Rural broadband for Ngongotahā and Hamurana.
We might be new to Rotorua but are already loved by thousands of families across the Waikato and Western Bay of Plenty.
#1 Rated Rural Broadband in Rotorua
Hundreds of 5-star reviews and winner of New Zealand’s best rural internet provider award multiple years in a row.
But the real reason why families rave about Lightwire is that it just works. And if for whatever reason, it suddenly doesn’t, our local team is just a call away. No helpdesks in faraway countries, we’re just locals helping locals.
Don't be held back because you live rurally.
Partner with Lightwire to make the most of rural living in Ngongotahā and Hamurana.
55 Sec
Average Call Wait Time
(last 30 days)
64.9 Mbps
Average Download Speed
(last 30 days – measured at time of install)
99.999%
Average Tower Uptime
(last 30 days – all towers)
Lightwire rural wireless is not
Cellular
We do not use 4G or 5G cellular networks to provide internet at your property.
Fibre
Providing fibre to rural communities is typically too costly and impractical.
Satellite
We’re fixed wireless broadband experts, not rocket scientists.
How Lightwire's fixed wireless broadband works
How Lightwire's fixed Wireless broadband works
A Lightwire technician installs a dish on the roof of your house that’s capable of receiving signals from a Lightwire high site that has clear line of sight (LoS) to a Lightwire tower on a nearby hill. These towers are also commonly referred to as a high site. The tower beams radio signals to your dish over which data is carried.
Whole Home WiFi Guarantee
Enjoy WiFi in every room of your rural property without interruptions. Lightwire’s Unlimited (12 Month) plan comes with a Whole Home WiFi Guarantee. The guarantee can also be added to other plans as a paid add-on.
We're here
It’s a bit difficult to spot, but if you’ve got a pair of binoculars, you’re able to spot our tower and the solar panels on the hill.
But we’re not just providing fast rural internet to the rural community of Ngongotahā and Hamurana, we’re also giving back and we’re currently in talks with the town hall, local schools and clubs to understand how we can help the area thrive.
We care as much as you do.
Here’s why Lightwire makes a great partner for your rural internet and voice needs…
You won’t wait
With an average call wait time below 2 mins, when you need us, you’ll get hold of our local support team quickly.
Speed Guaranteed
Lightwire’s rural broadband comes with guaranteed download speeds, meaning you never have to settle for the buffer ever again.
Your own portal
Access everything related to your services from one place. Check your data usage, change your plan, pay your bills, refer a friend, and much more.
Visit within 14 days
An installer will visit your property within 14 business days of your order being accepted.
Free install
A Lightwire installer will come to your house, install a dish on your roof, place a Wi-Fi router and run tests to ensure you are good to go. This is $990 worth of value, and it’s free on a 12-month term.
No Risk
Wireless broadband doesn’t work everywhere. If we can’t get you online then we won’t charge you a cent.
Flexible rural broadband plans
All Lightwire Rural Fixed Wireless Broadband plans are flexible, meaning you can change your plan at any time.
- Step 1: Pick a plan
- Step 2: Fill out your details
- Step 3: We'll confirm your coverage
- Step 4: Be online in 14 days*
- Step 1: Pick a plan
- Step 2: Fill out your details
- Step 3: We'll confirm your coverage
- Step 4: Be live in 14 days*
Not sure how much data you need?
Don’t know how much data you need? That’s okay, you can change your plan after you sign up without penalty via your customer portal. Move to a higher or lower data plan at any time with the click of a button.
Learn more about Lightwire’s rural broadband plans here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your speed will depend on a number of factors, including distance from our nearest tower, the capacity on that tower and how you are connecting to your Lightwire connection from within your house.
When we talk about speed, we are talking about the speed you can get from your Lightwire supplied router back to the speed test server on our network. This is different from the speed you can get over WiFi as the distance from your router or number of other devices connected to the same network affect the speed.
With the above detail taken into account, we see average download speeds of 64.9Mbps across the network, and guarantee a download speed of 10Mbps during peak periods (3pm to 10pm).
This means that if you aren’t getting 10Mbps or better, we will treat this as a speed fault and get it sorted for you.
Lightwire is unique among rural broadband providers in that we go past talking about potential speeds or average speeds – we commit to guaranteed minimum download speeds.
During off-peak periods we commit to providing at least 20Mbps download speeds, and during on-peak times we commit to at least 10Mbps download speeds.
Want to know what guaranteed download speeds mean for you? Read it here.
In designing our plans, we have tried to find a balance between ensuring our costs are covered and keeping your costs as low as possible.
When it comes to installation, we need to install a dish on your roof that will point at a tower on a nearby hill, and install a WiFi router. All of this is done by a Lightwire engineer.
If you sign a 12-month term, we do all of this for free.
On a 6-month term, we can’t be sure that we will have you with us long enough to earn a return on the cost of the install, so we pass on $490 of the cost as a one-off installation charge.
Lightwire gives you unparalleled flexibility. Regardless of which plan you sign up to, you can upgrade or downgrade that plan at any time without penalty. This is done via your customer portal.
Upgrades take effect immediately, and plan downgrades take effect at the start of the following month.
Yes. Lightwire won’t interact with your current internet company to cancel the service for you, that needs to be handled by you directly.
Unfortunately, even with the use of sophisticated software, we can never be 100% sure that we can connect a service at an address until our installer has attended site and made an attempt.
To get you connected we need a clear line of sight between somewhere on your property and one of our towers, and that tower needs to be close enough for the speeds to be acceptable.
When you sign up, we know how close you are to a tower, so we are pretty sure that you can connect. Once you lodge an order, our team manually checks whether any hills will get in the way or whether we have seen a failed install at the same (or nearby) address previously. If that all looks good, your order goes to an installer.
The last issue we usually see is that of trees. We can’t see these using our software, so it is always the last hurdle to clear.
If distance, hills and/or trees aren’t an issue, you are almost certainly able to connect. The best option is to start by lodging an order, there is no cost to you if we can’t get you connected.
Rural Broadband
Do more from Ngongotahā & Hamurana
Residential rural broadband for the Ngongotahā area. Check if you’re in coverage for fast, reliable wireless broadband from Lightwire.
Winner of Best Rural Broadband Provider 2 years in a row
Need help?
give us a call
On average you’ll get a wireless broadband specialist on the phone in less than 2 minutes.
