Upgrading from VDSL to Fibre 30?

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Upgrading from VDSL to Fibre 30?

dwknight

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#151404 24-Aug-2014 14:52

Hi guys, I was wondering if anyone has an opinion about whether it is smart to switch from VDSL to the Fibre 30 plan. Currently our finances don't permit the upgrade to Fibre 100.

In theory, the VDSL speeds are meant to range between 15-70 Mbps download and 5-10 Mbps upload, compared with the Fibre 30 which is up to 30 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up. This would seem to indicate that switching would be a sideways step at best, and a potential downgrade at worst.
I don't think we ever get close to 30 Mbps download speed, but I don't test it very often. My gut instinct says that the Fibre plan should sit closer to 30 and also be more reliably fast than VDSL is, plus changing to fibre will allow a much easier switch to faster speeds at some point in the future.

Any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks.

PeterReader

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#1114569 24-Aug-2014 14:52

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?

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Ramboss

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#1114582 24-Aug-2014 15:09

What speed does your modem connect at?

I have VDSL about 34 down and 10.5 up no problem with stability issues, so not sure why you would change if your connection speed is anywhere near 30

macuser

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#1114585 24-Aug-2014 15:16

Fibre 30 sits around 27 down and 9-9.5 up most of the time for me

VDSL at work is usually 43 down and about 10 up...so in that case VDSL wins

But at least with fibre you get the ability to upgrade to 100 (or 100 being made cheaper)

dwknight

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#1114587 24-Aug-2014 15:17

Yeah my VDSL connection speed is same as yours, and I just did a speed test and got 28 down and 10 up so that's pretty good... based on those numbers it seems silly to change over.

Ramboss

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#1114590 24-Aug-2014 15:21

dwknight: Yeah my VDSL connection speed is same as yours, and I just did a speed test and got 28 down and 10 up so that's pretty good... based on those numbers it seems silly to change over.

I whats your actual connection speed (look in modem) that speed test could be affected by congestion this time of day

PhantomNVD

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#1114592 24-Aug-2014 15:25

And if the current 'free' ufb plan ever ends...? Could then cost a whole heap more to make the switch too...

What's the price difference to you now?

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hio77

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#1114594 24-Aug-2014 15:27

so your vdsl is prettymuch sitting at 30/10 sync rate.

If your provider offers UFB cheaper, or latency matters at all to you (not to mention fibre plans are likely to increase in speed, unlike their copper counterpart.) make the move to UFB.

personally in my case, i would defiantly move to fiber given the option, even if i was loosing maybe 10mbit on the download, it would be tempting - although ild love for one of those 200/200 plans!

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Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

Ramboss

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#1114617 24-Aug-2014 15:40

I do hear Gigabit plans are on the horizon, then you would be a true "Giganaire" another plus for fibre

dwknight

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#1114618 24-Aug-2014 15:45

Currently on Spark our VDSL plan for 150GB is $109 and the equivalent Fibre 30 plan for 150GB is also $109.

Is the installation of UFB currently free? I've heard something about that but don't know the details.

vexxxboy

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#1114630 24-Aug-2014 16:11

dwknight: Currently on Spark our VDSL plan for 150GB is $109 and the equivalent Fibre 30 plan for 150GB is also $109.

Is the installation of UFB currently free? I've heard something about that but don't know the details.

if you look around you can get unlimited on the fibre 30 for under $100 and it is free to install.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

johntynz

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#1115074 25-Aug-2014 12:44

personally, where fibre is available I suggest fibre, purely based on stability

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Coil

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#1115087 25-Aug-2014 12:57

Get fibre, Free install. 100% scalable. You can get IPTV like Vodafone offers.
VDSL will only be as good as you see now, if not degrade over time.

michaelmurfy

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#1115124 25-Aug-2014 13:41

Ask Spark to sweeten the deal for you, I pay $110 for unlimited 100/50mbit UFB. They'll often do it if you talk to them on the phone but it is also far better than VDSL IMO.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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