Skinny launches 4G home Broadband

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Skinny launches 4G home Broadband

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5815 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1508274 8-Mar-2016 16:14

JonathonDD: Hi
The thought had crossed my mind but have done plenty of testing to be sure

It is definitely not my computer I have tried it on my desktop and 2 laptops aswell both tested on cable and on. Wireless
And on.my phone (wireless) just to be sure

There are no DNS redirects in place all computers are currently getting IP and DNS from dhcp on the skinny modem and I also tried using Google DNS on my computer without any change

Skinny have answered my email and require more info such as time stamps etc so will sort that out tonight hopefully

Thanks

Ah, cool. Good Luck. Hopefully a new modem sorts it.

BryceL

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1509838 9-Mar-2016 13:17

Hi all;

My address in Tauranga overlooks Mt Maunganui industrial, Tauranga central, Gate Pa and everything in between at a range of about 8 to 15 km without obstruction.

There is no physical phone line here.

The Skinny address checker states that there is no 4G service here or at any address I've checked above 300s my road. I'm in the 900s. I find that cut-off a bit too neat to believe it is a radio propagation issue.

I have been through this twice before. First five years ago when I moved here and Telecom where adamant that there was no 3G service as my house because their map showed there was not. After much discussion, including pointing out I was talking to them on a Telecom phone from my lounge, they lent me a T-stick and surprise it works and I had perfect coverage.

Then last year over 700MHZ rural coverage. Again, the now updated to 700 MHZ map shows I do not have any 700MHZ coverage. The 700 MHZ might actually be correct as I understand the site is on the other side of the hill behind my house. I do not know if there are other 700MHZ sites toward Tauranga.

And now I have the same problem again.

Sparks map shows no 4G service at my house. It also still shows no 3G service at my house. I will guess that Spark has simply overlaid the 4G coverage data over the existing 3G map which has not been amended.

A Spark 4G phone here gets 3 bars of 4G on the couch and 4 on the deck. Not surprising given the unobstructed line of site to all those towers.

So to the questions.

What is the expected line of site distance limitation of the 4G service?

How , if at all, do Spark determine / limit which sites the modem can access? Best guesses appreciated.

What is there to stop me from as suggested earlier on here, having a modem sent to a friends house in coverage at the bottom of the hill and then plugging it in at my house?

Thanks.

The picture is half of my view (Mt and central Tauranga).

Localeyes

31 posts

Geek

#1509927 9-Mar-2016 15:12

BryceL:

Hi all;

My address in Tauranga overlooks Mt Maunganui industrial, Tauranga central, Gate Pa and everything in between at a range of about 8 to 15 km without obstruction.

There is no physical phone line here.

The Skinny address checker states that there is no 4G service here or at any address I've checked above 300s my road. I'm in the 900s. I find that cut-off a bit too neat to believe it is a radio propagation issue.

I have been through this twice before. First five years ago when I moved here and Telecom where adamant that there was no 3G service as my house because their map showed there was not. After much discussion, including pointing out I was talking to them on a Telecom phone from my lounge, they lent me a T-stick and surprise it works and I had perfect coverage.

Then last year over 700MHZ rural coverage. Again, the now updated to 700 MHZ map shows I do not have any 700MHZ coverage. The 700 MHZ might actually be correct as I understand the site is on the other side of the hill behind my house. I do not know if there are other 700MHZ sites toward Tauranga.

And now I have the same problem again.

Sparks map shows no 4G service at my house. It also still shows no 3G service at my house. I will guess that Spark has simply overlaid the 4G coverage data over the existing 3G map which has not been amended.

A Spark 4G phone here gets 3 bars of 4G on the couch and 4 on the deck. Not surprising given the unobstructed line of site to all those towers.

So to the questions.

What is the expected line of site distance limitation of the 4G service?

How , if at all, do Spark determine / limit which sites the modem can access? Best guesses appreciated.

What is there to stop me from as suggested earlier on here, having a modem sent to a friends house in coverage at the bottom of the hill and then plugging it in at my house?

Thanks.

The picture is half of my view (Mt and central Tauranga).

It sounds like you are in the same situation as us - read my post here http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=137&topicid=185667&page_no=16#1495350

I suggest you send a message to Livingskinny with your actual address, and the closest address you can find that can get Skinny Broadband and see if you can get their approval to try a modem out - worked for me and I am now in the process of dumping my copper tax collector.

LivingSkinny

513 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Skinny

#1510047 9-Mar-2016 18:15

BryceL:

Hi all;

My address in Tauranga overlooks Mt Maunganui industrial, Tauranga central, Gate Pa and everything in between at a range of about 8 to 15 km without obstruction.

There is no physical phone line here.

The Skinny address checker states that there is no 4G service here or at any address I've checked above 300s my road. I'm in the 900s. I find that cut-off a bit too neat to believe it is a radio propagation issue.

I have been through this twice before. First five years ago when I moved here and Telecom where adamant that there was no 3G service as my house because their map showed there was not. After much discussion, including pointing out I was talking to them on a Telecom phone from my lounge, they lent me a T-stick and surprise it works and I had perfect coverage.

Then last year over 700MHZ rural coverage. Again, the now updated to 700 MHZ map shows I do not have any 700MHZ coverage. The 700 MHZ might actually be correct as I understand the site is on the other side of the hill behind my house. I do not know if there are other 700MHZ sites toward Tauranga.

And now I have the same problem again.

Sparks map shows no 4G service at my house. It also still shows no 3G service at my house. I will guess that Spark has simply overlaid the 4G coverage data over the existing 3G map which has not been amended.

A Spark 4G phone here gets 3 bars of 4G on the couch and 4 on the deck. Not surprising given the unobstructed line of site to all those towers.

So to the questions.

What is the expected line of site distance limitation of the 4G service?

How , if at all, do Spark determine / limit which sites the modem can access? Best guesses appreciated.

What is there to stop me from as suggested earlier on here, having a modem sent to a friends house in coverage at the bottom of the hill and then plugging it in at my house?

Thanks.

The picture is half of my view (Mt and central Tauranga).

Nice view :)

Can you please PM me your address and we can look into it for you. Also Skinny Broadband coverage does not match 4G coverage so if your address is coming up as ineligible in our address checker it doesn't not mean you can't get 4G at your address, it just means Skinny Broadband is not available at your address.

dickytim

2514 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1510249 10-Mar-2016 07:21

received my modem a couple of days ago but only just got to set it up yesterday.

I am quite impressed with the speed so far and I haven't even moved it around to get the best out of it, my Vodafone phone had barely 3G coverage through the house so this is a god send.

I am getting 3 bars and speed test from my phone shows 29.5 Down and 9.5 Up.

Set up was super easy as was changing the SSID to GCSB Van ;)

Thanks Skinny, we were debating what to do about internet at home and this became the quickest, easiest and cheapest option! 3 out of 3

amiga500

1484 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1512612 13-Mar-2016 22:03

freitasm:

At home I reported 40/20. This weekend I took the modem to Whitiby and even with two bars only still got 40/10 - miles ahead of their currentl ADSL2 of 4/1. we then continued to Martinborough where we stayed on a B&B, just three blocks from the square. Vodafone had 3G coverage only, with no mobile data most of the times. The Skinny modem had three bars and showed 40/25 there.

And no, Vodafone didn't have problems with overloading. The town was empty, Wellington anniversary holiday, with most shops closed.

After seeing this very encouraging post I decided to give it a try. Thanks freitasm.

Brilliant service from Skinny, put my order through about 2 pm one day & the Skinny modem/router turned up via courier at 8.30 am the next day!!

Set-up was very easy just like their setup video says. According to coverage map I am in an area that is the 2nd shade of purple. Anyway I have done several speed tests and the best one from Speedtest.net is:

46.97 Mbps Download, 35.68 Mbps Upload. Most tests have been well above 40 for download. I've tried it sitting right next to a window using a wireless adapter & got great speeds. It's just as fast sitting about 2 metres from

that window, using the yellow ethernet cable, seeing I am using a mid-tower PC running Xubuntu. Far far better than I ever got using ADSL over some very dodgy copper wiring. That topped out at 6-7 Mbps at the very most.

I also like the Skinny dashboard that shows how much data is left. The top-up system & buying extra data is very slick too.

PhantomNVD

2619 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1512630 13-Mar-2016 23:01

How many 'bars' signal are you getting?

I get two bars, and a lovely 30ish down, but still stuck on 1mbs upload, so not sure if dodgy router or something else (like distance from exchange) even though im getting great download speed...

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

grant_k

3539 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1512653 13-Mar-2016 23:41

PhantomNVD:

How many 'bars' signal are you getting?

I get two bars, and a lovely 30ish down, but still stuck on 1mbs upload, so not sure if dodgy router or something else (like distance from exchange) even though im getting great download speed...

Have you thought about using an external antenna?

I am on the Vodafone RBI network also using 4G on 700MHz. With the B315 router's internal antenna, upload speed is what suffers the most. If you are interested in giving it a go, I'll post a couple of links to what you need to buy (antenna and cable).

PhantomNVD

2619 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1512655 14-Mar-2016 00:06

Yes please... Keen for a meaningful improvement.

JonathonDD

38 posts

Geek

#1512657 14-Mar-2016 00:20

i would also be interested in an external antenna more of a want then a need

grant_k

3539 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1512659 14-Mar-2016 00:38

For starters you need one of these:

11dBi Wideband LTE Broadband Directional Antenna

If a 6-metre antenna cable is enough, go for this one:

N-Male to SMA Male 6 Metre Pigtail

Or if you need 10 metres, go for this one (a 15-metre version is also available):

N-Male to SMA-Male 10 Metre Pigtail

Finally, don't forget to seal up the antenna connector with self-amalgamating tape:

Coax-Seal Hand Moldable Plastic Weatherproofing Tape

I have used two of these antennas and cables in my setup, taking full advantage of the dual antenna ports on the B315. But I suggest trying one set first and seeing how it goes.

grant_k

3539 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1512661 14-Mar-2016 00:49

Here is my setup with dual antennas on opposing 45 degree slants. After some experimentation, this was the arrangement which worked best for me over a 12km line-of-sight path to the tower.

Sorry it's not the right way up. For some reason, the GZ image upload no longer handles portrait images correctly. Turn your head 90 degrees to the left and you'll get the idea. I'm using a 'Hockey Stick' mount attached just below the roof.

amiga500

1484 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1512793 14-Mar-2016 10:16

PhantomNVD:

How many 'bars' signal are you getting?

I get two bars, and a lovely 30ish down, but still stuck on 1mbs upload, so not sure if dodgy router or something else (like distance from exchange) even though im getting great download speed...

I'm getting 3 bars of signal regardless of whether it's right next to a window facing the nearest cell tower or on a table about 2 metres from that window. I'm lucky enough to be right in the middle of a '2nd shade of purple' zone according to the coverage map. Good luck with the 'booster' antennas, it might make all the difference.

LivingSkinny

513 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Skinny

#1513069 14-Mar-2016 14:25

Hey everyone,
It's so great to hear you're loving Skinny Broadband!

Just a bit of housekeeping..

1. a little friendly reminder that Mauricio (@Freitasm) has been doing a product review for us so we have allowed his modem to be moved to different locations. Normally the Skinny modem is to only be used at the address that you signed up with to ensure cell towers don't overload and customers get bumped off the network.

2. Also unlike Skinny Mobile, you don't have to top up your account for Skinny Broadband as your credit or debit card is automatically charged when the plan renews each month, so you can set & forget to keep it easy.

We're really pleased with all the feedback we're getting so keep it up. The more we hear from our customers, the better our product can become. And we do listen to you!

doug3

100 posts

Master Geek

#1516702 21-Mar-2016 08:48

This may appeal to some people but you cannot set & forget credit cards otherwise the banks will screw you.
This system will most likely benefit Skinny more than the customer.

If Skinny really wants to make it easy for the customer they would sell data the same way petrol is sold, and just about everything else on the planet.
That is one buys 60 GB then uses it till it's gone, maybe with an expiration time of 3, 6, or 12 months so Skinny stays in business.
Even if this option was at a higher price (60 GB for $90?) it could still be popular.

As for Skinny Mobile the only data you can buy is 250 MB for 7 days or the standard rate of 50 cents a MB (558 times more per MB than Skinny Broadband !!!) unless you buy a combo where you have to pay for talk and text which you are not going to use.

It would be great if Skinny could add Skinny Broadband to Mobile even if it was at much higher rate say 10 GB for $50 with 3 months to use it.
This could work similar to 2degrees Mobile Zone Data. When you in a 4G Skinny Broadband location that is what you use, when you are not, it uses your other data.

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