UFB in UltraFast Fibre areas?

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › UFB in UltraFast Fibre areas?

shermanp

357 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 36

Trusted

#132179 11-Oct-2013 13:25

Is anybody able to give any indications as to how far away Telecom may be from offering fibre services in areas served by UFF (especially New Plymouth). We are able to get fibre where we live, however currently the only ISP's we can get are Snap! and Orcon (and Primo Wireless, but price=OUCH).

We currently have ADSL with Telecom, and it would be nice if we could stay with them, as our service has been pretty rock solid with them over the past couple of years. On the other hand, we are currently lucky to hit 9Mbit/s download speed (no VDSL available) and the speed of fibre is hard to ignore...

Thanks

1 | 2

6028 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 461

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#913611 11-Oct-2013 13:25

Hello... Our robot found some keywords in your post, so here is an automated reply with some important things to note regarding broadband speeds.

If you are posting regarding DSL speeds please check that

- you have reset your modem and router

- your PC (or other PCs in your LAN) is not downloading large files when you are testing

- you are not being throttled by your ISP due to going over the monthly cap

- your tests are always done on an ethernet connection to the router - do not use wireless for testing

- you read this topic and follow the instructions there.

Make sure you provide information for other users to help you. If you have not already done it, please EDIT your post and add this now:

- Your ISP and plan

- Type of connection (ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL)

- Your modem DSL stats (do not worry about posting Speedtest, we need sync rate, attenuation and noise margin)

- Your general location (or street)

- If you are rural or urban

- If you know your connection is to an exchange, cabinet or conklin

- If your connection is to a ULL or wholesale service

- If you have done an isolation test as per the link above

Most of the problems with speed are likely to be related to internal wiring issues. Read this discussion to find out more about this. Your ISP is not intentionally slowing you down today (unless you are on a managed plan). Also if this is the school holidays it's likely you will notice slower than usual speed due to more users online.

A master splitter is required for VDSL2 and in most cases will improve speeds on DSL connections. Regular disconnections can be a monitored alarm or a set top box trying to connect. If there's an alarm connected to your line even if you don't have an alarm contract it may still try to connect so it's worth checking.

I recommend you read these two blog posts:

- Is your premises phone wiring impacting your broadband performance? (very technical)

- Are you receiving a substandard ULL ADSL2+ connection from your ISP?

I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

surfisup1000

5288 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2159

#913621 11-Oct-2013 13:30

Forget telecom, they may be years away from their apparent lack of interest.

MrPrimo

72 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 12

Trusted

PrimoWireless Ltd

Lifetime subscriber

#913622 11-Oct-2013 13:30

I own PrimoWireless is there any specific reason you say the price is OUCH? We did alot of market reseach and for what we offer the pricing is very realistic and we have connected over 50 happy customers already in the NP, Bell Block and Hawera areas.

Primo - Connecting Taranaki
www.primo.nz

Inphinity

2780 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1184

#913634 11-Oct-2013 13:40

FiShYmAn: I own PrimoWireless is there any specific reason you say the price is OUCH? We did alot of market reseach and for what we offer the pricing is very realistic and we have connected over 50 happy customers already in the NP, Bell Block and Hawera areas.

Just from checking your website, your 100/50 plan with 500GB data is $299/month ($314 once you add in a VOIP line), with $199 install on 12 month contract (free on 24 month). Telecom's 100/50 plan with 500GB data and a home line is $159/month, and free install on 12 month contract. Your overage charge is $1/GB. Telecom's is $0.50/GB. Your tech support is 9- 5 monday to friday, Telecom's is 24/7.

Now, that isn't necessarily all bad, if there are advantages to justify the cost. The website doesn't make it clear. Or perhaps I'm completely misreading the pricing on your site.

So, can you please advise what the benefits are for paying twice the price, or explain how I've mis-read the pricing?

Yyrael

222 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 45

Trusted

#913645 11-Oct-2013 13:47

shermanp: Is anybody able to give any indications as to how far away Telecom may be from offering fibre services in areas served by UFF (especially New Plymouth). We are able to get fibre where we live, however currently the only ISP's we can get are Snap! and Orcon (and Primo Wireless, but price=OUCH).

We currently have ADSL with Telecom, and it would be nice if we could stay with them, as our service has been pretty rock solid with them over the past couple of years. On the other hand, we are currently lucky to hit 9Mbit/s download speed (no VDSL available) and the speed of fibre is hard to ignore...

Thanks

There are no dates or indications at this stage.

ubergeeknz

3344 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1041

Trusted

Vocus

#913646 11-Oct-2013 13:48

You're trying to compare a wireless service with a fixed line (UFB) service. It's like trying to compare apples ... and truffles.

HP

Shop now for HP laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

Inphinity

2780 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1184

#913650 11-Oct-2013 13:52

ubergeeknz: You're trying to compare a wireless service with a fixed line (UFB) service. It's like trying to compare apples ... and truffles.

Are you replying to me? Since when is ultra fast fibre a wireless product?

shermanp

357 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 36

Trusted

#913652 11-Oct-2013 13:53

ubergeeknz: You're trying to compare a wireless service with a fixed line (UFB) service. It's like trying to compare apples ... and truffles.

I hate to say it, but the prices Iphinity quoted are for their FIXED LINE UFB service, not their wireless service.

And yes, it is the data prices that hurt. We currently have a 150GB cap with Telecom, and that is barely enough. I'd say for fibre, 200GB+ would be preferable for us.

MrPrimo

72 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 12

Trusted

PrimoWireless Ltd

Lifetime subscriber

#913656 11-Oct-2013 13:55

Inphinity:
FiShYmAn: I own PrimoWireless is there any specific reason you say the price is OUCH? We did alot of market reseach and for what we offer the pricing is very realistic and we have connected over 50 happy customers already in the NP, Bell Block and Hawera areas.

Just from checking your website, your 100/50 plan with 500GB data is $299/month ($314 once you add in a VOIP line), with $199 install on 12 month contract (free on 24 month). Telecom's 100/50 plan with 500GB data and a home line is $159/month, and free install on 12 month contract. Your overage charge is $1/GB. Telecom's is $0.50/GB. Your tech support is 9- 5 monday to friday, Telecom's is 24/7.

Now, that isn't necessarily all bad, if there are advantages to justify the cost. The website doesn't make it clear. Or perhaps I'm completely misreading the pricing on your site.

So, can you please advise what the benefits are for paying twice the price, or explain how I've mis-read the pricing?

Yes but Telecom cant supply in the area and we can, so there's no point comparing apples with oranges, if Telecom could supply the Taranaki area then he wouldn't have asked the question about who to go with. There are many things that make our pricing more than Telecoms, for example the cost of transit into Taranaki being one of them, we cant just connect into APE or WIX and supply customers, then there is the costs of the UFF network being another, linking the UFF network to our network, and we aren't obviously a national company with hundreds of thousands of customers to balance the load out so we cant be offering over subscribed connections to people such as the national carriers do.

Being a smaller regional ISP we have a much lower contention ratio than the large ones like Telecom have, we are a 100% locally owned company, all our profits go back into making the network better or helping the greater community by expanding our rural wireless network to cover areas that no one else will such as around Coastal Taranaki and in the back blocks areas such as Tarata, TutuTawa, etc - Basically we support locals and locals support us.

Primo - Connecting Taranaki
www.primo.nz

MrPrimo

72 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 12

Trusted

PrimoWireless Ltd

Lifetime subscriber

#913657 11-Oct-2013 13:56

ubergeeknz: You're trying to compare a wireless service with a fixed line (UFB) service. It's like trying to compare apples ... and truffles.

We offer Wireless and UFB fibre.

Primo - Connecting Taranaki
www.primo.nz

Inphinity

2780 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1184

#913671 11-Oct-2013 14:07

FiShYmAn:
Yes but Telecom cant supply in the area and we can, so there's no point comparing apples with oranges, if Telecom could supply the Taranaki area then he wouldn't have asked the question about who to go with.

Ok, then. Let's use Snap instead. 100/50 with 500GB for $155/month, with free setup on 24-month contract. As I said above, premium pricing isn't in itself a bad thing, I'm just confused as to the reasons for it. It's great you support the local community and such, I applaud it. You asked why the OP said your pricing was OUCH, and I'm trying to help point it out.

Mighty Ape

Shop now at Mighty Ape (affiliate link).

MrPrimo

72 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 12

Trusted

PrimoWireless Ltd

Lifetime subscriber

#913677 11-Oct-2013 14:13

Inphinity:
FiShYmAn: I own PrimoWireless is there any specific reason you say the price is OUCH? We did alot of market reseach and for what we offer the pricing is very realistic and we have connected over 50 happy customers already in the NP, Bell Block and Hawera areas.

Just from checking your website, your 100/50 plan with 500GB data is $299/month ($314 once you add in a VOIP line), with $199 install on 12 month contract (free on 24 month). Telecom's 100/50 plan with 500GB data and a home line is $159/month, and free install on 12 month contract. Your overage charge is $1/GB. Telecom's is $0.50/GB. Your tech support is 9- 5 monday to friday, Telecom's is 24/7.

Now, that isn't necessarily all bad, if there are advantages to justify the cost. The website doesn't make it clear. Or perhaps I'm completely misreading the pricing on your site.

So, can you please advise what the benefits are for paying twice the price, or explain how I've mis-read the pricing?

There is also more simple differences like we obviously can do VoIP which you pointed out, Telecom cant - you have to retain the copper line at an extra cost I presume or get rid of it altogether. All our fibre plans come with a static IP address, Telecom make no mention of this and it would likely cost more as they usually charge for static IP's on all their other plans at a cost of about $20 per month, and god forbid if you are sharing your non static IP with other natted customers which some other ISP's do as well. The routers we provide are a decent model with a 1 Watt 802.11n wireless interface for better coverage and penetration, we all know how bad the generic Telecom routers can be, granted they are alot better these days but the old DLINKS and thompsons they used to provide did not cut the mustard, with speeds of 100mbit you want decent wireless to utilize this speed.

Primo - Connecting Taranaki
www.primo.nz

shermanp

357 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 36

Trusted

#913685 11-Oct-2013 14:17

FiShYmAn:

I have no issues with PrimoWireless as such, but for higher usage customers especially the price is too high compared to the likes of Snap! and Orcon, who both offer UFB in New Plymouth.

If the price difference was within $10-$20/month of the competition, I would very seriously consider PrimoWireless. However, the price difference is $60+/month is just too much to ignore.

Now, if I never decided to move out to Tarata, or similar location, you guys would be the first people I'd call. I have a work colleague who lives in Tarata, who moved from Satellite to PrimoWireless Wireless service, and he can't sing your praises loud enough!

plambrechtsen

1948 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 459
Inactive user

#913686 11-Oct-2013 14:19

It's currently in testing but nothing I can talk about official launch dates

MrPrimo

72 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 12

Trusted

PrimoWireless Ltd

Lifetime subscriber

#913688 11-Oct-2013 14:25

Inphinity:
FiShYmAn:
Yes but Telecom cant supply in the area and we can, so there's no point comparing apples with oranges, if Telecom could supply the Taranaki area then he wouldn't have asked the question about who to go with.

Ok, then. Let's use Snap instead. 100/50 with 500GB for $155/month, with free setup on 24-month contract. As I said above, premium pricing isn't in itself a bad thing, I'm just confused as to the reasons for it. It's great you support the local community and such, I applaud it. You asked why the OP said your pricing was OUCH, and I'm trying to help point it out.

Again your still comparing us to national and much much bigger company's and carriers which have a lot more customers to support them, they likely have many users that will go on a 150GB plan and not use near it, and then they would have users who use it all and go over the cap, there is a balancing act and when you have tens of thousands of customers to support this balance it is much easier to offer plans with big data caps.

If we take your conclusions then we should be able walk into our local four square and expect the pricing to be the same as the pack n save in town, its the same thing? so why shouldn't the pricing be the same?

Being a small company has its benefits over being a larger company, however there are also benefits to being a larger company over a smaller one, its always been like this, and really it depends on what you want to get out of it in the end, do you want a quality product with personal service for a higher price, or do you want a run of the mill generic product that everyone else has for the lower price?

Sure if i was a residential user I would want the most data I could get for the best price I could get it for, same with my supermarket line above, why get a 1.5L bottle of coke for $4.90 from the four square when you could go to pack n save and get it for $1.99? sometimes its not always about the price and its about what support and help you get along the way, generally supporting your local community is better than a multinational, I can assure you any profits from Primo don't line the pockets of shareholders to buy their 2nd or 3rd holiday homes.

Primo - Connecting Taranaki
www.primo.nz

1 | 2