Q2 FY25 Connections Update

Chorus Limited
Level 10, 1 Willis Street
P O Box 632
Wellington
New Zealand

Email: company.secretary@chorus.co.nz


STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT

22 January 2025


Q2 FY25 Connections Update

Chorus today released its connections update for the Q2 period to 31 December.

Record monthly data usage

Average monthly data usage on fibre grew from 609 gigabytes (GB) in September to a
new monthly record of 644GB. The proportion of fibre users consuming more than
1,000GB, or 1 terabyte of data, rose from 15% to 17.5%.

Shift to a simpler all-fibre network continues at pace

About 16,000 copper lines were disconnected nationwide in the quarter, leaving about
123,000 copper lines in service on 31 December.

Within this total, about 28,000 copper lines remain in service in Chorus fibre areas, down
from about 35,000 lines at the end of September. Chorus expects the copper network in
this area to be fully retired by the end of 2026 and has issued approximately 96,000
service withdrawal notices for copper connections so far. More than 1,500 copper
broadband cabinets no longer have active customers.

In areas where fibre is not available, about 6,000 copper customers chose to migrate to
alternative network options, consistent with the trend in the prior quarter.

Fibre uptake keeps growing despite holiday season and shrinking copper pool

Total fibre connections increased by about 6,000 lines in the quarter to 1,098,000. This
growth more than offset a decline of 4,000 copper broadband lines in Chorus fibre areas.
While Chorus continues to retain close to 80% of migrating copper broadband
connections, the pool of customers available to migrate to fibre from copper is
diminishing.

Fibre uptake in UFB2 rollout areas, completed between 2018 and the end of 2022, rose
steadily in the quarter from 59% to 60 %. Fibre uptake across Chorus’ wider fibre
network footprint, excluding other local fibre company areas, lifted by 0.1% to 71.7%.
The pace of uptake also reflected the addition of another 6,000 addresses to the network
footprint in the quarter. This growth was driven by new property developments and
Chorus’ ongoing programme to extend fibre to about 10,000 existing homes in smaller
communities.

The effect of reduced student demand during summer holidays was again most evident in
Dunedin where fibre uptake decreased 1. 6% to 74.8%. Uptake in Auckland and
Wellington also slipped slightly, despite overall growth in connections, as footprint growth
outweighed connection growth in the quarter.

The combination of reducing demand for copper connections, partly offset by growth in
fibre connections, saw Chorus’ total fixed line connections reduce by 10,000 lines. This
was consistent with the prior quarter.


Multi-gigabit services continue to gain momentum

Business and residential customers on speeds of 500Mbps and above grew by 11,000
connections, with Chorus’ simplification of business plans driving a significant proportion
of upgrades to 500Mbps plans. Demand for multi-gigabit Hyperfibre connections also
gained momentum, rising another 19% to near 5,000 connections.

Cost-of -living pressures likely continued to fuel strong uptake of the entry level 50Mbps
Home Fibre Starter service, with another 11,0 00 connections added.



Authorised by:

Mark Aue
Chief Executive Officer

ENDS


For further information:

Vicki Gan
Media and Content Manager
Phone +64 22 075 0159
Email: Vicki.Gan@chorus.co.nz

Brett Jackson
Investor Relations Manager
Mobile: +64 (27) 488 7808
Email: Brett.Jackson@chorus.co.nz

---

Q2 FY25
CONNECTIONS
U P DAT E

2
Q2 FY25 CONNECTIONS UPDATE
Q2 FY25 overview
>Fibre connections (including non-address points and LFC areas) increased 6k (Q1 FY25: +8k) to 1,098,000
•in Chorus fibre areas, a 6k increase in fibre broadband connections offset a 4k reduction in copper broadband lines
•Home Fibre Starter (50Mbps) connections grew 11k to 68k
•fibre connections of 500Mbps+ increased by 11k across residential and business plans
>Chorus’ fibre footprint now covers 1,520,000 addresses (excluding LFC areas)
•fibre passed another 6,000 addresses in Q2 (Q1: +7k), including fibre to 500 existing homes in smaller communities
•overall fibre uptake grew 0.1% to 71.7% of passed addresses in Q2 (Q1: +0.2%)
•uptake in UFB2 areas lifted from 59% to 60%
>Total fixed line connections* declined by 10k (Q1: -10k) and now total 1,221,000
•copper broadband connections declined by 10k (Q1: -13k) and copper voice connections declined 6k (Q1: -5k)
•1,561 copper broadband cabinets no longer have active customers (Q1:1,492)
>Average monthly data usage on fibre was up strongly to 644GB (Sept:609GB)
•the proportion of terabyte users (i.e. consuming 1,000GB+ a month) lifted from 15% (Sept) to 17.5% (Dec)
*includes ~2,000 broadband connections Chorus is subsidising for lower socio-economic households

3
Q2 FY25 CONNECTIONS UPDATE
30 Sept
2023
31 Dec
2023
31 March
2024
30 June
2024
30 Sept
2024
31 Dec
2024
Baseband
copper
(no broadband)
64,00057,00051,00045,00040,00034,000
Copper ADSL
(includes naked)
75,00068,00062,00056,00049,00044,000
VDSL
(includes naked)
75,00068,00062,00055,00049,00044,000
Data services
(copper)
1,0001,0001,0001,0001,0001,000
Fibre broadband
(GPON)
1,041,0001,052,0001,064,0001,074,0001,083,0001,089,000
Fibre premium
(P2P)
10,00010,00010,00010,0009,0009,000
Total
connections*
1,266,0001,256,0001,250,0001,241,0001,231,0001,221,000
Copper connections
declined 16k in Q2 and
total 123k
Total fibre connections
grew 6k in Q2 and total
1,098k
*includes ~2,000 broadband connections Chorus is subsidising for lower socio-economic households
Fibre comprises 90% of Chorus connections

4
Q2 FY25 CONNECTIONS UPDATE
Fibre footprint reaches 1,520,000
71.7% fibre uptake across 1,520,000
passed addresses*
•uptake grew +0.1% in Q2
•+6k fibre connections to addresses**
•+6k addresses passed in Q2, including
500 addresses as part of Chorus’ fibre
expansion programme to smaller
communities
1,322,000 fibre installed addresses
•14k installations in Q2 (Q1:17k)
•198,000 addresses passed by fibre, but
fibre socket not yet installed (Q1:205k)
70
70.2
70.4
70.6
70.8
71
71.2
71.4
71.6
71.8
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
1,600,000
31-Dec-2331-Mar-2430-Jun-2430-Sep-2431-Dec-24
Fibre connectedInactive fibre sockets***
Fibre socket not yet installedFibre uptake (%)
*based on independent address data and Chorus network data for addresses passed by fibre; excludes Chorus fibre in Local Fibre Company (LFC) areas
** includes ~7k fibre premium connections to addresses; excludes smart location (GPON) connections and connections in LFC areas
*** not active on 31 December 2024
%

5
Q2 FY25 CONNECTIONS UPDATE
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
AucklandDunedinWellington
Uptake, by urban area,
for fibre passed addresses
Sep-23Dec-23Mar-24Jun-24Sep-24Dec-24
Uptake (%)
•Auckland uptake reduced 0.3% to 76.4% in Q2
as address growth outpaced connection growth
•Dunedin uptake reduced 1.6% to 74.8%
reflecting student seasonality
•Wellington uptake reduced 0.1% to 70.5% as
address growth outpaced connection growth

Note: uptake is measured across “urban areas” as
defined by Statistics NZ, rather than the original UFB
rollout areas
Uptake by city

6
Q2 FY25 CONNECTIONS UPDATE
Multi-gigabit Hyperfibre connections lift to ~5k
•demand for Hyperfibre plans (2Gbps and above) gained momentum, nearing 5k connections
•Home Fibre Starter (50Mbps) connections grew by 11k to 68k; plans below 300Mbps are 12% of residential connections
•business and residential connections of 500Mbps+ grew by 11k; driven mostly by simplification of business plans
•88% of business connections are on 500Mbps or faster; 25% of residential plans are on 1Gbps or faster
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
800,000
900,000
1,000,000
Dec-23Mar-24Jun-24Sep-24Dec-24
Residential
2Gbps+1Gbps300Mbps200Mbps100Mbps<100MbpsVoice
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
Dec-23Mar-24Jun-24Sep-24Dec-24
Business
2Gbps+1Gbps500Mbps300Mbps200Mbps100Mbps<100MbpsVoice

7
Q2 FY25 CONNECTIONS UPDATE
Connection changes by zone (indicative as at 31 December)
Other fibre
company (LFC)
zone
Copper lines (no broadband)6,000Local Fibre Company and fixed wireless provider
activity is driving a gradual decline in copper
connections.
Copper broadband lines8,000
Fibre broadband lines (GPON)4,000
TOTAL18,000
Non-fibre
addresses (i.e.
Chorus fibre not
available)
Copper lines (no broadband)15,000Ongoing decline in copper connections due to
mobile/fixed wireless/satellite footprint
expansion.
Copper broadband lines65,000
TOTAL80,000
Chorus fibre zoneCopper lines (no broadband)13,000Covers all addresses outside of LFC UFB rollout
zone where Chorus fibre is available. Fibre
footprint is growing as a result of new property
development. Copper connections are reducing
as Chorus retires its copper network.
Copper broadband lines15,000
Fibre broadband lines (GPON)1,083,000
TOTAL1,111,000
Quarterly change (’000s) by zone
-3
-4
-3
-4
-4
-2
-1
-2
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-2
-4
-6
-7
-8
-8
-4
-5
-5
-2
-4
-2
-2
-1
-2
-2
6
9
9
12
11
1
-15-5515
Q2 FY25
Q1 FY25
Q4 FY24
Q3 FY24
Q2 FY24
Q2 FY25
Q1 FY25
Q4 FY24
Q3 FY24
Q2 FY24
Q2 FY25
Q1 FY25
Q4 FY24
Q3 FY24
Q2 FY24
Copper line onlyCopper broadband
Fibre broadband
* Excludes ~12k fibre premium, data services (copper) and smart location connections

8
Q2 FY25 CONNECTIONS UPDATE
28k copper lines remaining in Chorus fibre areas
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Copper voice
Copper broadband
Chorus fibre zone
LFC fibre zone
Non fibre zone
Copper connections able to be withdrawn with 6 months’
notice where fibre is available
Connections
(thousands)
~96,000 copper withdrawal notifications
issued (cumulative) in Chorus fibre areas
•~28k connections remaining
•1,561 copper broadband cabinets closed (Q1:
1,492)
•broadband retention rate steady at 79%

9
Q2 FY25 CONNECTIONS UPDATE
Strong growth in monthly average data usage on fibre
302
644
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
Jun-20
Sep-20
Dec-20
Mar-21
Jun-21
Sep-21
Dec-21
Mar-22
Jun-22
Sep-22
Dec-22
Mar-23
Jun-23
Sep-23
Dec-23
Mar-24
Jun-24
Sep-24
Dec-24
CopperFibre
Data
usage
(GB)
* includes upstream traffic
Monthly average data usage per connection*
•monthly average data usage on fibre increased strongly
from 609GB in September to 644GB
•the proportion of fibre connections using more than 1
terabyte of data was 17.5%, up from 15% in September
•copper usage was 302GB (Sept: 273GB)

10
Q2 FY25 CONNECTIONS UPDATE
Pricing update
Fibre plan - consumerCurrent wholesale pricePrice before 1 Jan 2025Notes
Voice line$30.59$29.11
Home starter
50/10Mbps
$38$35
Wholesale price applies where retail price is $65.
50/10Mbps upgrades to 100/20Mbps from end FY25.
50/10Mbps$53.96$50.43
100/20Mbps
300/100Mbps
$56.28$53.54
100Mbps is anchor service.
300/100Mbps service upgrades to 500/100Mbps
from end FY25.
1Gbps $66.19$61.86
Hyperfibre 2Gbps$74.90$70
Hyperfibre 4Gbps$90.95$85
Hyperfibre 8Gbps$117.70$110
Copper pricingCurrent wholesale price Price before 16 Dec 2023 Notes
Copper line$38.21$36.17
Annual CPI adjustment mid-December
2024
Copper broadband$51.08$48.35