ADSL Trial in Rural Area

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › ADSL Trial in Rural Area

woody99

165 posts

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#171369 15-Apr-2015 14:42

Hi All,

I have a friend living in the Mangatangi area on the eastern side of the Hunua Ranges.

He is currently using a satellite based ISP which is rather expensive and apparently not that reliable.

A neighbour has ADSL - apparently fibre runs as far as the Mangatawhiri School, which is 5km away and then the neighbour has ADSL via copper from the school.

My friend has been pondering as to whether there is some means by which he could set up a trial with Spark to see if there was some way he could see if ADSL would get him a better internet service than what he is already getting.

My suggestion was that he simply sign up for a no-term plan which he could terminate at any stage and see how ADSL works for him. My feeling is that it would be slower than the satellite based service he's currently got, but may be more consistent.

He's spoken to the major telco's who can't provide any details as to when cellular rural broadband may become available.

Would anyone here have other ideas as to how to "trial" ADSL apart from simply signing up and seeing "how it goes"? Is there any other methodology by which the line could be tested for potential speeds?

Cheers

Darryn

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#1284759 15-Apr-2015 14:42

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

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- 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:

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RunningMan

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#1284817 15-Apr-2015 15:14

Ask for a prequal check from your chosen ISP - they can usually get an idea on likely xDSL sync rates based on neighbour's connections. That won't tell you if there is congested backhaul or similar though.

EDIT: Or sign up to a no term ISP like Bigpipe for a month or two (or longer!) so you can get a real world comparison.

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#1284825 15-Apr-2015 15:23

woody99: ... A neighbour has ADSL - apparently fibre runs as far as the Mangatawhiri School, which is 5km away and then the neighbour has ADSL via copper from the school. ...

Presumably there a cabinet at/near the school that all ISPs can use?

5km is a pretty long line run, even for ADSL.

Agree the best thing to do is ask your preferred ISP for a prequal.

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hio77

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#1284830 15-Apr-2015 15:30

5KM is a long way for adsl to go..

Looking at the maps, Hunua Ranges is quite an intersection point for coverage, depending on where on the eastern side could change this, but it looks likely your friend would actually be getting adsl from the Kaiaua or Mangatangi Exchange. (kinda hard to pinpoint the area)

as for Mangatawhiri School, that does look to have fibre running to it but its more likely any adsl connection from that area would be going to the PK/E Cabinet further up the road.

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Zeon

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#1284915 15-Apr-2015 16:32

Are local WISPs using schools for connection points for fixed wireless connected to a fibre backbone?

Speedtest 2019-10-14

wellygary

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#1284916 15-Apr-2015 16:32

Whats his RBI (cellular) coverage like?

A better address fix would be more helpful thou, then some ppl could have a proper look at where they are served from and what is techincally possible

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woody99

165 posts

Master Geek

#1284920 15-Apr-2015 16:34

Thanks for the replies so far folks!

No RBI coverage for his property which is Miranda Road, Pokeno.

Cheers

Darryn

hio77

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#1284922 15-Apr-2015 16:34

Ild suggest trimming the exact address out, general idea of road is likely more than enough.

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woody99

165 posts

Master Geek

#1284923 15-Apr-2015 16:35

Fair call - done!

hio77

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#1284940 15-Apr-2015 16:46

Looking at the exact location, it would most likely be feed off the Mangatangi exchange, and would be more around the probably in the low sub 1mbit range, if even connectible at all.

Are you sure of the distances you quoted? reason i ask is as far as i can see the distance from the school is twice what you quoted so something doesnt quite line up.

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hairy1

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#1284942 15-Apr-2015 16:50

Tell him to quit moaning and move back to town closer to Latte's and footpaths.

/disclaimer: I have nothing to add to the conversation, just winding up the OP.

/disclaimer: I know the OP and the rural dweller.

PS: Woody - You could run the drum of Cat 6 you still have of mine to his place.... ;-)

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coffeebaron

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#1284946 15-Apr-2015 16:57

Feel free to message me the address. I can check a few things for you. I do lots of rural broadband stuff.
Cheers
Fraser

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woody99

165 posts

Master Geek

#1284948 15-Apr-2015 16:57

hairy1: Tell him to quit moaning and move back to town closer to Latte's and footpaths.

/disclaimer: I have nothing to add to the conversation, just winding up the OP.

/disclaimer: I know the OP and the rural dweller.

PS: Woody - You could run the drum of Cat 6 you still have of mine to his place.... ;-)

Hi Matt!

Yeah I put that cable in my car today - I'm home sick so cleaning up my garage.

TheRural Dweller is on a health bender again and not drinking coffee. I think he's going all tree-buggy yogurt-slurpy out there!

But he wants to do it with some form of ADSL...

woody99

165 posts

Master Geek

#1284981 15-Apr-2015 17:25

6.9KM from Mangatawhiri School toward Miranda ..

kiwikiwi

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#1285072 15-Apr-2015 20:04

As someone that has lived in Pokeno. Market Road (just off the highway) the best we saw was 5mbps ADSL2 so ADSL service is really really sketchy. Thank the chorus heavens it wasn't a Conklin. Probably the best you're gonna get with out having Coffeebaron check it out and see if a WISP can service ya.

As you say 5KM is a long way to go for copper, even if it's fibre fed. hopefully the prequal goes well.

You can also follow me on twitter here @kiwifortw I do twitch streams every now and then at twitch.tv/kiwiforthewin :)

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