Is It Time to Upgrade Your Broadband Plan?

Does your internet feel like it’s slowing you down? With the holidays approaching, increased Wi-Fi demands—from family video calls to streaming and gaming—might push your broadband to its limit. If frequent buffering, laggy gaming, or poor video call quality sound familiar, it’s time to upgrade to a high-speed broadband plan. As more devices connect, it’s easy to outgrow your current plan without realizing it. Here’s how to spot the signs and find the perfect broadband upgrade for your home.

Signs You’ve Outgrown Your Plans

1. Frequent Buffering

Few things are more frustrating than settling in to watch your favourite Netflix show, only to have it buffer at the most dramatic moment—or worse, during an awkward scene you didn’t see coming while watching with your parents (yikes). If this keeps happening, it’s often a sign that your bandwidth can’t keep up with streaming services like Netflix and YouTube, especially when multiple devices and users are online at the same time. Streaming requires consistent speeds to ensure a smooth, uninterrupted viewing experience, and may require a broadband upgrade if you’re not experiencing this.

2. Multiple Devices, Varied Bandwidth

If you’re sharing a home with multiple people and everyone’s using several devices at once, it’s no surprise if you experience lag—especially on older or slower internet plans. From gaming consoles and smart TVs to phones, laptops, and other smart devices, the demand adds up quickly. With more of us working from home, it’s common for older or slower connection to struggle. And it’s not just when everyone is actively online—background activities like cloud backups and automatic updates can quietly strain your bandwidth, causing interruptions even when no one’s streaming or gaming.

3. Poor Video Call Quality

It’s not just during the holiday season, with long calls to family, that a poor connection becomes a problem—it’s a year-round frustration for WFH employees too. A dodgy connection or limited bandwidth can make it tough to join video calls smoothly. While it might be a convenient excuse to keep your camera off in meetings, it’s probably not worth the other issues that come with operating outside your bandwidth. Video calls—especially in HD—demand reliable upload and download speeds to stay seamless.

4. High Lag When Gaming

High latency during gaming might be a great excuse when you’re losing, but it’s not exactly fun in the long run. Slow internet speeds can completely ruin the gaming experience, leading to frustration (and maybe a few too many dents in the wall). Upgrading your broadband plan can make a world of difference—smoother gameplay, fewer lags, and a much better overall experience. Think of it as a Christmas gift to yourself, perfectly complementing any new games you might be lucky enough to unwrap this holiday season.

5. Growing Household Needs

As your household grows—whether it’s more family members or extra flatmates (thanks, NZ economy)—the demand for bandwidth inevitably increases. From kids completing homework online to teenagers streaming lectures, or even Grandma launching her own cooking TikTok account, one thing is certain: internet usage will only keep growing. Beyond the usual streaming, work-from-home calls, and other everyday activities, today’s online habits are pushing past the norm. Meeting these growing demands might mean it’s time to upgrade your broadband plan.

So, you tick all of the above. What Are Your Options?

Good news! At Voyager, we offer a range of Home Broadband plans designed to keep you up to speed and connected to everything that matters online. With Voyager offering Fibre and Hyperfibre plans, backed by award-winning service when you need it and kiwi owned, it’s a no brainer to upgrade.

The first step is to check your current speed so you can choose a plan with a speed that meets your needs and is a step up on your current plan. If your household’s internet demand is set to double (or more) in the coming years, consider a plan built to handle significant growth, like Hyperfibre.

The second is to see what services and speeds are available in your area and consider what your budget is when it comes to a new plan. Consider the fact that a step up in speed can make life easier for everyone and often comes at a minimal cost compared to the frustration and interruptions caused by slow internet.

Explore our Home Broadband plans here to see the full details and find out what’s available in your area.

Still not sure? We’re here to help! Give us a call at 0800 4 SPEED, or get in touch to chat with one of our experts!