Telecom UFB at Hotel in Napier

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eXDee

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# 138431 3-Jan-2014 17:31

Just thought i'd comment on how great it is when you turn up to accommodation and discover not only is their wifi free and completely unrestricted (more on this in a moment), but its Telecom UFB which is insanely quick.

Wellington:

Auckland:

It really is awesome to have such a connection available and I hope we see more like this in the future. Telecom UFB is nice and fast to use, all streaming and downloading is quick (except isky, as per usual, no surprises there).

A couple of things to note - Standard WPA2 PSK with no captive portal gives me the impression this is an amateur install. No rate limiting or data capping etc.

Second thing is not only is it completely unrestricted speed wise - their network is also completely unsecured. To the point of that their Telecom Gateway still has admin/admin as the login and the gateway's own SSID is still default and broadcasting (Telecom-XXXX, separate to the high powered AP above). Not surprising as i've seen worse than this (open file shares) on other hotel networks. Will advise them of this however.

freitasm

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# 961014 4-Jan-2014 09:27

I hope you give them some advice and secure what's needed, make sure they have the correct password after changes, etc...

It's a nice WiFi you have there. It would be a shame if something happened to it and this service went away.

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YadaMe

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# 961028 4-Jan-2014 09:59

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freitasm: I hope you give them some advice and secure what's needed, make sure they have the correct password after changes, etc...

It's a nice WiFi you have there. It would be a shame if something happened to it and this service went away.

Was that last sentence done in your best godfather voice?

freitasm

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# 961029 4-Jan-2014 10:00

Tried to...

;)

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plambrechtsen

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# 961039 4-Jan-2014 10:24

freitasm: Tried to...

;)

We have ways of taking out your ~~kneecaps~~ wifi....

freitasm

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# 961041 4-Jan-2014 10:27

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I hope guests don't wakeup like this:

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Talkiet

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# 961042 4-Jan-2014 10:29

eXDee: It really is awesome to have such a connection available and I hope we see more like this in the future. Telecom UFB is nice and fast to use, all streaming and downloading is quick (except isky, as per usual, no surprises there).

Good to hear, but just a note that iSky should be perfect. I know what platform it is served from, and exactly what the connectivity is between the servers and the UFB handovers. The servers aren't particularly busy and none of the links are congested at any time. On top of that, I use iSky normally only for popular sporting events and it's always perfect - I can go hours without a glitch or rebuffer (and I'm 'only' on VDSL in Chch)

So if iSky is usually broken for you, perhaps it's the player on your pc or something else? The network is fine.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are the product of my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

Nate001

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# 961080 4-Jan-2014 13:46

Had a similar experience at a small motel once, simple WPA2 PSK, once I was on I could see everything on their network, router settings, computers, even other guest's devices.

It appeared they attempted to separate the guest network by providing a different SSID by using another AP but it was all still connected to their home/main office network.

freitasm

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# 961081 4-Jan-2014 13:51

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A few years ago we had a Geekzone Pizza in Christchurch. A bunch of us flew down and booked the same hotel (Chris021, Sbiddle, Nate, cisconz, myself). Nate had a VoIP handset he brought to be available if needed and Chris021 decided to run a portscan in the hotel network to find Nate's VoIP handset.

That brought down the AP. Because it was Saturday evening they couldn't get the AP back so when I checked in there was a notice in the lobby saying "we're sorry but our WiFi is not working."

Later after the pizza, around 4am, some drunk folks (including a crew from an ISP which shall remain unnamed but was the provider at this hotel) convinced the night shift clerk to let them into the "computer room" to restart the router. They then discovered it wasn't protected and they actually didn't manage to bring anything back up.

Why a night shift person would let a bunch of drunk people into a computer room is another mystery...

Good times...

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plambrechtsen

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# 961082 4-Jan-2014 13:51

Nate001: Had a similar experience at a small motel once, simple WPA2 PSK, once I was on I could see everything on their network, router settings, computers, even other guest's devices.

It appeared they attempted to separate the guest network by providing a different SSID by using another AP but it was all still connected to their home/main office network.

The telecom free wifi certainly isn't built like that.. and I suspect the other network you were connecting to was another ap... as the network you connect to goes back to a captive portal stack in Auckland. If you could see / manage the local router then I am going to chase up with the guys.... as that is certainly not how I saw it built.

freitasm

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# 961083 4-Jan-2014 13:55

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plambrechtsen:
Nate001: Had a similar experience at a small motel once, simple WPA2 PSK, once I was on I could see everything on their network, router settings, computers, even other guest's devices.

It appeared they attempted to separate the guest network by providing a different SSID by using another AP but it was all still connected to their home/main office network.

The telecom free wifi certainly isn't built like that.. and I suspect the other network you were connecting to was another ap... as the network you connect to goes back to a captive portal stack in Auckland. If you could see / manage the local router then I am going to chase up with the guys.... as that is certainly not how I saw it built.

I don't think he's talking about the Telecom WiFi network, but a private network deployed by the motel owners...

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plambrechtsen

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# 961085 4-Jan-2014 13:58

freitasm: I don't think he's talking about the Telecom WiFi network, but a private network deployed by the motel owners...

True... reading was never my strong suit...

Glad to see they have nice fast wifi broadband though :)

maslink

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# 961162 4-Jan-2014 16:41

For those looking for somewhere to stay in Hamilton offering a similar service try Anglesea Motel - free wifi/wired connection to every room, 100/50Mbps - I got speedtest.net results of >90Mbps down / >40Mbps up to Auckland servers...although I'm pretty sure they have their security set up a little better :-) Didn't hit any limits - I've downloaded an HD movie from iTunes (~4GB) no problems.

eXDee

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# 961219 4-Jan-2014 18:42

This connection i believe is a 100/50 connection being limited by the wifi.

This is the AP. Unsure of the vendor, i can't make out the logo. Someone else probably recognises the shape of it. I thought it was clever placing it here, instead of inside at the reception. Means you get insanely high signal in every room which look down on the court below. This things definitely pumping out very at a high transmit power, i get in the room a similar dBm level as i do being in the same room as my home router.

Talkiet:
eXDee: It really is awesome to have such a connection available and I hope we see more like this in the future. Telecom UFB is nice and fast to use, all streaming and downloading is quick (except isky, as per usual, no surprises there).

Good to hear, but just a note that iSky should be perfect. I know what platform it is served from, and exactly what the connectivity is between the servers and the UFB handovers. The servers aren't particularly busy and none of the links are congested at any time. On top of that, I use iSky normally only for popular sporting events and it's always perfect - I can go hours without a glitch or rebuffer (and I'm 'only' on VDSL in Chch)

So if iSky is usually broken for you, perhaps it's the player on your pc or something else? The network is fine.

Cheers - N

I only streamed for about 30 seconds in which it buffered a few times. I never use sky myself, someone was just checking a sporting score. I'm guessing it could have been a hiccup in the connection or something, or i didn't leave it long enough.

sbiddle

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# 961254 4-Jan-2014 19:42

Looks like a UBNT Rocket / Unifi Outdoor but it also looks very small in that photo.