Spark won't allow me to use 5G Broadband at my Greenlane house but my phone gets excellent 5G there

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Spark won't allow me to use 5G Broadband at my Greenlane house but my phone gets excellent 5G there

alanwalp

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#312895 27-May-2024 18:04

My house (Greenlane, Auckland) is just outside the 5G coverage area on Spark's website but it is elevated and I get good 5G coverage on my iphone.

I have asked Spark to change me to a 5G broadband modem (currently 4G broadband) but they won't allow me to.

Is there anyway around this? Do I need to speak to a more technical person at Spark?

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

Alan

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#3235349 27-May-2024 18:37

@alanwalp Just deleted my first post and that sounds very odd and makes no sense

skewt

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#3235351 27-May-2024 19:01

I think this is because they allocate capacity for wireless broadband

Plenty of areas you can get 4G but not the wireless broadband option so I don’t see why it would be different for 5G

You can get around this by paying for a direct data plan but will cost more

nztim

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#3235354 27-May-2024 19:08

Any reason, in Greenlane you not on fibre?

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

alanwalp

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#3235420 27-May-2024 20:22

I'm not currently on fibre as there's no easy way to get it into house without having exposed cables/conduit and drilling holes in the wall (when we built the house I put in a spare conduit for fibre but the builder pulled it out just before concreting, and the phoneline conduit got pinched so we can't pull fibre through that either).

I don't think it is a capacity issue, I think it's because our address is just outside the Spark 5G coverage area (see below) - and if our house was only one level, perhaps we wouldn't get good 5G, but because we are a 3 level home, we get decent 5G.

Regarding direct data, does that mean I just buy a 5G modem and buy a data plan as if I have another mobile phone?

Cheers for the help,

Alan

wellygary

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#3235421 27-May-2024 20:41

Starlink? Address area seems valid

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huckster

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#3235428 27-May-2024 21:09

For a good, solid, expandable (i.e. go from a basic to stupid speed plans) connection, fibre beats everything else.

So I personally would investigate further on getting it installed.

I think it would also add value to the house.

quickymart

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#3235437 27-May-2024 21:15

Yes, I'd suggest fibre too - have a talk to your Service Provider and ask if they can place an order for you. You can then discuss installation options with the tech.

Do you have a copper line currently? If so, how does that enter the property?

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alanwalp

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#3235444 27-May-2024 21:35

Yes, I understand fibre is the best option and I had the Chorus techs here today to see if they could install fibre without visible conduit pipes etc. Unfortunately, they couldn't (we have a lot of hard surfaces).

They tried a few years to install fibre through the landline copper conduit, but the wire is pinched somewhere under the concrete drive, so they couldn't pull the fibre through that way.

We are pretty fussy because we built the house ourselves, so trying to keep a really clean aesthetic, and 4G broadband currently meets 95% of our needs, so I think 5G wireless would be fine.

Thanks for the suggestion of Starlink, I will check that out as an option.

Maybe I can get a friendly neighbour who is nearby in the 5G area to get the account with Spark and then shift the modem to my place, but it seems a little silly to have to do that.

Cheers for the feedback!

turtleattacks

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#3235449 27-May-2024 21:45

Have you considered other telcos? i.e. 2degrees might be able to supply.

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Chills

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#3235450 27-May-2024 21:50

2degrees would be another option due to them having independent towers, one may be closer.

alanwalp

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#3235453 27-May-2024 21:56

Thanks for that - YES, it seems we are in the 2 degrees 5G coverage area so I will try them. Cheers!

nztim

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#3235455 27-May-2024 22:03

Good that you can get 2degress 5G

Seriously though, I am going to be honest here, Greenlane is one of the most desirable suburbs in Auckland

I would be smashing up the driveway, doing a nice clean fibre install, and getting it re-cemented

Your property value will thank you for it.

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

michaelmurfy

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#3235460 27-May-2024 22:14

Yep agreed. I seriously think ultimately you should just suck it up and get fibre installed.

There’s going to be a time where installs are not going to be free then you’ll start kicking yourself for not doing it. People even in more rural areas are willing to pay $10,000+ for it to be installed. Sure 4G/5G is fine now but it’s a wireless technology and with wireless comes eventual congestion.

Depending on the driveway also sometimes slot cutting is an option but really if you want a non standard install then you’ll be doing the work. Either way, you should while installs are free.

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nztim

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#3235712 28-May-2024 08:47

michaelmurfy:

Sure 4G/5G is fine now but it’s a wireless technology and with wireless comes eventual congestion.

This is already happening on 4G

michaelmurfy:

Depending on the driveway also sometimes slot cutting is an option but really if you want a non standard install then you’ll be doing the work. Either way, you should while installs are free.

Slot cutting looks like dogfood, I would either smash the driveway up or pay for thrusting, the original copper will have an entry point into the house so if you could thrust to there when just re-use the same entry point

End of the Day, if the OP goes to sell and Fiber is not installed it could be the difference between getting 2M+ or 1.7M for the property

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

turtleattacks

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#3235713 28-May-2024 08:50

nztim:

michaelmurfy:

Sure 4G/5G is fine now but it’s a wireless technology and with wireless comes eventual congestion.

This is already happening on 4G

michaelmurfy:

Depending on the driveway also sometimes slot cutting is an option but really if you want a non standard install then you’ll be doing the work. Either way, you should while installs are free.

Slot cutting looks like dogfood, I would either smash the driveway up or pay for thrusting, the original copper will have an entry point into the house so if you could thrust to there when just re-use the same entry point

End of the Day, if the OP goes to sell and Fiber is not installed it could be the difference between getting 2M+ or 1.7M for the property

I've been trying to convince my parents to install fibre rather using the 4G internet that Spark has sold them, telling them it'll be just as good.

Anyone know how long will the 'free' Fibre installation be going on for? When will it end?

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