IPv6 trial ending / no more IPoE

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › IPv6 trial ending / no more IPoE

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#2015629 14-May-2018 11:23

So whats the value prop for Bigpipe now?

Seems we're paying over the odds for less service now that IPv6 is gone.

So who else offers static IP or at-least not GNAT

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madduck

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#2015666 14-May-2018 12:23

Yeah, major de-evolution going on here. I can only imagine the exec crap that went into this. When they say "expand our coverage and increase our overall capacity", it basically means "expand our coverage offering less to more customers, so we can increase our overall capacity without investing anything."

I'm also keen to find out in what the alternatives are. I'd want an ISP who understands networking, including the IPv4 protocol that's >25 years old, and offers static IPs.

Booooh Bigpipe.

michaelmurfy

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#2015694 14-May-2018 13:11

@mentalinc @madduck See my previous post :)

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watsonash

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#2015765 14-May-2018 14:22

I personally originally found Bigpipe appealing because of the following;

- they were positioned as providing a service which was relevant and reliable and appealed to the geeks out there - which often leads to many more referrals etc as many of us work in the IT sector.

- they allowed for no joining fees/no lock ins (this since seems to have changed to requiring a connection fee).

- they encouraged you to bring your own equipment - which really worked well for me.

- their support has always been great - I've always respected their transparency and deep knowledge.

- their international bandwidth was far better than Vodafone who I moved away from several years ago.

The removal of ipv6 changes things (at-least for me).

I've looked at 2degrees offering and on an ADSL only connection (limited by my location), on an open ended contract - 2degress is significantly more expensive (as all our mobiles are with different providers), and the factI believe I'd need to spend $10 extra each month for a non cg-nat ipv4 connection (for VOIP) and ipv6.

Vocus is appealing on a cost basis but I have heard of differing opinions around international bandwidth quality.

So @BigPipe is there nothing you can do to stop a mass exodus of people leaving you r otherwise great service?

sbiddle

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#2015769 14-May-2018 14:28

madduck: Yeah, major de-evolution going on here. I can only imagine the exec crap that went into this. When they say "expand our coverage and increase our overall capacity", it basically means "expand our coverage offering less to more customers, so we can increase our overall capacity without investing anything." I'm also keen to find out in what the alternatives are. I'd want an ISP who understands networking, including the IPv4 protocol that's >25 years old, and offers static IPs. Booooh Bigpipe.

I suspect it's more about a company delivering a service that can actually make a profit. Most people still don't seem to grasp how low margin the RSP business is.

Sounddude

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#2015771 14-May-2018 14:30

watsonash:

Vocus is appealing on a cost basis but I have heard of differing opinions around international bandwidth quality.

Let me know if you have any questions on the international bandwidth. (Probably best to start a new topic on the Orcon or slingshot fourm, or PM me)

phrozenpenguin

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#2015776 14-May-2018 14:35

A quick comparison shows I could pay $4/month more than Bigpipe (moving to 2Degrees, $100/month x 12 - $200 credit = $83.33/month) and get 900/400 not 100/20. That is including the $10/month credit (I'm already a 2Degrees customer) and the $200 credit for signing up for 12 months (I'm happy to do that).

Compared to the $129/month cost for Bigpipe that is quite a saving.

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matisyahu

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#2015865 14-May-2018 15:55

sbiddle:

madduck: Yeah, major de-evolution going on here. I can only imagine the exec crap that went into this. When they say "expand our coverage and increase our overall capacity", it basically means "expand our coverage offering less to more customers, so we can increase our overall capacity without investing anything." I'm also keen to find out in what the alternatives are. I'd want an ISP who understands networking, including the IPv4 protocol that's >25 years old, and offers static IPs. Booooh Bigpipe.

I suspect it's more about a company delivering a service that can actually make a profit. Most people still don't seem to grasp how low margin the RSP business is.

Which makes me wonder why they just don't cut their losses and move BigPipe to Skinny Direct; Skinny Broadband and Mobile then Skinny Direct Broadband and Mobile where everything is 100% done online but then again there appears to be a lot of overlap thus they're probably better off rolling it all into Skinny Direct and make it a 100% online service for mobile and broadband then leave those who want the 'full service experience' to go with Spark instead.

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IPv6pipe

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#2015895 14-May-2018 15:58

We knew there'd be questions raised about our upcoming changes, and as always Geekzone has delivered. Thanks everyone for all the feedback. The views and input of the Geekzone community is truly important to us. We’re working hard to ensure the Bigpipe experience continues to be awesome as bandwidth demand continues to grow. Just stepping through a couple of queries that have, or possibly could pop up:

Are we scaling back service and support?
No. We have no plans to scale back our existing support team, nor do we plan to change our existing online support model. Bigpipe will continue to be supported by our existing Auckland based support team.

We know how this may feel like a step backwards, so why are we ending the IPv6 trial?
We would have loved to maintain support for the very small number of customers who took up the IPv6 option. However, we’ve had to make the decision to end the trial.
The biggest factor in this decision has been our growth. Bigpipe has been growing steadily since its launch. As a result of this growth we came to a tricky fork in the road for the future of Bigpipe. Do we continue to invest in new hardware for a network separate to that of our parent company, missing out on opportunities it would allow us? Or do we join forces with the existing high capacity, widely available network that hundreds of thousands of Kiwis enjoy using every day?
Because we are a small provider with the goal of ensuring our customers can enjoy the maximum potential speeds of their connections, and expanding our UFB coverage in the future, we chose to join forces with Spark. After much consideration and investigation into potential solutions, we feel we've made the right decision in order to continue the growth of Bigpipe in the market, making use of the advantages of partnering with Spark.

Will we support IPv6 in the future?
As a tech focused ISP, the Bigpipe team are passionate about delivering the best possible broadband experience. So, despite low uptake during the trial we’ll continue to consider the feasibility of supporting IPv6.

What is the future of CGNAT on Bigpipe?
After we've completed our planned work, CGNAT will no longer be used on our connections. Any Bigpipe customer who has not purchased a static IPv4 address will instead obtain a dynamic, public IPv4 address after the changes have completed.

We'll be keeping an eye on this thread. While we may not be able to answer all questions that are raised, we are listening. Any thoughts, questions or feedback raised here will be considered internally moving forward with both this project, and future projects.

Taubin

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#2015897 14-May-2018 16:05

To be honest, the "small ISP" thing doesn't work for me anymore. Bigpipe is owned by Spark, and using Spark's network. That makes them a Spark ISP, not a small ISP. The removal of IPV6 is truly the last straw for me (and I'm sure others). The support I've received has already slipped. I'm sorry, but once you were merged with Spark, you stopped being a "small ISP". That's no longer a viable excuse for any slippages, including removing IPV6. It's all about the money, to say anything else is disingenuous.

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DarkShadow

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#2015907 14-May-2018 16:17

Taubin:

To be honest, the "small ISP" thing doesn't work for me anymore. Bigpipe is owned by Spark, and using Spark's network. That makes them a Spark ISP, not a small ISP.

Bigpipe will use the Spark network after this upgrade, but it is not currently. It's on a separate network with Skinny currently.

hio77

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#2015910 14-May-2018 16:19

Taubin:

To be honest, the "small ISP" thing doesn't work for me anymore. Bigpipe is owned by Spark, and using Spark's network. That makes them a Spark ISP, not a small ISP. The removal of IPV6 is truly the last straw for me (and I'm sure others). The support I've received has already slipped. I'm sorry, but once you were merged with Spark, you stopped being a "small ISP". That's no longer a viable excuse for any slippages, including removing IPV6. It's all about the money, to say anything else is disingenuous.

Key factor here while spark is the parent company, Bigpipe itself has operated as a small ISP.

this move, as mentioned above is the move into the parent company.

Removal of IPv6 is sad, i agree. however, you also need to remember it was a beta product.

IPv6 will be on the roadmap for spark's core, It's not my role to say when that will be or how it will show up.

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skewt

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#2015914 14-May-2018 16:25

Do these network changes mean we will get regional POP (e.g. Dunedin) and things will no longer always terminate in Auckland?

IPv6pipe

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BigPipe

#2015919 14-May-2018 16:26

Yes, they do. :)

Taubin

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#2015921 14-May-2018 16:28

hio77:

this move, as mentioned above is the move into the parent company.

Right, making them the same as the parent company, and no longer a "small isp"

When a company merges into a new (or parent) company, they are no longer that company, no matter what they would like to project. BigPipe used to be amazing, they seemed to really care about their customers, however that seems to be completely gone, and I'm far from the only one that feels that way. When a small company is merged into a big one, it loses everything that makes it a great small company. It's happened many times before, with many companies. It's already happening here, and not even at a slow pace.

They may want to be small, and act small, but they are no longer small, especially after this merger into the larger company. That's how these things work. The customers will see the attempt to pull the wool over their eyes, and this will cost them customers.

As for IPV6 being on the roadmap, it's a bit late for that, nearly every other ISP in NZ offers it currently. I'm sorry mate, and it's nothing personal against you, spark or bigpipe, but they are no longer a small company, and will not be seen as that by their customers.

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