ADSL Coverage

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MasterNibot

13 posts

Geek

#40988 8-Sep-2009 13:37

Good afteroon fellow geeks.

As far as I know this is a suitable forum for this topic, if not I am sure it will be moved to the correct one swiftly.

I live in a house with three other internet users, currently we are forced to use a dial up connection because we were told 18 months ago that, while ADSL IS available in our area, the cabinet to which we are connected to is incapable of supporting it. Needless to say it was frustrating. We have made several more failed attempts at applying for broadband since then all with the same outcome. I can appreciate that rural telecommunications are some what behind those in urban areas but we live a mere 4km from the nearest exchange. To add insult to injury we have a great big fibre optic cable running right past our gate to the local electrical substation.
I am aware that there is now broadband options that are not ADSL, but generally they are too expensive to be feasible.
So, my questions are as follows:

Is telecom still responsible for servicing the lines?

If so, when is it commercially viable for them to upgrade a cabinet?

When can I reasonably expect our line to come up to standard?

What responsibilities do telecom have in terms of providing internet services?

What is it going to take to get telecom to upgrade the cabinet?

What are the costs involved for telecom to replace a cabinet?

Any help or insight is appreciated

MasterNibot.

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#254068 8-Sep-2009 13:56

What are there reasons for rejecting the order?
Is it load coils? Or are you connected to a PCM cabinet?
Ask if there are spare copper pairs all the way to the exchange that you can be swapped onto.

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MasterNibot

13 posts

Geek

#254132 8-Sep-2009 19:25

Thanks for your prompt reply, unfortunately haven't been able to dial out till now.
Unfortunately my knowledge of the telecommunication networks is somewhat lacking.
Whether it load coils or a PCM cabinet I can't be sure.
In terms of copper pairs, who should I ask? The telecom call center is based offshore and not only are they barely comprehendable, and I doubt they would be of any use in this case.
Is it possible to contact anyone locally about said copper pairs?

nzbnw

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#254140 8-Sep-2009 19:41

Only the Broadband Help desk is 100% off shore. 123 have some off shore reps, but a large majority are located in Hamilton. Not sure about how to change the cabling if at all possible in your situation, but 123 would be a start.

nzbnw

coffeebaron

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#254145 8-Sep-2009 19:48

Ask them to escalate your request to a broadband specialist. Or ask them to email details of the rejection to you. If you get an email, you can then forward this back to Telecom for further information.

PCM cabinet is a cabinet feed by usually a 2Mb type feed, to carry voice calls closer to where you are. Thus freeing up over used copper. ADSL will not work through such a cabinet, unless it to has some ADSL gear in it.

Load coils are common on longer lines to "boost" voice levels, but they also act as a filter - so therefore filter out your DSL signal :(

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matt45

311 posts

Ultimate Geek

#254166 8-Sep-2009 20:51

My bet is cabinet is fed only by PCM/DTLM, ushally if there is loading coils the job will go to build to see if it is viable to remove the coil or unload a/some pair/s.

* Is telecom still responsible for servicing the lines?
Yes, Telecom Group is (chorus is a part of the telecom group)
* If so, when is it commercially viable for them to upgrade a cabinet?
When there is enough people feeding from that cabinet that wish to have DSL, and if there is backhaul available.
* When can I reasonably expect our line to come up to standard?
By "come up to standard" i presume you mean support DSL, what ever time frame telcom have given you is generally the best ansfer you are going to get ... ushally nothing is set in stone untill a few months before the upgrade.
* What responsibilities do telecom have in terms of providing internet services?
Legally None. AFAIK
* What is it going to take to get telecom to upgrade the cabinet?
There is very little that you personally can do other than register interest
* What are the costs involved for telecom to replace a cabinet?
Its not cheap, and if the current cabinet is a passive cross connect cabinet then the cost is even greater due to ushally having to replace the entire cabinet and getting power, fibre etc to it.
Cabinets that have active equipment in them require power, batterys for UPS, Cooling and Backhaul.

hope this helps.

MasterNibot

13 posts

Geek

#254295 9-Sep-2009 10:48

After applying for broadband online with telecom I get the rather generic looking reponse that follows:

Broadband@telecom.co.nz:

Test results:
After completing further checks, we're sorry to confirm that the cabinet your phone line is connected to is unable to support broadband. We have recorded your interest and will notify you should the current situation change.
In the meantime, you may wish to consider alternative broadband options, such as Mobile Broadband. To find out more about these options please call Telecom on 123 or visit www.telecom.co.nz/mobilebroadband.

Kind regards

Wilbert
Service Co-ordinator
Customer Care Online Team

T         0800 22 55 98 (Broadband Helpdesk)

F          0800 453 878

E          broadband@telecom.co.nz

W         www.telecom.co.nz

I will try 123 shortly to see if I can get any information regarding the rejection, how likely is it to get rejection information if I reply to that email asking for it?

Thanks again.

matt45

311 posts

Ultimate Geek

#254311 9-Sep-2009 11:49

Depends on the skill level of that person.

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cyberhub

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Master Geek

#254332 9-Sep-2009 13:33

Hi
If I was you, I would start looking for alternatives.

Go to the National Broadband map here http://www.broadbandmap.govt.nz/map zoom in on your address and click on the broadband options to the right till you find a provider in your area.

Most Cities and decent sized town areas have wireless broadband of some discription. I know that Orcon supply a wireless service call rural broadband or something like that, they may be able to help you.

Give it a go, if you find a provider in your area, call them up and get their service.

If all else fails, you can try satilite however from talking with some people it is not reliable and should only be used as the very last ditch option.

Good luck

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MasterNibot

13 posts

Geek

#254348 9-Sep-2009 14:01

I have looked at alternate connection types, trouble is I live in the valley of a mountain surrounded by trees, and recently our cellular reception has reduced to an average of 0-1 bars depending where in the house you are. The trees reduce the chances of wireless and the poor reception reduces the effectiveness of mobile. My understanding is that ADSL is the cheapest "broadband" available to most residential addresses and potentially the most reliable, it is certainly would the best choice if it was made available.

nate

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#254379 9-Sep-2009 15:56

MasterNibot: My understanding is that ADSL is the cheapest "broadband" available to most residential addresses and potentially the most reliable, it is certainly would the best choice if it was made available.

You would be right, in most cases, with that assumption.

Do you have any neighbours nearby you could run a wireless link to, and share their broadband? Unfortunately if your exchange doesn't support ADSL or is full, there's not a hell of a lot that you can do.

You could move to a better supported area if you're that desperate.

Hope this helps.

coffeebaron

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#254424 9-Sep-2009 17:15

MasterNibot: I have looked at alternate connection types, trouble is I live in the valley of a mountain surrounded by trees, and recently our cellular reception has reduced to an average of 0-1 bars depending where in the house you are. The trees reduce the chances of wireless and the poor reception reduces the effectiveness of mobile. My understanding is that ADSL is the cheapest "broadband" available to most residential addresses and potentially the most reliable, it is certainly would the best choice if it was made available.

What area are you from?
Also what does putting you address in this link give you?
http://www.telecomwholesale.co.nz/maps

There are several mobile broadband solutions available too - even if you coverage is poor. PM me if you would like to explore these options too.

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MasterNibot

13 posts

Geek

#254499 9-Sep-2009 19:25

Just got this response by e-mail when i asked about my line:

telecom:
I have checked your order. The feasibility test result shows that the cabinet your phone line is connected to is unable to support broadband. I am sorry to confirm that your landline is connected to a PCM cabinet and there are no spare copper pairs.

so looks like it isn't likely we'll get a dsl connection even when they upgrade the exchange for adsl2 in 2010.
Thanks for your help and I'll look into mobile broadband with vodafone.

coffeebaron

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#254606 9-Sep-2009 23:05

Ask to be put on the list as a "waiter" for a spare copper pair and see what kind of reply you get. So what did the link above tell you? Is there no cabinet upgrade planned?

Rural IT and Broadband support.

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MasterNibot

13 posts

Geek

#254799 10-Sep-2009 16:12

Thanks, I will ask about becoming a "waiter". The link above (when it finally loaded) showed that within the exchange we are connected to 3 cabinets will be updated to support adsl2 in jan 2010 however it doesn't tell me what cabinet we are connected to, it only shows the cabinets that will be upgraded.

MasterNibot

13 posts

Geek

#254841 10-Sep-2009 18:48

Just got a reply from telecom in regards to my query about "waiter".

Thank you for your reply.

Yes, we have put you on what we call a " wanters list " ( customers wanting for broadband ). You will be contacted when broadband is available to you. My apologies for the inconvenience this may cause.

If you have any further questions regarding Telecom products and services please visit our web site at http://www.telecom.co.nz

Kind regards,

Alex
Customer Care Online

Not quite as helpful as the first e-mail but hopefully my nagging has got the message through.

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