to slow the delivery of an added ability to clip the ticket. At the time record was passed. On February 1 1.449Tbps certain types of content. of writing, they are working to reverse the passed through the network. New Zealand’s In the US, many consumers have little or December vote. A political backlash, especially most voracious data consumers are in Porirua. no choice of ISP. The competitive pressure among younger voters, means Congress may In December, the average Porirua household that acts as a brake on discriminating against revisit the issue later this year. chewed through 202GB, that’s 34 percent up on a year earlier. Nationwide average data consumption on the Chorus network climbed a similar amount. It is now 174GB a month. That’s up from 123GB a year ago. Users with fibre accounts use more data than those with a copper connection. While the average monthly data use across the entire Chorus network is 174GB, customers with fibre use around 250GB. In September a Chorus forecast said this will climb to an average of around 680GB a month by 2020. In part the rise will come as more accounts move from copper to fibre. The growth is largely about television moving from broadcast distribution to online, on-demand delivery. Chorus network strategy manager Kurt Rodgers says it is not just the big international providers like Netflix driving this change. He says TVNZ and Three launched live streaming in 2017 and that has helped online television become mainstream. Rodgers says people are watching on smart TVs, but they also watch on phones and tablets connected to home Wi-Fi networks. He says phone handsets are used more often with Wi-Fi than cellular data.

Kordia in tune with music for up to 10 years. He sees digital radio coming to replace AM services because of the latter’s relatively lovers’ digital radio poor sound quality. “DAB is a beautiful clean sound, Digital radio, beloved of music buffs and quality radio just amazing,” says Brain. fans, could be coming to New Zealand with a little The fact that many new cars now come equipped help from Kordia. with DAB is music to his ears. These cars are now The broadcast-transmission provider turned common in the UK and are becoming popular in telco has just revamped its media division and is Australia, he says. They often now come equipped with getting behind Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB). a digital screen, so broadcasters can, for example, let Industry veteran and DAB enthusiast Dean Brain, drivers know if there has been an accident. Brain sees the division’s new head of media, says Kordia is “in such developments adding to the push for digital radio discussions with the new government”. to be allocated its own frequency. He has his sights on Brain is “positive” despite the fact DAB trials – with the AM band as he believes digital radio will eventually Dean Brain Radio New Zealand and others – have been running replace AM because it sounds so much better.

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TGA CABLE AND HAWAIKI ADD RESILIENCE TO INTERNATIONAL LINKS Last year scores of international flights were cancelled when the fuel pipe supplying Auckland airport with aviation gas was ruptured. In the same way, New Zealand’s international telecommunications links were, until recently, vulnerable to a shut-down should anything happen to our sole submarine cable network: the Southern Cross. It links us to Australia, Fiji, Hawaii and the US mainland. That changed last February when the Tasman Global Access cable went live. The 30Tbps cable, which runs between Auckland and Sydney, provides us with greater capacity and connectivity. It also gives us a back-up cable. And the Spark, Vodafone and Telstra- owned cable makes Kiwi creative hits like the Thunderbirds series more possible too. Wellington’s Pukeko Pictures, an offshoot of Weta Workshop, which created the movies, works with production shops all over the globe. Vodafone says better cable capacity means it can share big files much more easily with its overseas partners. New Zealand will soon boast a third submarine cable: the $500 million Hawaiki Cable. This is set to go live mid-year and has a total capacity of 42Tbps. It will link New Zealand, Australia and the US. It is unusual in being a split cable – one cable goes from Northland’s Mangawhai Heads and another from Sydney. They join up underwater to form a single cable that lands in Oregon. There is also a side link to American Samoa. A fourth cable, Southern Cross’ 60Tbps Next 40 percent from Australia, now its 75 percent cable, is due to go live late next year. It will also from Australia, 25 percent from the US. This connect New Zealand, Australia and the US, is mainly the result of Netflix, Amazon and with branches to several Pacific islands. Google’s YouTube now running their content CEO Anthony Briscoe underscored the from Australian data centres.” importance of submarine cable, saying people Entertainment is driving usage, which is may think their Facebook and Snapchat content is doubling every 18 months, he says. But the cable delivered by satellite, but “most of it is delivered by is good for business too, with Pukeko Pictures’ undersea cables no thicker than a garden hose.” Thunderbirds series being a good example. “Submarine cable is among the most critical Commenting on the four cables, Rieger says: infrastructure projects on the planet.” “Submarine cable is a critical path. We need as Vodafone’s wholesale director Steve Rieger much diversity as we can afford, and by having ‘Thunderbirds Are Go’ – again. Better has worked on the TGA cable project and Southern Cross, TGA and Hawaiki, and soon submarine cable capacity with the advent of the says cable traffic is changing fast. “60 percent Next, we now have this critical infrastructure TGA Cable makes it possible for New Zealand to produce movie hits like Thunderbirds of our traffic used to come from the US, much better protected.”

2018 / Issue 6 8 Cover story | Voyager SEEBY WOODHOUSE AND THE ART OF THE ISP ROLL-UP The CEO of Voyager is taking the company on a second journey as it consolidates and takes advantage of industry changes. Rob O’Neill reports on how Voyager is winning customers as they upgrade to fibre

THIS YEAR IS going to be a very big one for ISP If the name Voyager rings a bell, then you’ve most consumers in New Zealand will ever see,” Voyager, says founder and CEO Seeby Woodhouse. probably got grey hair and quite a good memory. Woodhouse says. “But if you're having to pull Voyager, which has transformed from a Woodhouse went to work for a company of the out your modem and put in fibre then obviously business-focused ISP into a much broader same name in the early 1990s, to learn how an you’ll look around. company through a series of acquisitions, is ISP worked and then launch one of his own. “So, part of the reason I started Voyager was poised to finally unite all its parts, first through That early Voyager was bought first by to try and get a percentage of the customers in its billing systems and then through branding. Australia’s OzEmail, then by US giant MCI this final change-over from DSL to fibre.” Then Woodhouse and his team will focus on WorldCom subsidiary UUNet. However, when He also set about building a hosting business, growth. They aim to triple the size of the business MCI found itself filing for bankruptcy, in 2002, investing in virtual private server technology from from just under $30 million in turnover now. it closed the New Zealand business abruptly, VMware, and in domain hosting and cloud services. It’s all about the roll-up, he says. advising its customers to go to Xtra. “Voyager started as a business-focused Woodhouse made his first fortune from Woodhouse later bought the Voyager domain hosting company and then expanded into selling Orcon, the ISP he founded back in 1994, and phone numbers, when their registration access; business access and then, eventually, to state-owned broadcasting communications expired, and put them in storage, along with a residential access,” he explains. specialist Kordia. He sold it for $24.3 million, in few hundred other domains he’d accumulated, Two of the company’s most recent 2007. His share of the sale was 80 percent. only bringing them out when his Orcon non- acquisitions could be transformative. The That sale still seems to be on his mind though, compete agreement ended and he was ready for buy-out of New Zealand’s first ISP, Actrix, has both as a benchmark and a regret. his next venture. given Voyager scale – one percent residential “I think in some ways I sold Orcon too soon,” Rolling up unprofitable ISPs works because market share, in fact. While the acquisition of he says. “I sold it once I got to $24 million the customer base is all that’s needed – the costs, cloud PBX developer Conversant has delivered turnover and I was kind of disappointed because mainly of premises and staff, can be cut away. intellectual property. it got to $150 million in the years afterwards. “We don't need 10 CFOs and, you know, 10 “We don't have any licensing fees, unlike “I felt that I sort of missed out on a bit of a different branch offices and 10 different billing an Avaya phone system or something, so we hockey stick. So, as a personal goal, I want to get systems,” Woodhouse says. can actually provide a very nice, full-featured to $100 million in sales. I'm just excited about All of a sudden, a customer base that was corporate phone system at a low cost and, that journey.” making little if any money, and was worth very therefore, make enough money to provide a Orcon was the product of up to 40 little, becomes valuable. good service at a good price.” acquisitions of small, unprofitable dial-up ISPs. Both Orcon and Voyager were launched That’s one major goal for the year: to “I grew the company over its last five years to take advantage of major one-off industry move into cloud PBX and telephony, and from 3000 or 4000 connections to 60,000 changes. Orcon took advantage of the arrival of help businesses migrate away from legacy when I sold it,” he says. “With Voyager, I've the internet as a consumer service; Voyager has phone systems into applications such as next done a similar thing, where I rolled up 10 or 15 taken advantage of the consumer shift to fibre generation video-conferencing. little companies, put them all together and have, and the business shift to the cloud. Voyager also has a baked-in path to market hopefully, created something that's a lot bigger “The change from DSL [Digital Subscriber for this and other services through its domain

than the sum of its parts.” Line] to fibre is the last technology change that hosting brands, which already serve 30,000 HODGKINSON ROBIN BY PHOTOGRAPH

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– or one in five small and medium-sized New Zealand businesses, Woodhouse says. “We're actually a lot bigger in that space, and we're quite unusual in that we do everything from the domain name to email, to the website to content management, to broadband to phone services to the PBX. So, we've got a lot of products.” Retiring Voyager’s multiple legacy brands is another goal for 2018, but first the billing system needs to be sorted. “We’ve finally got a billing system that can handle everything we're doing and we're moving everyone on to it,” he says. “It's been a plan that's three or four years overdue and a lot harder than we thought, but there will be a lot of synergy once that's actually done.”

"We don't have any licensing fees, unlike an Avaya phone system, so we can actually provide a very nice, full-featured corporate phone system at a low cost"

Seeby Woodhouse VOYAGER FOUNDER AND CEO

Once the integration is complete, Woodhouse thinks his team can raise the company’s profile dramatically and double the size of the business quickly. That’s not to say its growth has been tardy: over one two-year period Voyager grew from around half a million in billings to $14 million. Last year, Woodhouse says, the company grew by another 50 percent. Woodhouse’s personal approach to business has changed dramatically. He teleconferences and only comes into the office personally about once a month. From being a self-described workaholic, he now spends much of his time at his house in Los Angeles or travelling and taking photographs. He has visited 30 countries in the last two years. “I think I have a fantastic team at Voyager [and] a really good general manager who is amazing,” he says. “I probably only did about 10 or 20 days’ work all last year.” Meanwhile, the Orcon sale is still there in the back of his mind. “Voyager is now bigger than Orcon was when I sold it,” he says. “So that's a real

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBIN HODGKINSON ROBIN BY PHOTOGRAPH milestone for me.”

2018 / Issue 6 Smart evolution The smart city might be a hot idea but it’s a nebulous one. That’s because it’s still evolving, writes Bill Bennett. It’s also as

much about citizen needs as technology and network smarts HODGKINSON ROBIN BY PHOTOGRAPHY Culture | Smart cities 11

very city has a nervous system of some at bus stops and railway stations. Likewise, Applications can be much more sophisticated description. In smart cities that nervous billboard-sized road signs or phone apps can tell than this, however. In Singapore, a phone app lets E system is digital. It can be put to use drivers which car parks still have free spaces. citizens book seats on one of the city’s privately making services work better, managing key Smart city applications can be as simple as run bus services. The buses serve remote parts of assets and making people safer, and improving knowing when to turn street lights on. They can the city not reached by public transport. their quality of life. also alert engineering crews about trouble spots, The software collects ride requests, then Building a smart city is not a single project, it issue public health warnings, or re-route traffic dispatches a bus to pick up the passengers and is developed over time through a series of small flows. In some cases, they can predict what will take them to their destinations. Software not or incremental changes. Some of the changes happen in advance and act to lessen the blow only automatically guides the bus around traffic are invisible to the public. Yet, they all add up from a potential problem. So, when essential choke points, but also determines the optimal quickly. The whole is greater than the sum of city infrastructure equipment breaks down or, route, depending on where passengers want its parts, especially as the components start to say, a weather forecast suggests a road should to go. Later, the stored data from these bus interact with each other. be closed, systems can automatically kick into requests is analysed to predict demand patterns The key is data. In a smart city you are never action without human intervention. and learn where new regular transport services more than a metre or so away from moving may be needed. data. It travels at the speed of light through fibre In 2016, the US State of Ohio took a different networks under people’s feet, or over wireless smart city approach to transport by installing connections. Most of the time, it uses the same technology along a 35-mile (56kms) stretch of digital nervous system that powers industry, highway. The state worked with Honda to build enables telecommunications networks and what it calls ‘The Smart Mobility Corridor’. delivers online entertainment. The road is equipped with both fibre cable and Data generated by a smart city is at its most embedded wireless sensors. These feed back real- powerful when it can report immediately time data so that road monitoring staff working on vital infrastructure, then be used to draw in a central office have frequent reports on traffic conclusions and feed back what it has learnt into conditions, weather updates, news of accidents control systems. This can all take place with or and information on the road’s surface conditions. without human intervention. Whether people As well as making the road smart, the Ohio are in the loop or not, you still have the makings team fitted government vehicles with hardware, of a smart city. so they can send and receive data while on the Soon, smart city data will do even more. "The smart city has move. The trial has proved successful and the The fibre networks will reach further and will shifted from an off- US government is now planning to test similar be complemented by wireless technologies. technology on an interstate highway linking Systems will become more intelligent and cities the-shelf bundle of Chicago, Detroit and New York. will become smarter as a result. As you read technological solutions Although the term smart city has been around this, administrators and private industry around for a decade or so, it’s precise meaning is not the world are investing in the information to a more integrated always entirely clear. There are no completely and communications systems that control the approach to governing smart cities, and these days only a few could be functioning of everything from a city’s water cities… however what described as dumb. supply to traffic signals, to crowd control. In part, the idea of a smart city means using Sensors can collect and transmit vast amounts makes the city ‘smart’ is sensors and other digital technologies to collect of data on everything from pollution levels to using these technologies data and make better decisions, but technological traffic flows at key choke points; or anything else descriptions only scratch the surface. that can be usefully measured and acted upon. in a user-friendly and Huawei's chief technology officer of industry All this collected information fills vast democratic way" solutions, enterprise business group, Joe So, is databases; these are often stored in the cloud. In the company’s smart cities’ champion. He says some cases, they are open databases, allowing Dr Jenny McArthur while there are a lot of smart city components, citizens to access or even contribute information RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, for now there is no single platform. He says about the state of their city. Citizens, non- UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON this means the idea remains a concept or a goal council organisations and private enterprises can more than a clear-cut product. use open data for their own decision-making. At the simple end of the scale, Palmerston New Zealander Dr Jenny McArthur is a Software can then use the data to manage issues, North Council ran a project using mobile apps research associate at the Department of often in real time. This doesn’t all have to be run and real-time data visualisation to track fly Science, Technology, Engineering and Public by councils or government bodies. tippers. The technology allowed residents to Policy, University College London. Her work Public transport phone apps and websites report incidents, and work crews were then focuses on urban policy and the governance of telling you when the next bus or train will arrive dispatched to clear the rubbish. The council infrastructure systems. are obvious familiar examples of how smart city could draw maps to locate the hot spots, and, in She says: “The smart city has shifted from an data can be used. The same information can be a number of cases, collected the data needed to off-the-shelf bundle of technological solutions

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN HODGKINSON ROBIN BY PHOTOGRAPHY relayed to people through electronic displays prosecute fly-tippers. to a more integrated approach to governing

2018 / Issue 6 12 Culture | Smart cities

cities. Innovative technology is still central, Ultrafast Broadband project gives Christchurch however what makes the city ‘smart’ is using and other cities here the underlying technology these technologies in a user-friendly and needed to make its cities smarter, says So. democratic way.” Huawei also announced its Safe City McArthur goes further, saying that a city Integrated Communication Platform at the doesn’t necessarily have to be high-tech to conference, which, depending on your point of be smart. “The smart city integrates a new view, could be seen as a means to help police approach to governance, using real-time data crack down on crime. It could easily be used to collection to learn and improve the way we supress dissent too. And that’s the downside manage urban systems,” she says. of smart cities: in the wrong hands, the idea This can and often does work in a democratic can have a dystopian vibe. In places like New way, giving citizens the means to communicate Zealand this is less of an issue. directly with decision-makers and participate in McArthur says: “When we talk about a smart debate over possible choices. However, democracy city, it means that the infrastructure systems is not a given. Many of the most visible and talked- are information-rich and interconnected – using about smart city projects are in countries where new technologies to collect and interpret data, to there isn’t a strong democratic tradition. improve the management of infrastructures such At a 2016 Huawei conference on Smart Cities Joe So as traffic systems and lighting. What’s smart about HUAWEI CHIEF TECHNOLOGY in Shanghai, So named Singapore, Nanjing and OFFICER OF INDUSTRY SOLUTIONS, this is not the technology, but the way it enables Cameroon as three of its showcase smart cities. ENTERPRISE BUSINESS GROUP better, more responsive decision-making.” The fourth was our own Christchurch, which Huawei’s So says that until recently the committed to becoming a smart city when the necessary connections to make a city smart post-earthquake rebuild started. New Zealand’s were not in place. This has changed in the

thedownload.co.nz 13

last three to four years. However, he says the always have to be high-tech, the real innovation We think of New Zealand as being rural, smart city won’t happen overnight because lies in matching technological solutions to but around three quarters of our citizens live there is still a lot of work to be done. Huawei is people’s everyday needs.” in cities and large towns. By 2050, two thirds involved in more than 100 smart city projects The Internet-of-Things has an important of the world’s population and an even higher around the world, yet, he says, it will take time role to play in building smart cities. These are proportion of New Zealanders will be urban. before any of them deliver on the promise of systems that use simple computing devices and There’s a danger city infrastructure will fall being a truly smart city. sensors. The hardware can be connected directly behind the pace of growth. You can already see “For a smart city to work you need an to fibre networks but is just as likely to use one this in Auckland with its housing shortage and integrated, independent system. It has to be of a number of overlapping, low-power, wireless the massive investments in transport and water an open IT infrastructure and there must be networking technologies to communicate. networks being made that are needed to cope great connections — you can’t have a smart city Today’s sensors and computers are cheap with all its new residents. without connections,” he says. enough to deploy in large numbers wherever Technology doesn’t hold all the answers, But So says the underpinning connection there is a need. They can be built in to other but it can help to deal with problems like infrastructure is now in place In New Zealand. devices without adding more than a few congestion, air pollution, noise and traffic The Ultrafast Broadband network is an example cents to the cost. They make it possible for accidents. A slew of innovative ideas and of the communications network needed to make almost anything to relay back information on developments together have the potential smart city projects viable, he says. operational conditions in real time and to take to help solve these problems; among them Yet, there’s more to a smart city than action in response. increases in computer processing power, networks and sensors. McArthur says: “What Cities are set to grow even more in sensor technology, better batteries and makes a city smart is not just the technologies, importance as more and more people move more. And we are already building the but using them to collect and interpret data in from small towns to larger centres. Today, more communications networks that will form real-time, enabling continuous improvement than four billion people, that’s well over half the the nervous system needed to bring these of services and system operations. It doesn’t world’s population, live in urban centres. technologies together.

2018 / Issue 6 14 Internet of Things | Tussock Innovation

Sensing water Tussock Innovation’s IoT technology promises to keep our water clean and us dry. Heather Wright describes how Waterwatch could mean the end of dirty storm water – and more

FLOOD AND SEWAGE contamination of our Waterwatch can do this by alerting council staff to beaches has become common in recent months, any changes in water levels, whether stormwater but if Jesse Teat and the team at Tussock or tidal, so the council gets an early warning Innovation have their way this may become about areas under pressure from rising water. less common in future. Internet of Things (IoT) “The Waterwatch sensors can be used as technologies like Tussock’s Waterwatch should an early warning system in waterways, storm keep cities and citizens much safer – and drier. water drains and sewerage systems, allowing Teat is chief executive of Dunedin-based councils and their contractors to raise flags and Tussock Innovation, an IoT technology so prevent damage to both public and private development company and consultancy that has property,” explains Teat. developed Waterwatch, a sensor-based remote However, Weatherwatch can do more than water level monitoring system. Using sensors, just prevent flooding. it detects city storm water drain problems early “What tends to happen a lot is that heavy on, so helping councils prevent flooding during rainfall events put pressure on the stormwater heavy rainfall. It has the potential to be used on systems and they often overflow into areas farms as well, to monitor water tank levels and like the sewerage systems,” he says. “That effluent remotely. puts real pressure on councils because they’re Tussock is also adapting its sensor-based having to either put more sewage through their technology for other uses, including a very processing plant, or they’re having to dump raw smart smoke detector that also monitors other sewage into waterways.” environmental conditions. It’s a problem New Zealand has seen played Teat started Tussock five years ago with co- out numerous times this year. Heavy rains in founder Mark Butler. They imagined working January and February resulted in closed beaches as contract developers, designing software and around the country. hardware, and getting them to work together Using a long-range, low-powered WAN (Wide “really nicely”. Area Network) connected to cellular grade “What we realised over time was that we’re networks, Waterwatch’s sensors provide continuous really good at providing connectivity to products monitoring of water levels, with data being sent Jesse Teat (left) and Mark Butler – especially low-powered connectivity,” says Teat. to the cloud; Amazon’s IoT cloud service. of Tussock Innovation At the same time, IoT began to grow. For The data is then analysed and provides Tussock Innovation it was a natural progression. threshold warnings, so action can be taken Teat notes that most councils use their own “IoT is going to be a very, very big part of our to resolve potential threats, or to evacuate independent data warehouse, so Waterwatch future – and by ‘our’ I mean everyone’s,” says Teat. low-lying or flood prone areas. Data can be forwards the data on for them to crunch and use “IoT technologies that are becoming available presented spatially, or as a graph. in making any infrastructure change decisions. now will really be the basis for knowledge. “There’s a surprising amount of data you get “But our system handles things like the early They’re able to generate all the data points we from these low-power sensors, so you do need warning call-outs that alert the companies looking need to make smart decisions for the future.” to have a pretty fast broadband connection,” after infrastructure for a council [regarding] the And underlying it all, is broadband. says Teat. state of the pumping stations, manholes or sumps “All of the towers around the country that “The broadband really comes into its own in they are monitoring,” says Teat. are gathering information will be broadband- the processing – and then in presenting that data The Weatherwatch system is also being used connected and they will end up being the heart for the user at the end. to monitor groundwater in test bores. of what provides the opportunity for people to “Broadband is what provides all the links for “This tells us more about what is happening gather information,” says Teat. us. The towers that gather all of that information with groundwater, and how sea levels are Waterwatch came out of Dunedin’s Gigatown from your sensors – whether via cellular affecting it,” says Teat. win – public meetings highlighted solving or Sigfox, or some other low-power WAN “With more data points collected, and a larger flooding issues as a key desire of the community. technology – are broadband-connected towers. distribution of sensors, we are able to correlate

thedownload.co.nz 15

how the water table reacts to weather events. Gigatown win, with Tussock Innovation joining the Irrigation ponds and water tanks can also be ng Connect group. This is designed to bring com- monitored for falling levels. "Even five years ago, panies together so they can collaborate on projects. “With Waterwatch, we’re in a space that will you couldn’t have “Nokia put their hands up to work with us on be very interesting for the next 20 or probably a this project in particular, and they are helping us hundred or more years. Resources are becoming provided a council with look for tenders and market partners elsewhere increasingly scarce and we’re providing people devices you could install in the world,” says Teat. with the ability to study and learn more about The relationship has seen Nokia showcasing the resources they’re consuming.” in a sewerage system that Waterwatch globally, with demonstration products “If IoT wasn’t a thing, we wouldn’t be able to can operate for more than currently in Sweden, Poland, Spain, Singapore, do that. Even five years ago, you couldn’t have 10 years on a battery for Thailand, the United States and Canada. provided a council with devices you could install in Tussock Innovation is also developing an a sewerage system that can operate for more than the price we can now" internet-connected, very low power, long-life 10 years on a battery for the price we can now.” smoke alarm that includes environmental Waterwatch has won the support of Nokia – Jesse Teat monitoring of humidity and air quality, and is CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF TUSSOCK INNOVATION another opportunity to come out of Dunedin’s designed for the rental market.

2018 / Issue 6 16 Interview | Kate McKenzie BEYOND THE UTILITY Kate McKenzie plans a modern Chorus When all the UFB fibre has been laid, Chorus’ CEO aims to use it to leverage Internet of Things apps and artificial intelligence, as well as run Netflix movies. Chorus will not be a boring utility, she tells Bill Bennett

CHORUS CHIEF EXECUTIVE Kate McKenzie It was, as she points out, a great grounding has customers in the front of her mind. She says for a chief executive. She says: “During my time knowing what people value and understanding their at Telstra I saw all the different aspects of the experience when they deal with the company is vital. company. I was fortunate compared with my peers; This is not an unusual sentiment for someone I worked on a wide variety of functions.” running a large New Zealand business. Yet, Chorus As well as the regulatory role, McKenzie worked has few customers in the usually accepted sense of in mergers and acquisitions, along with strategy, the word. By law, it can only sell wholesale services. products and pricing. She ran the operations Chorus' customers are retail service providers or environment and spent three years running RSPs. There are around 90 or so of these. They buy Telstra's wholesale operation. wholesale broadband services from Chorus. RSPs McKenzie says it’s helpful now she is a CEO to have then wrap these services into their own packages, this hands-on knowledge of all aspects of a telco. sell them to consumers and provide the support. When McKenzie first joined Telstra it was a As McKenzie points out, RSPs pay Chorus’ bills, different organisation to the one you see today. which is something customers do. So, on one level, The majority of Telstra's shares were still in public her customer focus is all about meeting RSP needs ownership. Soon after she started with Telstra it and expectations. switched from public to private ownership. But there's another level. McKenzie says the end- This led to a cultural change. Overnight, customers, that is the home-owners and businesses Telstra had to worry about winning and retaining who buy from RSPs, are also important to Chorus. customers. This was something that had, in the She says: “End-customers get our product; we past, been largely taken for granted. are the ones who handle its delivery. This means She says: “At that time I went to Stanford and did we need an understanding of what’s important to a strategic marketing course. There I got a bunch of them. How we design systems, build processes and new skills. I first learned how to segment customers, work with RSPs can make a big difference to an end- and how to think about what customers value.” customer. You have to think of it as an entire customer Like any privately owned business, Chorus ecosystem. In that sense, they are all our customers.” lives or dies by serving customers. But it has to McKenzie says she learnt about meeting customer cater to another constituency: the New Zealand needs early in her 12 years working at Telstra. Her Government. The company de-merged from first job at Australia's largest telco was running the Telecom NZ, now Spark, as part of a government- regulatory group. By the time she left Telstra she had led industry restructure in preparation for the fibre

managed almost every part of the company. roll-out. This means the Commerce Commission HODGKINSON ROBIN BY PHOTOGRAPH

thedownload.co.nz PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBIN HODGKINSON 18 Interview | Kate McKenzie

regulates much of Chorus’ business. Among McKenzie jokes that the downside is that the are as essential as water or electricity.” The other things the regulations say it can only sell structural model makes it easy for all the RSPs company’s shareholder base reflects this. wholesale broadband services. to gang up on Chorus. And the lack of vertical “Compared with Spark, the former parent, we McKenzie says: “We have a contractual integration brings challenges. “There is nowhere have a different shareholder base. Most of our relationship with the government. In effect, it has for us to hide; we’re transparent,” she says. shareholders are longer term infrastructure given us some interest-free loans; they all have to Yet, she looks to the positives: “On the plus investors,” she says. be repaid. Attached to these loans are obligations side, they all get the same inputs. It means they Utilities are often seen as slow-moving about how the [UFB] build gets done and to what have to think about what it takes to become compared with other industrial sectors. standard it gets done. At some point, we have better retailers. They have to look for points of Chorus doesn’t have that luxury. It plays in the to start paying a dividend if we don’t repay the differentiation to be able to compete with each fast-moving telecommunications sector. The loan. It's a good set-up. That’s why the regulatory other. It’s a good model.” technology has already changed a lot since environment is so important to us.” So far much of the competition has centred the company de-merged from Telecom NZ in There’s a gulf between the New Zealand on price. McKenzie says this is one of the late 2011. Fibre and wireless networks are both Government’s hands-off approach to the biggest challenges for the industry. “People much faster. fibre network build compared with what are consuming enormous amounts of what we The key for Chorus once the UFB build is happens in Australia. McKenzie says the fact produce. Growth is very high. Eventually, price complete is innovation. McKenzie uses this that telecommunications has never become competition is not sustainable because we are word often. “We’re starting to turn our minds a partisan political issue is a huge difference spending a motza building these networks. to what else people can do with the wonderful between New Zealand and Australia. She also There has to be some way of adding value that fibre application that we’ve been creating. I’m admires the NZ Inc approach to doing what’s customers are willing to pay for that will stop optimistic now that I can see more opportunity.” best for the nation regardless of politics. the whole thing from becoming a race to the She says one aspect of technology is that it She says: “You have to congratulate bottom.” Hence the focus on differentiation. changes customer behaviour, and business governments here of both political flavours. She says “differentiation can come from models. Areas singled out for attention in the They’ve made a decision and successive different places, that’s perfectly valid. In some near term are how the fibre network works with governments have followed it through. They ways, the network is so good now that it’s hard to the coming 5G mobile world, and how to use haven’t changed their minds every two years differentiate on network-related features.” She fibre to get more from the Internet-of-Things. or so about what they want built and what points to moves by Spark and Vodafone to value- McKenzie is also bullish about technologies like

“I spent 12 years in the telco industry explaining to everybody why structural separation was a terrible idea and should never happen. I’ve definitely changed my view on that”

Kate McKenzie CHORUS CHIEF EXECUTIVE

they don’t want. If you’re creating long-term add with Lightbox and Vodafone TV as one kind artificial intelligence. “Gaming, Netflix, artificial infrastructure you can’t afford to have continual of differentiation. Then there is Stuff Pix. Less intelligence and so on all need networks to change. This bi-partisan support has meant obvious are the moves by brands in the Vocus support them.” Chorus could focus on what it was supposed to Group to offer power alongside broadband. And The network is a fantastic asset for Chorus, its be doing: getting on and building the network.” then there are the power retailers who now offer shareholders and for the nation, she says. “It’s Coming to Chorus, a wholesaler, was broadband. been very well done and will reach 87 percent something of a leap for McKenzie, despite her Meanwhile, she says Chorus’ main job is of the country by 2022. It was, for the most part, time running Telstra’s wholesale business. “I to stay focused on getting the various stages financed by private investors.” spent 12 years in the telco industry explaining of the UFB build completed on time and on It’s easy to forget that seven years into the UFB to everybody why structural separation was budget. “We aim to make sure our processes project the fibre companies, not only Chorus, a terrible idea and should never happen. I’ve and systems are fit for purpose, and that the have exceeded the expectations set down before definitely changed my view on that,” she says. customer experience is good,” she says. the start. Many more people have chosen to The New Zealand regulatory model makes The network build will be complete in about connect than the planners anticipated. The build a huge difference, she says. “We now have a four years’ time. However, McKenzie has no is ahead of schedule and the fibre footprint is set-up where an organisation like ours is open intention of sitting back then and managing a about 20 percent bigger than was mapped. access. It’s agnostic about how the retail service steady-as-you-go network utility. McKenzie says: “Today, we have 61 percent providers operate. This creates a completely She acknowledges the U-word describes of customers on the 100Mbps plan; it’s by far different market dynamic. where the company is today. She says: “We’re the most popular plan. Data consumption is “It gives us a real focus. It’s one that you don’t the fourth utility. For where we are in history going through the roof. Ten years ago, people have in a vertically integrated organisation.” that’s right. These days our broadband services wondered if any of this would ever happen.”

thedownload.co.nz Broadband | ISP comparison 19 Broadband Compare – mining for ISP gold BY HOLLY CUSHEN

FOR MANY CONSUMERS the prospect of a “The ideal plan for everyone would be broadband connection raises seemingly unan- fibre, gigabit, free connection, free router, no swerable questions. What plan do I need? Which contract, dirt cheap,” he says. But, given this is provider can I trust? Do I really need to upgrade? a long shot, Broadband Compare aims to tailor How long will it take, and what will it involve? its recommendations as much as possible to Gavin Male, founder and chief executive of individual requirements. For instance, some comparison website Broadband Compare once people really only care about price, whereas faced similar questions. Back in 2014, fresh others value add-ons such as Lightbox or Sky’s off the plane from the UK, he found himself in Neon TV. the same predicament. For most people in the Broadband Compare’s website traffic is driven 21st century, being digitally connected is vitally primarily by people moving house, secondly by important. Even more so when everything those looking for the cheapest deal and thirdly, familiar to you is half a globe away. accounting for 12 percent of traffic, by those who Male remembers entering the morass that is have recently had fibre made available and want the world of ISPs and finding only one familiar to upgrade. name: Vodafone. 2Degrees and Spark were of Does Male believe New Zealanders are little meaning to him, having no global presence. getting value from their broadband plans? And the latter had recently rebranded, though He responds with a story. “We had someone he recalls people still referring to “Telecom”. contact us who was on a legacy plan the other This didn’t help an already confused newcomer. day. The provider shall remain nameless, but the “It was hard to know who was what,” Male person was paying $176 per month for a 300GB says. And, unlike in the UK, New Zealand did capped plan. In no one’s eyes is that value not have a major player in the comparison for money.” market who could help him out. “Consumer Male doesn’t believe this is particularly empowerment websites are very embedded in unusual. However, it does highlight Broadband the UK and that was the sector I was in.” Compare’s aim: to educate consumers so they The UK is dominated by big comparison can find what is right and fair for them. websites like Compare The Market and uSwitch. But, for those who have changed because fibre There are also broadband-specific comparison has become available, well “they’re definitely sites such as cable.co.uk. In fact, the UK getting value for money.” government’s 2017 report on Digital Comparison Gavin Male In addition to not knowing what is available, Tools (DCTs) found 85 percent of UK consumers many consumers are put off upgrading to fibre for with access to the internet had used a DCT. admires its ability to be the best connected nation fear they will be off the internet for days or more Male looked for something similar here. What on the planet. This, combined with a desire to while they are connected to the fibre network. he found was outdated or incorrect information. “educate, save people some money and shout “People don’t understand it can literally be a And so Broadband Compare was born. for the little guys”, is the impetus behind Male’s two-hour job.” Launched in June 2016, Broadband Compare company. But poor install stories will have to become a now lists 122 ISPs and over 2000 plans from In a nutshell, Male says “We compare and thing of the past as customer service becomes across the country. When asked why the list every single ISP and plan that we know of, increasingly important in differentiating one ISP service is important, Male says: “It empowers whether someone has partnered with us as a from another, says Male. the consumer.” paying partner or not.” So, what’s next for Broadband Compare? The site has had over 430,000 visits since it This touches on rumours Broadband Compare “We have soft-launched Power Compare, was launched. In July 2016, just one month after curries favour with certain ISPs. “We’re straight which we’re developing under the NZ Compare starting, the site saw 16,000 visits. Today, this up. We explain how things are rated. We push umbrella. This will compare all the major has increased by nearly 140 percent. the consumer towards the best connection verticals: broadband, power, mobile, travel, Having been in the country just shy of four type, which, in our opinion, is fibre. So, if fibre is money, KiwiSaver etc. years now, Male says he loves New Zealand’s available, we will push them towards that over “We’re looking to be a full website comparison innate entrepreneurial and innovative spirit, and any ADSL or VDSL plan. site, but broadband is still our baby,” he says.

2018 / Issue 6 20 Fibre & wireless DRIVING THE FUTURE TOGETHER Fibre and wireless are often seen as rival technologies, but they are proving complementary. May Taylor reports that while 5G will likely be the underlying technology managing driverless cars, fibre will be essential to the network PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVE PETTIGREW STEVE BY PHOTOGRAPH

thedownload.co.nz Technology | Fibre and wireless 21

EVERY FEW YEARS mobile connectivity under- programmes, will see 87 percent of New goes a major evolution – 2G brought voice, 3G Zealand homes and businesses having access brought data, 4G brought faster data. What will to fibre-to-the-premises by 2022. According 5G bring us? Driverless cars? to comparison website Broadband Compare, Sure, a host of tech and car companies will one of the cheapest fibre broadband plans for build the actual driverless cars, but it’s likely those connected to the UFB starts at 30Mbps for they will need a fast network to stop their download and 10Mbps for upload. inventions crashing into each other. A separate programme is underway to Many people think 5G networks will provide improve broadband infrastructure for those the underlying technology that will enable living in rural areas. The Rural Broadband driverless cars to instantly communicate their Initiative (RBI) is divided into two phases, with location and their next intended move – thus phase one having been completed by Chorus avoiding accidents at busy intersections. That’s and Vodafone in partnership. because 5G networks will be up to 110 times Vodafone wholesale director Steve Rieger, who faster than most cellular connections today. "We are using fixed led the RBI phase one project for Vodafone, says They will have massively reduced latency and wireless to deliver the telco built 154 towers over the five years of significantly more capacity. Even if you prefer to roll out, connecting around 1000 schools and 39 walk, you will still benefit from a 5G network – a better service in hospitals and health centres. you will be able to download an entire season of rural areas especially. For the next phase, RBI2, mobile providers Game of Thrones in seconds. – Spark, Vodafone and 2degrees – have So, bring it on. Well, you might have to wait Because it is ‘point to combined to create a new telco called the Rural a couple of years though. All over the world, many points’, it is more Connectivity Group (RCG). The RCG was telcos are trialling 5G networks and claiming awarded a $250 million contract to build out the all sorts of breakthroughs, but most are also flexible than fibre which network, which will involve the construction of predicting 5G networks won’t be in market is ‘point to point’." 450 cell phone towers. The towers will, however, until about 2020. In New Zealand, we’re not be smaller than those deployed as part of RBI1. immune to 5G fever, with the telco industry Steve Rieger In addition, around $8 million in funding has here talking up the upgrade. VODAFONE WHOLESALE DIRECTOR been allocated to regional Wireless Internet Here’s what Spark told The Download when Service Providers (see sidebar story on page 22). approached for a comment on 5G: on broader blocks of spectrum and improved “We are using fixed wireless to deliver a better spectrum efficiency to generate higher speeds service in rural areas especially. Because it is “4.5G is an important part of our and increased capacity. Increased speed ‘point to many points’, it is more flexible than strategy because it helps us prepare and capacity from 5G will rely more heavily fibre which is ‘point to point’,” says Rieger. for a 5G future today, keeping up on the use of higher frequencies and [fibre] While fibre connects to every urban cell site, with the changes in the ways people densification,” the Deloitte report says. Rieger says it is not always practical in rural will use wireless technology over “Rather than building macro towers with mid areas. The first choice for backhaul (that is the the next few years. Because 4.5G or low band spectrum, carriers will deploy lower connection from the cell site back to the main combines a range of radio spectrum powered small cells and rely on hotspots, each network) is fibre, then copper, then digital and uses it more efficiently, we can with a coverage radius measured in metres versus microwave radio and, lastly, satellite. provide more capacity and speed to kilometres. Densification of access points with While there is unlikely to be an economic need our customers. Spark’s plans for 5G small coverage areas implies that fewer users will for driverless cars on rural roads, the advent of are already well advanced and we share the network capacity produced by 4G or 5G faster broadband is enabling innovative solutions have now delivered 4.5G to over 20 small cells, generating enormous gains.” to be deployed in remote locations. locations around New Zealand.” In other words, the effective deployment In the Coromandel’s remote Kauaeranga of 5G networks will see multiple small sites Valley, which acquired internet and mobile This mix of spectrum and fibre connectivity connected by fibre broadband. coverage during RBI1, an eco-cell site keeps is thought by many to be essential to the shift to The Deloitte report, which is focused on the trampers safe. While down south, in Methven, a 5G network. According to a report by Deloitte, US, notes the country’s poor fibre deployment: farmer Craige Mackenzie uses an application published in July 2017 in the US, acquiring large “Only 38 percent of homes have a choice of two accessed via his mobile phone to check the blocks of spectrum was essential in enabling the providers offering speeds of at least 25 Mbps. moisture in his farm’s soil, and by doing so has shift from 2G to 3G and then to 4G, but, while In rural communities, only 61 percent of the cut water waste by 30 percent. this is still a major element, it is fibre density population have access to 25 Mbps wireline Whether it is 5G in the cities, or fast that is becoming critical. broadband, and when they do they can pay broadband in the country, the lines are blurring “Deep fibre can facilitate high-speed access to as much as a three times the premium over between wireless and fixed technologies. more homes and more businesses, and support suburban customers.” As Rieger notes: fibre and wireless are hundreds of thousands of new cell sites and In New Zealand, the situation is vastly complementary, and this is important as “we hot spots for 4G and 5G. Previous generations different. The Ultrafast Broadband programme, are moving into a world where capability and

PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVE PETTIGREW STEVE BY PHOTOGRAPH of wireless technology (i.e. 3G and 4G) relied one of the country’s largest infrastructure performance are going to be very significant.”

2018 / Issue 6 22 Focus | Primo Wireless ISP CLOSING TARANAKI DIGITAL DIVIDE PrimoWireless mixes fibre and wireless

BY JOHANNA EGAR

FIBRE IS MAKING TARANAKI’S rural wireless get satellite because the hill country is too steep. “We use the fibre to get better speed and internet service run much better. It can reach They were stuck on dial-up and they used to latency [faster response times]. We get it as deeper into rural areas it couldn’t get to before. wait a whole day for an email,” he says. close as we can to our sites, and then we use Regional wireless internet service provider Taranaki was one of the first regions to have wireless to deliver the service to the end-user. PrimoWireless has used fibre for four or five fibre installed as part of the UFB initiative. The The closer we can bring the fibre, the closer years now, to improve internet speeds and aim is to deliver the kind of fast telecoms service effectively we can bring Auckland to them – reliability for its rural customers. Fibre also city people take for granted to rural New Zealand. which is where all the internet comes from,” extends its network into those deep rural UFB fibre has helped transform communica- he says. pockets even satellite can’t reach. tions in rural Taranaki, says Harrison. PrimoWireless’ combined broadband radio PrimoWireless’ managing director, Matthew “It’s the fastest there is. Nothing else can go wireless and fibre service means its business Harrison, says fibre is proving particularly as fast as fibre – you can do 10 GB or 100 GB. and rural customers can now, for example, valuable to those at the furthest-most points of You change the equipment on the end and it set up a viable home business, no matter its network. “Some of those farms can’t even will go faster. how remote their farm. And local marae can

Sheep farmer Brian Hocken may live in deep rural Tarata, but he now enjoys a ‘magic’ internet service ‘regardless of the weather’

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persuade reluctant young Māori to join in their activities as they can now use the internet for downtime entertainment. In the same way, wool farmers can attract younger shearers as they no longer face being disconnected from the internet while working on a remote farm. Farmers can now make more use of Internet-of-Things’ precision agriculture applications – for herd testing and to manage irrigation and water levels, for example – because both the cowshed and woolshed can now connect to the internet. PrimoWireless is 12 years old. It has 3,000 customers and operates 80 broadband radio wireless sites that form a ring around Mount Taranaki. The sites vary in size from small ones serving 10 to 20 people, to big ones serving around 200 customers. In September 2017, PrimoWireless secured funding from Crown Infrastructure Partners (CIP) to further develop its network. It uses regional radio spectrum on the 2.6Ghz and 5Ghz bands so it can serve both non line-of-sight and line-of-sight customers. “We’re closing the urban and digital divide,” says Harrison. “We aim to close that gap up, so rural people can have the same opportunities as townies.”

2018 / Issue 6 24

THE SECRET OF THE

All the streaming services, from RED Netflix to Google to Facebook, come out of red server boxes. Hadyn Green describes how streaming works – BOX and where it’s going

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thedownload.co.nz Technology | How streaming TV works 25

WEST ORIGIN COAST U.S.A

IN A DATA CENTRE in Auckland, sitting in a server rack, is a red box. Inside the box are thousands of movies and television shows ready to stream to your home. This is Netflix. And it’s not the only box. Google is here too. And so is Facebook. The boxes themselves are actually servers, part of a wider network known as a CDN It is Rodger’s job to imagine that traffic, and (Content Delivery Network). CDNs are how predict the changes needed to keep the network most large streaming services distribute their congestion-free. content around the country. “We benchmark to the busiest five-minute Let’s back up though. Why does a company period of the day, which is roughly 9pm, when like Netflix need a distributed network of everyone is watching TV,” he says. servers all carrying the same content? The Of course, by ‘TV’, Rodgers means streaming answer is traffic and distance. video from various sources. “The network needs to An estimated 60 to 80 percent of internet handle a household running five different streams, traffic is video. While Netflix is the largest with at least one being 4K, without a hitch.” contributor, with roughly 40 percent of the Of course, Chorus can only do so much. video traffic, Google’s YouTube is close behind. The high speed, ‘fat’ pipe from Christchurch Facebook is a big player in video as well and to Auckland helps, but no matter the speed has just launched Facebook Watch (currently the further you are physically from a piece of US-only), an on-demand video service with content, the longer it will take to load. There is original content and live shows. no getting around that. The term for this delay The amount of content, and the rising is latency and it is the bane of streaming media, demand accompanying it, is increasing data "The network especially live video (more on this below). usage on the network. According to Chorus, needs to handle a A few years ago, when Netflix didn’t exist in internet traffic is growing at roughly 56 percent household running New Zealand, those with the ability to access every year. Adding to this growth is the it found the content was good, but the streams increasing quality and hence larger file sizes of five different would often drop to a lower quality bit-stream. that content (4K, HDR, high frame rate etc). streams, with at There was also a long lag between pressing Right now, there’s still a lot of content that ‘play’ and a programme or movie starting. This isn’t available online, especially local material. least one being 4K, is what it is like pulling your content from all the “When Netflix launched in New Zealand, in without a hitch." way across the Pacific. 2015, we saw a big surge of traffic,” says Kurt But, in 2018, those problems are long gone, Rodgers, network strategy manager for Chorus. Kurt Rodgers because of Netflix’s Open Connect program. “Now, imagine how big a surge it’ll be with all CHORUS NETWORK STRATEGY MANAGER Netflix gives ISPs free CDN caches (edge the current [terrestrial] channels going online.” servers) to slot into their networks. Google

2018 / Issue 6 26 Technology | How streaming TV works

and Facebook run similar systems. The caches customers to access. This is the ‘user plane’. For connect to their nearest hub (origin server) – the control plane, we use AWS.” which for most services in New Zealand is in If you’re confused by these terms don’t worry. Sydney – then gather all the content they need The user plane is how the service gets the content and serve it up to their customers. to you and is similar to that of other services. So, when a new season of Netflix’s Jessica The control plane refers to how you interact Jones from Marvel Studios is released, it will be with that content and controls every part of this sent from the US to the origin server in Sydney, experience, including when you press ‘play’. and then, when the first person presses ‘play’, “When you watch content we don’t send you the video gets sent across the Tasman to the the whole file, instead you are assigned a unique multiple CDN boxes here. From then on, any pointer,” explains Baird. The pointer knows user in New Zealand will only have to access the exactly where you are in that piece of content. cached version in this country. This means sending fewer files, which means it’s The bigger the ISP the more boxes it gets. It’s more efficient.” a quid pro quo situation. The ISPs get to say that Working with Sky means working with a wide Netflix works on their network and Netflix gets range of content owners. Sometimes owners its content to users that much faster. It’s a quick impose odd rules for their content, while they way for ISPs to scale up. Everybody wins. "When you watch come to grips with this relatively new form of Another company, Akamai, has its own CDN content we don’t send distribution. system that other companies use (for example, “For example, some content owners don’t TVNZ On-Demand). Akamai rents out virtual you the whole file, want you to be able to rewind, others may not real estate on its CDN network to give smaller instead you are assigned want you to skip. With the control plane we can players in the streaming market the same add and remove these controls as necessary for technological advantages of the giants. a unique pointer. The each piece of content. And with over-the-air Akamai is usually behind international pointer knows exactly updates we can quickly implement new features streaming sites too. Why build your own network when they become available.” when you can rent distribution and capacity? where you are in that David Malpas, general manager of product Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the choice piece of content." at TVNZ, has an even bigger job. He has to of New Zealand’s newest movie-streaming deal with live television as well, and also with service, Stuff Pix. Unlike with Netflix, there isn’t Tony Baird advertising. All TVNZ’s content is sourced a CDN network for ISPs using AWS yet. So, Stuff VODAFONE TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR from master files held at TVNZ. These go Pix users’ traffic will cross between Australia through another company, Brightcove, which and New Zealand. However, Stuff Pix general transcodes (converts the video files from manager Paddy Buckley doesn’t see this as an one format to another), creates the slots for issue. “Other services in New Zealand use the Despite not being allowed to merge, the two advertisements and then adds DRM (Digital same server and have had very few issues.” companies are working closely together to offer Rights Management) software, before heading Stuff Pix also has a slightly different model a unique streaming service in New Zealand: to the origin server. With live television, TVNZ to Netflix, Lightbox, and Neon. It’s TVOD, or Vodafone TV. bypasses Brightcove and streams directly to the Transactional Video On Demand, similar to Vodafone TV runs on a set-top box or mobile origin server. iTunes or Google Play. “Stuff Pix will launch soon app and is only available to those on fibre or “On a mobile device, the ads are put in with more than 700 movies available to rent. It’ll cable (‘Fibre-X’) connections. The box has server-side,” says Malpas, referring to a process also have more of a Kiwi focus than the global Netflix and all of the free-to-air on-demand whereby the adverts are inserted before the services and will be device-agnostic, meaning services built in. Subscribers get a live version of programme reaches you, as opposed to being that it won’t be limited to any specific devices and Sky, plus access to Sky’s catalogue on demand. called in while you’re already watching it. will be widely accessible,” says Buckley. It’s this part that is new, at least for Sky. “We want to bring this into non-mobile Buckley’s comments highlight a clear Tony Baird, technology director for Vodafone, as well, as it means there’s less chance of consumer trend: a move away from linear TV to described it: something going wrong.” on-demand. Users want their content fast and “We have a scheduler and an ‘origin’ The increase in New Zealand content with crystal clear. And they want to be able to watch it [server] in Auckland, and this sends content terrestrial channels and local material being on any screen in their house with no fuss. out to our CDNs in Auckland, Wellington and added will mean more internet traffic and more So, how is the former big dog of New Christchurch. We’ve also got a big fibre-optic strain on the content delivery network, so in the Zealand media, Sky, dealing with this trend? link direct to Sky for its Live TV and Video-On- future we will certainly see the number of CDN If its subscription numbers are to be believed, Demand services. The scheduler is responsible caches increase alongside demand. the answer is poorly. However, its latest for triggering the play out, and the ‘origin’ As Chorus’ Rodgers puts it: “The wave of collaboration with Vodafone may turn this around. stores a single unique copy of the content for all [online] TV is coming, the question is when?”

thedownload.co.nz Explainer | Understanding Software Defined Networks 27

NETWORKING IN THE CLOUD coming to you sometime soon Software Defined Networks are being described as cloud computing for networks. The promise is SDN will shake up the telecoms world and usher in new and faster services. The reality is more complicated, Johanna Egar finds

IT’S BEEN CALLED cloud computing for off-the-shelf hardware might not be able to lot of sunk costs. This will make them reluctant networks, with all the benefits that implies. perform well enough. Routers are not servers, to spend on SDN in other areas before an asset But creating Software Defined Networks which are easier to commoditise. comes to end of its life-cycle. This could take as (SDNs) isn’t easy. This task involves turning a Although centralising control this way should long as five to seven years. large chunk of network hardware – the control lower operating costs, this is still not proven. Telcos may get a push from outsiders judging management or brain part – of telecoms “You can streamline your operational by what’s happening elsewhere. Despite the limits switches into software, to centralise control. processes and automate – which is the reason IT imposed, by spectrum, for example, enterprising Doing this means you can use cheaper moved to the cloud – but it’s still early days with newcomers can already do a lot by bolting common hardware. This then gets told what telecommunications,” says Chorus’ Rodgers, together fibre, unlicensed spectrum, computing to do by the brain, says Kurt Rodgers, Chorus’ striking a cautious note. power and Wi-Fi hotspots. This is exactly what network strategy manager, who is grappling Rodgers is more positive about SDN helping US’ Republic Wireless is doing, to provide cheap with this technical challenge. telcos and others launch and deliver new mobile connectivity. And it’s not the only one. He says: “Networking is like a distributed services faster. Electricity and broadcast Republic Wireless may have to use cellular brain with every switch and router making its companies, indeed any company with a large towers if no hotspots are available. Yet its own decision. SDN is a trend moving back in network, may also get into the game. So a big example shows what is already possible. the other direction, where you’ve got cheaper industry shake up could be coming. Telecommunications is set to face the kind of devices that are centrally controlled.” disruptive challenge the IT industry did some By taking the control management functions SDN AND FIBRE – A DREAM TEAM? time ago. With the structural separation of our out of the hardware and turning them into The SDN-fibre ideal is that if you have a telecoms industry combined with the roll out software, telecoms networks become more broadband fibre connection and your telecoms of Ultra Fast Broadband, you don’t need to be flexible and easier to manage. provider has an SDN network you should be a telco now to put SDN smarts on the end of a Cloud services use a similar virtualisation able – with the click of a website button – to add, fibre connection and devise a new service. process. It sees software separate physical say, more bandwidth, a new television service A blurring is going on between networks and infrastructures, isolate operating systems and or move from a high to a low data plan. In fact, IT that could see integrators and companies with applications from the underlying hardware, make any change to your telecoms service you large networks jump into the telecoms pool. and creating copies. These can then be hosted want in an instant. “It’s converging, everyone is doing things independently and so make cloud computing “Buying and interacting with your telco could digitally, over IP, using internet technology, possible. A similar process is underway with become like interacting with Netflix or Amazon and converging in the same direction,” says telecoms networks. It is sometimes called Web Services, or Google. That should be the Rodgers. “At the end of the day, it is all just Network Function Virtualisation (NFV). goal,” says Rodgers. software over fibre. This process is only starting with telecoms; “SDN isn’t important in itself. What’s important “The two things of value in the telecoms there are still limitations. For instance, it’s is being able to have a digital relationship with industry are the physical structure, which gives not easy to turn the network routers needed customers that’s easier, and cuts costs and you physical connectivity, and the service, to run a telecoms network into cheap, dumb improves customer experience,” he says. which is basically software. SDN might mean hardware. Their control functions may move The road promises to be a rocky one though. a closer relationship between those who can to the network, but network performance Investing in SDN isn’t cheap, and, although deliver value to the customer and those who requirements keep climbing. This means cheap, telcos are doing this in new areas, they have a have the delivery structure.”

2018 / Issue 6 28 E-commerce | Retailers and the Amazon threat

Chris Quin Amazon threat inspires retailers to lift game Online grocery shopping, an “My view has always been we need to act fast. It is also doing this in a way that takes Airbnb tyre service and trolleys as if they were here now and do the things that advantage of the cooperative’s model and its customers would love us to do anyway,” says segmented retail brands – New World, Pak ‘n’ that use artificial intelligence the chief executive of supermarket cooperative Save and Four Square. – Amazon is having an effect on Foodstuffs North Island, Chris Quin. Eight supermarkets are offering online sales local retailers, writes Rob O’Neill “If you wait until competition arrives, you’ve now and the rest should be doing so this year, he lost trust with your customers.” says. Along with this, the culmination of a four- E-COMMERCE WAS SUPPOSED to destroy both Amazon’s Australian invasion in December year project to bring all sales on to a single SAP distance and friction, but the benefits of both are wasn’t exactly a triumph. One Aussie critic platform also looms. This will allow Foodstuffs still sheltering Kiwi retailers against a full-frontal described it as a “huge wet fart”, disappointing to track prices and inventory better, and to assault from the global e-commerce giants. on price, product range and the cost and time of integrate with suppliers. First eBay and then Amazon and Alibaba local shipping. Amazon has shown huge interest in the set out to cut Kiwi retailers’ lunches from afar. That stuttering start means, once again, local grocery sector, especially the fast-growing They appeared to be succeeding, claiming retailers might enjoy some breathing space, and segment of organics, health and well-being. chunks of market share from many local some, like Quin, are upbeat about their prospects. Last year it bought US chain Whole Foods for a book retailers, for instance, and, alongside “You’ve got to be very careful to be driven by huge US$13.7 billion, and has since ramped up parallel importing, disrupting local monopoly your customers, not by your competitors,” he says. deliveries via its Amazon Prime delivery service. distribution arrangements. The drivers in grocery he sees are, first, value Quin says fresh produce is heading towards But for many goods there is no “e-equivalent” when it comes to both price and the customer half of sales. Private-label house brands are as with an e-book. Local retailers still have a experience. Second, is convenience. And, another area of focus for Foodstuffs. moat – a very wide, wet moat – guarding them finally, rapidly growing customer aspirations “People understand that house brands can be against competition in physical goods, as long as for health and well-being. the same or better quality for quite a different they understand the needs of local customers, Quin admits the company has been behind price,” he says. “They understand there’s a deliver quality service and don’t gouge on price. on its e-tail game, but it is now getting online brand premium that is paid and if you are smart

thedownload.co.nz 29

in the way you shop you can avoid that premium “So, my team has done over 1500 releases, and still get a great quality product.” for example, in the last six months. That’s never Those most successful at penetrating the been heard of in this company before.” online world have captured about 15 percent of In its recent announcements, The Warehouse all trade, he says. Group has emphasised a “click and collect” The CEO of UK chain Sainsbury’s recently online and offline service combination, but said six percent of UK food and grocery was Kasbe says that is only one of many ways the being sold online, but 35 percent of customers group can serve its customers. were buying online. For Quin that means if you What the company is really losing sleep over don’t offer online sales those customers will is how to create a consistent experience online change to another chain that does. and offline – and do it in a Kiwi way. The online The store network can also double as a giants have taken what Kasbe calls “primitive ready-made local fulfilment and distribution retail experiences” off the table. system for online sales. That is an opportunity to “It has sharpened up a lot of the traditional increase returns on existing infrastructure. physical retailers into serving customers at a Foodstuffs is also innovating offline, to create world-class level, as opposed to giving them a an easier, more compelling in-store experience sub-optimal or primitive experience in the store.” for the cooperative’s 1.3 million customers, who Some local retailers, however, aren’t thinking shop on average three times a week. It is about about defence but about joining the disruptors. to trial shopping trolleys from local developer Penrose, Auckland-based Hyper Drive and Imagr that allow for automatic checkout, using Hyper Ride are related companies selling tyres and artificial intelligence. "Integrations are key vehicle accessories, and action sports equipment, Digital is not all about online sales either. because they ultimately respectively. Hyper Drive is busy developing a new Quin hints at a shopping list app that will sort business model for the tyre market. listed products according to where they are in a keep track of all the tyres “We are looking at the Amazons, and that local supermarket’s aisles. and the stock, and make side of it as really the opportunity,” says founder And a new Fresh Collective store in Mt Albert Simon Furness, who describes the challenge as is lifting the traditional supermarket experience, sure that when somebody “internetising tyres”. aiming to provide inspiration to customers orders one there's actually “Traditionally, it’s been quite hard to do rather than just provision the larder. one available" because most people don't want to buy a set of In the middle of the store is a hub where food tyres online and have them delivered to their is prepared and ideas shared. Simon Furness home,” he says. “So, we've set up 240-odd “Completely independent of us a journalist HYPER DRIVE FOUNDER localised installers around the country. We kind wrote a story asking: “Is this the way to compete of think about it as like Airbnb for tyres, I guess.” with Amazon?” Quin says. regardless of when or how customers want to Customers can go on to the Hyper Drive site, The Warehouse, like Foodstuffs, already has shop – and across all offers and brands. purchase and then have tyres shipped to a local a huge asset in its extensive networks of stores Like Foodstuffs, The Warehouse is installer to be fitted. The installer charges Hyper and brands, but it has seen its share price dented experimenting with new technologies such as Drive at a contracted rate, so the experience is by the Amazon threat. artificial intelligence and new online models. seamless for the customer. Leading the company’s response is a relatively For the new school year, for instance, the group A software package from local company First new hire but a very, very experienced chief launched a new platform Purpleschool.co.nz, Software is integrated with supplier’s systems. information and digital officer, Timothy Kasbe, bringing all its brands under one online The tyres ordered go straight to the installer – who has worked for Sears and Russian apparel umbrella to serve parents and students with Hyper Drive never even touches them. giant Gloria Jeans. clothing, stationery, computers and more at the “Those integrations are key because they “Having Amazon enter the market is both start of the new school year. ultimately keep track of all the tyres and the stock, good news and an enormous challenge,” he “We’ve gained a lot of insights from and make sure that when somebody orders one says. “Competition has the effect of bringing doing that [regarding] what the group value there’s actually one available,” explains Furness. everyone’s performance up.” proposition is,” Kasbe says. The traditional tyre-buying experience has Kasbe says the company’s store network, The company is also changing the way it been “pretty average,” he says. including Noel Leeming and Warehouse develops behind the scenes online, moving “There’s no transparency around pricing and Stationery, means a group store is within 30 away from the traditional periodic releases of stuff, so we’re trying to bring some transparency minutes of every Kiwi. Ninety-one percent of software to more of a start-up culture using agile to the price and it’s been really positive.” Kiwis go through the company’s doors each year. development. Six-month requirement definition While competitors have reacted to Hyper How to serve customers better, and bring cycles are being replaced by rapid prototyping, Drive’s insurgency, they haven’t yet reacted online. them the best products at the best price, is customer testing and being prepared to “fail fast” The internet has flattened prices globally, Furness “business as usual,” Kasbe says. and build again using the knowledge gained. says, and Hyper Drive is doing the same with tyres Where the action lies is in sharpening up the “We’ve taken a lot of the pent-up demand for locally. The business is on a huge growth curve, company, so its goods are ready and available technology and just unleashed it,” Kasbe says. Furness says, and is signing up more installers.

2018 / Issue 6 30 Connectivity | Networking your home The best way to network your home There are some simple things you can do, and, while some of the more complicated suggestions may sound a bit techie, they’re not that hard, writes Scott Bartley

WHEN IT COMES to the internet, nobody likes Consider how the internet is going to be to hear the word ‘bottleneck’. However, as used. Is Netflix the main source of video internet connections become faster, thanks entertainment? Are there any gamers in the to the Ultra Fast Broadband roll out, creaky house playing online? What about streaming home networks are suddenly being exposed music? And, will the network be extended? as frauds. They find themselves unable to If it’s likely the majority of bandwidth- shift data around the home as fast as it critical activities (such as streaming video comes down the line. While there’s never and online gaming) are going to take place going to be a one-size-fits-all solution to in front of the television in the lounge, wringing the best possible speed out of a it’s worth favouring this location at the home network, there’s plenty that can be expense of more far flung corners of the done to smooth the path. house. Position the router closer to these devices, depending on individual priorities. FIND THE PERFECT HOME In fact, if at all possible, ditch the Wi-Fi FOR THE ROUTER altogether for static devices like televisions A typical home network will likely consist and game consoles and use an Ethernet cable. solely of a single, ISP-supplied Wi-Fi Not only will this provide a faster, more router. This set up will often do the job, reliable connection, it will free up valuable but in a data-heavy modern home its Wi-Fi bandwidth for mobile devices. ability to broadcast a decent signal to every room will be limited. More FINE-TUNE THE WI-FI so if it’s been plunked down next With the router optimally to the nearest convenient power positioned and a few mission- socket or next to the phone critical devices hardwired in, it’s jack, or ONT (Optical Network time to fine-tune the Wi-Fi. Terminal) without a care in the When it comes to Wi-Fi, line world. Positioning the router is a of sight matters. The fewer crucial first step, so let’s start here. obstacles between the router Placing the router centrally in and the device being used, the the home is best for maximum more reliable the network will be. Wi-Fi coverage. Because Wi-Fi With this in mind, try to remove works best with a direct line of as many obstacles as possible. sight between the router and the This includes avoiding having large device, look for a high spot with as few appliances such as a fridge between obstructions as possible. the router and the device – fridges are However, because of the vagaries of house amazingly good at blocking Wi-Fi signals. design, be prepared to think outside the box Walls are another obvious culprit. Sadly, they when placing the router. tend to be more difficult to move, so, instead,

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Wi-Fi networks A single Wi-Fi router is enough for most small homes. In larger buildings Wi-Fi range extenders expand their coverage

consider the material the walls are made from. such as WiFi Analyzer (Android) or WiFi Info For instance, wooden walls will degrade a Wi-Fi View (Windows) to see potentially interfering signal less than concrete or brick. If there’s networks and the channels they’re using. Then a choice between having concrete or wood set the router to the least busy channel. between the router and the device, choose the path of least resistance. EXTENDING THE WI-FI NETWORK If no amount of fine-tuning can fill in the dead REDUCE RADIO INTERFERENCE spots or patchy coverage, or the house is simply Wi-Fi is radio. This means it’s susceptible to too vast for a single router to adequately cover interference from other radio sources. Cordless it with Wi-Fi, it’s time to extend the network phones, microwave ovens and baby monitors using small repeaters called Wi-Fi extenders. can all affect performance – never place a router Extenders come in a variety of guises. Some near any such appliance. There is nothing extenders rely on being within range of the main worse than a Wi-Fi drop-out because someone router’s Wi-Fi so that it can rebroadcast the decided to cook some two-minute noodles. signal. Others use an Ethernet cable to be run Some interference is going to be unavoidable. between the router and the extender. The cable For people living in apartment buildings or is a pain, but having proper Ethernet backhaul even a compact city suburb, the neighbour’s like this creates a much more robust network. Wi-Fi signal will be flooding the local airspace. A third variety are powerline extenders. Short of sabotage, there’s not much that can be These are an excellent option as they use a done about this, but it is possible to mitigate home’s network of power cables as backhaul the damage somewhat by changing the Wi-Fi instead of Ethernet – this means each and channel settings in the router. every power socket in the house becomes a In the settings of any Wi-Fi router is a potential Wi-Fi hotspot. It sounds a bit dodgy, ‘channel selection’ box. Often this is set but powerline adaptors are reliable, fast and to ‘auto’, but the channels can be selected perfectly safe. manually if needed. For a DIY flavour, dig out an old Wi-Fi router Before doing this, it’s necessary to find and turn it into an extender – there are plenty of which channels are least congested. Use an app tutorials online that demonstrate how to do this.

2018 / Issue 6 32 Connectivity | Networking your home

MESH NETWORKS While extenders do a great job, they can be tricky to manage as each extender is effectively creating a new Wi-Fi network, usually requiring CHOOSING A ROUTER users to manually switch between them as they All modern Wi-Fi routers will tout ‘dual-band’ walk around their home in order to get the or ‘tri-band’ capabilities. best reception. Mesh networks operate almost 2.4GHz devices will work with (the unhelpfully named) identically except they pack some extra smarts 802.11b/g/n devices. 5GHz generally appears on newer to provide a ‘smart hand off’ as people move devices supporting 802.11a/n/ac. around the home. A proper Mesh network will What’s the difference? Generally speaking, the 2.4GHz appear as single, seamless Wi-Fi network. band offers better range as it’s more adept at penetrating walls. Expect theoretical maximum throughput speeds of WI-FI SECURITY around 450Mbps to 600Mbps from a 2.4GHz device. With all of this done, the Wi-Fi is likely going to 5GHz offers wider bandwidth, allowing more devices to be going as well as it possibly can and it’s time to connect at once without interfering with each other, and better speeds of up to 1300Mbps. think about security. The downside is 5GHz isn’t as good at pushing signals through walls, so range is reduced. Because broadcasting an internet connection Tri-band routers cost more because they have a second 5GHz radio installed that can over Wi-Fi leaves it inherently vulnerable to usually transmit simultaneously, making more bandwidth available that devices can connect attacks, locking it down nice and tight is vital. to. Tri-band routers will often tout blazingly fast top speeds of 2600Mbps by adding together WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access) is the current the top speeds of both 5GHz radios. Be wary of such speed claims, these are best case standard for securing a Wi-Fi network and has scenarios and not likely to be seen in real world use. been for a number of years now. As ever, the The upshot to all this is 5GHz is best for demanding use like 4K video, but has less range, crooks never stand still and security standards whereas 2.4GHz will be fine for most other uses. must evolve to remain relevant. Later this This year will see the introduction of the latest version of Wi-Fi, called 802.11ax, which year, WPA3 will begin appearing in new Wi-Fi promises to be significantly faster with less congestion, while also using less energy. equipment, offering further protection. Keep an The standard is currently in the final stages of ratification, so watch out for new routers and devices that offer support for this in the near future. eye out for devices supporting the new standards and choose one that does when possible.

LOCK IT DOWN Six basic tips to lock down a home network

1 Change the default SSID (name) of the network (avoid using personal details) 2 Set a strong WPA2 password 3 Change the default administrator user name and the password of the router 4 Disable remote access 5 Keep the router’s software up to date 6 Consider turning the router off completely if away for long periods of time and you have no internet-connected security devices (such as cameras)

thedownload.co.nz Rant | Better Internet

Why don’t you have fibre yet? BY ANDREW CUSHEN

I HAVE GIGABIT fibre at home. It’s brilliant. Zealanders would love to but can’t get fibre yet, solution for your customers, or your family? I can download content at incredible speeds. or ever, because they are outside the rollout area. I doubt it, or that it is the right answer for the We can watch 4k Netflix while fiddling on our However, it still astonishes me that fewer more than half of New Zealanders who have phones. The idea of waiting for content to load than half of those who could buy fibre are doing yet to go the fibre route. is almost a thing of the past for us. We live in so. I also remember that for many, many years We all have the chance right now to enjoy the future and it’s fantastic. people would express concern and dismay that better, world class, in fact, connectivity in Now, I admit that I’m not likely to be New Zealand’s internet wasn’t good enough. many of our homes and our businesses. If you representative of all New Zealanders. I work in Well, for many of us now our internet is good don’t have fibre yet, ask yourself: why not? the industry and I am a big fan of better internet. enough. Fibre is better than every single other Then have a look at fibre. I think you will be I’m not quite a millennial. In fact, I read the form of connectivity. It is almost certainly pleased you did. other day that I’m a xennial – someone who has faster. And it is almost certainly more stable enjoyed the internet all their teenage and adult and reliable. It may even be cheaper than what life. What this means is that I am likely to take people are currently using. It requires a bit of excellent internet connectivity seriously. effort to install, but after that it’s all gravy. That also means I am bewildered as to why I want to issue a challenge, not just to only 43 percent of those able to buy fibre are internet users but to Internet Service Providers actually doing so. I find myself regularly asking as well. I challenge you to answer my question: Andrew Cushen people: “Why don’t you have fibre yet?” “Why don’t you have fibre yet?” Then I want is deputy CEO of Now, I know that in many ways the uptake you to consider taking the plunge. Why are InternetNZ but of fibre so far is quite impressive – 43 percent you still buying – or, indeed, selling – products writes in a personal is good. I also recognise that many New that are based on copper? Is it really the best capacity here.

2018 / Issue 6 Upload, download, reload, all at the same time. Fibre is here, ask for it.

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