New Zealanders' internet downloads hit a record high during the Beijing Olympics, with peak viewing on Tuesday at the end of the men's triathlon.
The peak output was 5.2 gigabytes per second (Gbs) of data, said Neil de Wit, chief executive of CityLink, the company assisting TVNZ's live internet coverage of the Olympics.
"TVNZ Olympic coverage via the StreamingNet content delivery network peaked on Tuesday at 3.40pm, coinciding with the finish of the men's triathlon, and when NZ went up against Germany in the men's hockey."
The system was able to handle 10 to 15Gbs. Data caps meant that users had been selective about what they watched, rather than leaving online coverage running all day, he said.
Since the start of the games until this morning, 95 terabytes of data have been downloaded, more than 95,000Gb or the equivalent of 5000 people using a 20Gb monthly data plan in one week, he said.
Average daily peaks over the fortnight were 1.5-2Gbs, with a few over 4Gbs.
