Chorus Limited

Chorus Limited is a New Zealand telecommunications infrastructure company that owns and operates a nationwide wholesale fixed-line network. Its principal assets are the country’s largest fibre-optic access network, legacy copper local loops, street cabinets, exchanges, transport infrastructure and associated backhaul facilities. Chorus does not generally sell broadband or telephone services directly to households. Instead, it provides open-access wholesale services to retail telecommunications providers, which package Chorus connectivity with internet, voice, mobile or other communications products for end users. The company was created during the structural separation of Telecom New Zealand. Telecom established Chorus as a separate business unit in 2008, and Chorus was formally separated and listed on the New Zealand Exchange on 1 December 2011. The demerger transferred to Chorus most of Telecom’s copper lines, cabinets, many exchange buildings, DSLAM equipment and selected fibre backhaul assets. Telecom retained its retail customer relationships and other assets, including its mobile business and interests in Southern Cross Cable. Telecom later adopted the Spark New Zealand name in 2014. Chorus became the principal delivery partner for the New Zealand Government’s Ultra-Fast Broadband programme. Through the programme, it built a large open-access fibre network reaching homes, businesses, schools and public facilities in urban and regional communities. The initial UFB programme sought to make fibre available to approximately 75% of the population. A later UFB2 and UFB2+ expansion increased the national target to approximately 87%, with Chorus responsible for most of the expanded footprint. The fibre build was completed in December 2022 and covered 412 towns and cities. By 2024, the Chorus fibre network was reported to be capable of reaching up to 87% of New Zealanders, with fibre uptake reported at approximately 75%. Chorus’s operating model is regulated and infrastructure-led. Retailers obtain wholesale access to fibre or copper connections and manage the direct relationship with customers. This separation is intended to support competition among retail service providers while allowing a single infrastructure operator to build and maintain the access network. Chorus has worked with delivery and field-service contractors including Visionstream, Downer, Transfield Services and UCG on network construction, maintenance and customer connection work. The company continues to manage a declining copper estate alongside its expanding fibre network. Copper can support voice and DSL broadband, with performance varying according to line length and network equipment. Chorus’s cabinetisation programme placed equipment closer to users and improved the proportion of lines capable of higher ADSL2+ speeds. As customers migrate to fibre, copper usage has steadily fallen. Chorus has been retiring copper assets under New Zealand’s regulatory Copper Withdrawal Code, first introduced in 2021 and updated in 2024. In 2024, the company stated that it was working toward retiring the copper network by 2030, subject to regulatory requirements and the availability of replacement services. Chorus has also used wholesale product upgrades to increase the value and speed of fibre access without requiring retail providers to pay more for selected plans. Its Big Fibre Boost programme began in 2021, lifting a widely used residential wholesale tier from 100/20 Mbps to 300 Mbps download with a substantially higher upload speed. In 2025, Chorus announced further upgrades, including moving its most popular residential wholesale tier from 300/100 Mbps to 500/100 Mbps for more than 700,000 homes and raising the entry-level tier from 50/10 Mbps to 100/20 Mbps. Chorus remains focused on network coverage, capacity, reliability, wholesale service quality and the transition from copper to fibre rather than consumer-facing branding.

Chorus originated within Telecom New Zealand as a separately managed infrastructure business unit created in 2008. Its formation reflected the New Zealand Government’s decision to structurally separate fixed-line infrastructure from retail telecommunications as part of the Ultra-Fast Broadband programme. Telecom’s retail business had an established customer base, while the new infrastructure company would own and operate the access network and provide wholesale services to competing retailers. Chorus was formally established as an independent company on 1 December 2011, when it was demerged from Telecom New Zealand and listed on the NZX. The separation transferred most of Telecom’s copper access lines, cabinets, many telephone exchanges, DSLAM equipment and selected fibre backhaul assets to Chorus. Telecom retained retail customer relationships and several other businesses and network interests. The former parent later changed its name to Spark New Zealand in 2014, while Chorus developed as a standalone infrastructure operator. The company’s early strategic importance came from the government-backed UFB programme. The initial programme, announced in 2011, used a public-private-partnership structure involving Crown Fibre Holdings and several delivery partners. The objective was to build fibre closer to homes and businesses and make high-speed broadband available to about 75% of New Zealand’s population. Chorus received the majority of the build responsibility and used large construction and field-service contractors to deliver the network. In 2013, it entered construction agreements with Visionstream and Downer valued at approximately NZ$1 billion and supported by a government subsidy of NZ$929 million. Transfield Services subsequently joined the construction effort. The fibre footprint was expanded through UFB2 and UFB2+, announced in 2017. The expanded programme raised the national coverage objective to about 87% of the population, with Chorus responsible for approximately 84% of the total target area. Construction continued through urban centres, regional towns and other communities. The principal build was completed in December 2022, by which point the Chorus network had reached 412 towns and cities. The network operates on an open-access basis: retail service providers purchase wholesale access and remain responsible for marketing, billing and the direct customer relationship. Alongside fibre construction, Chorus continued operating New Zealand’s inherited copper network. The copper loop supported traditional telephone services and DSL broadband, with attainable speeds affected by the distance between premises and network equipment. Chorus’s fibre-to-the-node and cabinetisation work brought DSL equipment closer to users and improved the performance of many lines. Copper lines could also be unbundled, enabling operators such as Vodafone and Vocus to install their own equipment at exchanges while renting access to the local loop. Fibre adoption gradually reduced dependence on copper. New Zealand amended its Telecommunications Act in 2018 to require a formal Copper Withdrawal Code, which came into force in March 2021. The code established requirements Chorus must meet before withdrawing copper services, including notification and replacement-service considerations. Chorus began with a trial retirement of 28 copper cabinets in March 2021 and later continued planned withdrawals in fibre-ready areas. A revised code published in February 2024 streamlined notification requirements and clarified expectations for replacement services. Chorus has stated that it is working toward retiring the copper network by 2030, although the transition depends on regulation, network availability and the circumstances of individual customers. As its fibre network matured, Chorus shifted attention toward capacity, wholesale service quality and speed improvements. In November 2021, it launched Big Fibre Boost, increasing the download speed of a widely used residential wholesale plan from 100 Mbps to 300 Mbps and multiplying its upload speed fivefold. In June 2025, it announced further upgrades at no additional wholesale charge for selected residential tiers, including a move from 300/100 Mbps to 500/100 Mbps for more than 700,000 homes and an increase in the entry-level plan from 50/10 Mbps to 100/20 Mbps. Chorus remains a New Zealand-focused, publicly listed network company rather than a consumer retail internet brand. Its role is defined by ownership and operation of fixed access infrastructure, wholesale connectivity, regulated network transition and long-term investment in fibre coverage and capacity.

• 2025

  Residential fibre tiers upgraded

  [2]Chorus Limited official websitechorus.co.nz

  Chorus announces upgrades to major residential wholesale tiers, including 500/100 Mbps service for more than 700,000 homes.

• 2024

  Copper Withdrawal Code updated

  [1]Chorus Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  The revised code clarifies replacement-service expectations and streamlines notification procedures as copper retirement progresses.

• 2022

  Main UFB build completed

  [1]Chorus Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  The fibre rollout is completed across 412 towns and cities, reaching the programme’s expanded national coverage objective.

• 2021

  Copper Withdrawal Code takes effect

  [1]Chorus Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  A regulatory code establishes the conditions and process for withdrawing copper services in areas where suitable replacement services are available.

• 2021

  Big Fibre Boost launches

  [1]Chorus Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Chorus increases speeds on selected residential wholesale fibre products, beginning a broader programme of network capacity and plan upgrades.

• 2017

  UFB2 and UFB2+ expand the fibre target

  [1]Chorus Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  The expanded government programme raises the intended fibre footprint to approximately 87% of New Zealand’s population.

• 2013

  Major fibre construction agreements signed

  [1]Chorus Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Chorus signs construction contracts with Visionstream and Downer, collectively valued at approximately NZ$1 billion, for its UFB work.

• 2011

  Chorus is established and listed

  [1]Chorus Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Chorus is demerged from Telecom New Zealand on 1 December and begins trading as an independent listed infrastructure company.

• 2011

  Ultra-Fast Broadband programme begins

  [1]Chorus Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  The New Zealand Government launches the UFB initiative through a public-private-partnership model, with Chorus taking responsibility for most of the fibre construction.

• 2008

  Telecom creates a separate infrastructure business unit

  [1]Chorus Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Telecom New Zealand establishes Chorus as a separately managed business unit in preparation for structural separation and participation in the national fibre programme.

A regulated, open-access wholesale network operator and the principal owner and builder of New Zealand’s fixed fibre infrastructure.

• Fibre access · 2011

  Wholesale fibre broadband

  Chorus provides open-access fibre connections to retail telecommunications providers. Retailers use these wholesale services to deliver broadband and related communications products to homes, businesses and other end users. Chorus owns and maintains the underlying access network, while retailers manage customer acquisition, billing, service packaging and support.

• National fibre infrastructure programme · 2011

  Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB)

  UFB is the government-backed fibre deployment that created the core of Chorus’s modern access network. Chorus delivered most of the national build through staged construction agreements and later UFB2 and UFB2+ expansions. The completed network reaches hundreds of New Zealand towns and cities and is designed to support competing retail providers through wholesale access.

• Copper access · 2011

  Copper local-loop and DSL access

  Chorus owns the legacy copper local-loop network used for fixed voice and DSL broadband services. Connection performance depends partly on the distance between a premise and network equipment. The company has used cabinetisation to improve DSL performance, but copper demand has declined as customers move to fibre. Withdrawals are governed by New Zealand’s Copper Withdrawal Code.

• Wholesale plan upgrade programme · 2021

  Big Fibre Boost

  Big Fibre Boost is a programme of wholesale fibre speed enhancements. Its 2021 launch increased a widely used residential tier from 100 Mbps download to 300 Mbps and significantly increased upload speed. Later upgrades included a 500/100 Mbps tier for more than 700,000 homes and a faster entry-level product.

• 2021Big Fibre Boost

  New Zealand

  Chorus introduced higher speeds on selected residential wholesale fibre plans, positioning the upgrade as a way to increase broadband performance across its open-access network.

  Outcome. The principal 100 Mbps download tier was raised to 300 Mbps, with upload performance also substantially increased.

  Source

• 2025

  Upgrade residential wholesale fibre tiersProduct launch

  Background

  Chorus sought to increase the capacity and competitiveness of its mature fibre network while maintaining the wholesale price for selected services.

  Action taken

  The company announced a move from 300/100 Mbps to 500/100 Mbps for more than 700,000 homes and raised the entry-level tier from 50/10 Mbps to 100/20 Mbps.

  Aftermath

  The upgrades were announced as being delivered at no additional cost to retail service providers for the affected wholesale plans.

  Source

• 2021

  Begin regulated copper retirementStrategy

  Background

  Fibre migration reduced demand for copper, while the Copper Withdrawal Code established minimum requirements for service withdrawal.

  Action taken

  Chorus retired an initial group of 28 copper cabinets in fibre-ready urban areas and began a staged transition away from copper.

  Aftermath

  Copper retirement continued under the regulatory framework, with Chorus indicating an objective of retiring the network by 2030.

  Source

• 2017

  Expand the national fibre footprint through UFB2 and UFB2+Strategy

  Background

  The initial fibre programme targeted approximately 75% population coverage, while policy makers sought to extend high-speed access to additional communities.

  Action taken

  Chorus accepted responsibility for most of the expanded footprint, supporting a national target of approximately 87% population coverage.

  Aftermath

  The expanded fibre build was completed in December 2022 across 412 towns and cities.

  Source

• 2011

  Separate infrastructure from retail operationsStrategy

  Background

  The New Zealand Government’s UFB framework required a distinct infrastructure operator capable of providing wholesale access to multiple retail providers.

  Action taken

  Telecom demerged Chorus, transferring most fixed access infrastructure to the new company while retaining its retail business and selected other assets.

  Aftermath

  Chorus became an independent listed network operator and the principal builder of the national UFB fibre footprint.

  Source

1. 1Chorus Limiteden.wikipedia.org
2. 2Chorus Limited official websitechorus.co.nz