Switching to Business Broadband

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Switching to Business Broadband

mnkey

30 posts

Geek

#26884 6-Oct-2008 17:42

With the new plans in place and the Pro Ultra plan now obsolete, I think it is necessary for me to switch to the 60GB Business advanced plan.

My only issue is with the 2Wire Gateway supplied.

Currently in our household we use a DLink DSL-G604T Router along with a directional antenna as well as the DLink DWL-G710 range extender. It is neccessary for all three of these items to be functioning in order to recieve wireless signal in our main living area. Our router the DSL-G604T is in one corner of our household and for this reason it is hard to gain a signal on the other side.

What are peoples experiences with the 2wire gateway as far as range is concerned?

As I understand 2wire gateways contain 3 internal aerials.

My main question is, not being able to use my directional antenna will I still be able to cover the same range I currently do?

Also will my DLink DWL-G710 range extender still be compatible with the 2wire gateway.

Thanks very much for your help,

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1528

#169357 6-Oct-2008 18:05

don't know, but I'm pretty certain you don't have to use the 2wire modem if you find it doesn't work so well. You could just carry on with your old setup if you find it is working well for you

mnkey

30 posts

Geek

#169359 6-Oct-2008 18:10

oh okay, that would be great, the technician made things sound like it was necessary to be using the gateway.

nate

6473 posts

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Retired Mod

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Lifetime subscriber

#169374 6-Oct-2008 18:59

mnkey: oh okay, that would be great, the technician made things sound like it was necessary to be using the gateway.

As I understand it, any broadband modem will suffice.

To fix your wireless issues, I'd recommend a router with a directional antenna. Point this where you want the bulk of your wireless cover to be, and it will work well (unless you have a concrete wall or thick steel beams in the way).

MattD

663 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 1
Inactive user

#169880 8-Oct-2008 15:15

Received a call today and looks like I will swap over to the Business Broadband 60GB which saves $41 mth, however interested to know what people's experience with the 2Wire gateway. I am probably looking to use it as a modem only (or sell it) but am expecting it would provide better performance than the installed Dlink DSL-502T which I was told is currently capped around 7000 kbps (if it ever gets there) unless you have a GenIII version
What model is the 2wire gateway?

shame2

19 posts

Geek

#170501 10-Oct-2008 20:29

the model is 2701HGV-W Gateway
very nice router but has no qos option

MattD

663 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 1
Inactive user

#171093 14-Oct-2008 15:51

Yes the model is a 2701HGV-W GatewayDoes this mean that it has the 2 physical voice ports under the back cover, but is crippled using Telecom firmware?
Does the standard firmware include QoS for VoIP?

New World

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Nizan

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#172096 19-Oct-2008 17:10

The router was tested by group of people and in the majority of cases, the 2wire router was able to obtain a higher connection rate then most standard routers. In my own personal test, I was previously using a Dlink 604T and also a Nokia M1122. Connection rate would range from 700-800kbps (I am fairly far from the exchange so this explains why my connection rate is quite low). Connecting the 2wire router, I was able to achieve approximately 1.1mb-1.2mb (stable) and have not experienced any disconnections etc while having the 2wire installed. Other users managed to increase connection rates by 1-2mb in some cases however it some users did not see an improvement at all.

The router by (hardware specifications) does support VOIP however as MattD mentioned, the Telecom firmware does not support this options.