Getting the most out of the Broadband Map
The Broadband Map website holds a wealth of data that can be useful to people across the country, from users interested in Internet coverage to businesses providing information and services that rely on good Internet access. This free tool, created by InternetNZ, is to help anyone making decisions that involve Internet connectivity, so they have all the information needed to make the best choice for their needs.
This is especially important after COVID-19 showed us just how much we rely on the Internet for goods and services. Tailoring the experience offered to your users by knowing more about the kind of Internet access they might have can help with this.
You can learn more about how the Broadband Map website works here, and there are a few other ways that you can make use of this resource—and not all of them require using the website itself.
Introducing the Broadband Map widget
If you have a need for visitors to your website to look up Internet availability there’s another option to access the information the Broadband Map carries.
We have created an embeddable widget that allows your visitors to use the Broadband Map without leaving your website. This might be helpful if you need to help your customers decide if a digital service is right for them depending on any limitations of connectivity where they live. You can see an example of the widget in use below, alongside the website's own tools for seamless integration and use.
Overall, this makes for a better user experience and journey through your products. The widget is very configurable, and we’ve set up a section of the Broadband Map website to help you learn about the widget, adjust the settings and get the code you’ll need to add this to your website.
If this sounds like it might be useful to you please visit the widget section on the Broadband Map website to learn more.
Need something more customised and integrated? We have an API for that!
If the widget doesn’t meet your needs or you need something much more custom, there is the option to make use of the Broadband Map availability information through our API.
Doing this means you can access the data within the Broadband Map and present it in a way that matches your site’s design and purpose. As this is a customised solution, it must be done by someone with the technical knowledge to take this data and present it appropriately and this opens up a lot of possibilities. We’ve kept the cost to access the API reasonable and this helps to support the running of the public facing Broadband Map website, which we run for the public good.
If you’d like to learn more about the Broadband Map availability API usage, costs and the data available through this you can read over our documentation.
If you’d like to arrange access you can contact us via the website.
Overall, the widget has proven to be a popular choice because of its simplicity to use and user-friendly interface. If you need more control and customisation, then the API might be for you. If you’re somewhere in between please get in contact with us to discuss your project and we do our best to help find the right solution for your needs.
We’re always keen to discuss new ways to improve and expand the Broadband Map as a tool that any New Zealander can use to identify what Internet access is available to them at any location, so get in touch if you’d like to know more.