With the roll-out of UFB well underway, the Government has proposed letting Chorus call time on the copper network.

Consumers now have a pretty good idea of what broadband and phone services they will be able to get after 2020 and, for most of them, copper broadband is on the way out.

This year, two big decisions have been announced by the Government.

The first was to extend the availability of ultrafast broadband (UFB) to an extra 10 per cent of the population by 2025. That means 85 per cent of homes will be within reach of fibre-optic broadband, with download speeds of up to a gigabit.

CHRIS SKELTON/FAIRFAX NZ Chorus has had a roller-coaster ride since debuting on the NZX in 2013, with its shares oscillating from a low of $1.27 to a high of $4.65. Forsyth Barr says the latest proposals are, on balance, negative for the company.

On Friday, Communications Minister Simon Bridges set out the likely shape of new regulations that will govern the industry from 2020.

READ MORE:

* Another 151 towns to get UFB

* Free non-standard UFB install scheme extended

* Government promises no sudden prices rises in 2020

I am in an area that will get UFB. How will the changes affect me?

CRAIG SIMCOX/FAIRFAX NZ InternetNZ chief executive Jordan Carter says the Government's proposals are on the right track but 100Mbps will be too slow to serve as a benchmark for UFB pricing.

You will have to make the switch to UFB or wireless broadband, sooner rather than later.

That is because network company Chorus won't have to provide a copper phone and broadband service in UFB areas after 2020.

Chorus is likely to turn off the copper network in major towns and cities over a period of many years, perhaps after first upping its wholesale pricing.

If you don't want broadband at all, you will be able to buy a phone-only service delivered over the UFB network.

Should I be worried?

Fax machines won't necessary work on UFB and some security and medical alarms may need to be replaced.

If you live at the end of a long driveway or on a back section there is no guarantee you won't need to pay to connect to the UFB network after 2020, so think about switching sooner if you are what is called a "non-standard install".

However, there is probably no need to be too concerned.

One of the decisions the Government has made is to include the costs Chorus incurs for non-standard installs in the calculation that will decide what it can charge for UFB. This means Chorus may have the incentive to keep paying for all connections, as it does now.

Bear in mind that with UFB, you may need a battery backup to stand a chance of staying connected in the hours after a major natural disaster.

Will UFB cost about what it does now?

Pretty much. Chorus will have to sell a 100 megabit UFB service at a price, that until 2023, it will only be allowed to increase at the rate of inflation. That should mean prices remain stable until then.

It will also have its total revenues from UFB capped by the Commerce Commission from 2020. We don't yet know what the cap will be or how it may change over time.

But it will keep a lid on Chorus' profits from UFB and will be reviewed every three-to-five years.

Some industry insiders reckon UFB prices should fall by about $10 a month. Certainly, it is hard to see any upward pressure on pricing.

In cities like Christchurch and Hamilton where other companies are laying UFB there will be less regulation, but (the Government reckons) enough competition to ensure it won't be needed.

I don't live in a UFB area. What can I expect?

You won't be worse off. Chorus will have to continue to wholesale its copper services on the same terms that it does now at prices that will be capped at 2019 levels; that's $42.35 a month, including broadband.

That price won't be allowed to increase, even to match inflation.

The Government has earmarked $100 million to improve broadband in non-UFB areas and has set an "aspirational" goal of ensuring everyone gets a service with peak speeds of 50Mbps by 2025 (though it is probably best not to get too excited as there is no information on how the latter goal will be achieved).

A Cabinet paper suggests the price cap on rural copper services may encourage Chorus to further extend the UFB network into the provinces, over time; a realistic hope if you are in a bigger rural community.

How have the proposals been received?

Well, so far. InternetNZ has described them as "fair" and the Telecommunications Users Association as "encouraging", but with some caveats. Chorus' share price slipped a little on Friday with Forsyth Barr analyst Blair Galpin describing the proposals as negative for the company, on balance.

The Government has listened to concerns about the unbundling of Chorus' UFB network and is proposing a cautious approach by holding back for now on any tough price regulation of so-called "dark fibre".

This is probably good for consumers overall as it means it should remain possible for smaller internet providers to continue to compete with the big boys, Spark and Vodafone.