Spark Wireless Broadband performance

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Spark Wireless Broadband performance - East Auckland

technico

19 posts

Geek

#295426 28-Mar-2022 13:46

Hi,

(Hopefully the right Forum; can't see any recent references on here)

Does anyone have recent experience with Spark 4G Wireless in St Johns (AK) area?
i.e. Performance of connection, and Spark 'customer service' . . . .

The oldies would only need the Basic Wireless option (max 40GB/$45 a month).

Q1: Any issues with speed falling below the claimed 27/15 Mbps?

Q2: Any issues with phone calls distorted - or dropping out?

Q3: Given that a standard desk phone won't work, Spark includes two Panasonic cordless phones.
And given that most DECT phones provide pretty crappy sound quality, how do these compare?

Q4: Anyone know how to locate primary coverage of individual towers by street?
There used to be a map with Venn-like circles showing these but is now a 404.

TIA

antonknee

1133 posts

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#2893164 28-Mar-2022 14:17

Can't speak to the specifics of your question as to the St Johns area, although I have used this product before in a different area in Auckland, and I have family who use it in a different city. In general:

Q1: Yes it could if the cell site was heavily congested, although 27/15 should be achievable almost all the time expect in periods of extreme congestion. My experience was it performed a bit above this claim, my grandparents likewise.

Q2: No issues at all with this based on my grandparents' experience.

Q3: Phone is a phone is a phone. If they have a Panasonic cordless now, this will be similar. Again, no issues with my grandparents' experience but they aren't fussy.

Q4: Doesn't really work that way, too many factors to look at rather than simple where is the tower vs where is the house. However the gis.geek.nz website (requires a free account) will show you tower location; Spark have a coverage map on their website; and broadbandmap.nz is another helpful resource for broadband availability.

quickymart

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#2893181 28-Mar-2022 15:49

Would they not be keen on fibre? Free install...

nztim

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#2893188 28-Mar-2022 16:14

I would go Fibre over FWA any day my elderly neighbours are on a basic 30/10 plan with landline

Edit: its the 50/10 everyday fibre plan with landline

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

cokemaster

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#2893232 28-Mar-2022 19:42

I had my folks on Spark Wireless BB and as a solution - very simple and easy to use.
The problems came later when the local cellsite started running quite hot... often from 3PM to 11PM, speeds would degrade significantly, sometimes to the point of not being able to stream on netflix. Voice however was not impacted.

The real question that I would have is: are you after a landline first with the bonus of having some data (and thus, not too concerned about speeds)? If so, Wireless is an option.
If your folks use a bit of data (you brought up 27mbps), then you may want to consider Fibre for both performance and data allowance reasons.

One pointer from our experience - do not leave your apple tv on the netflix main screen overnight... we had that issue where it chewed through 50GB+ of the folks allowance before we isolated it (just playing previews).

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technico

19 posts

Geek

#2893496 29-Mar-2022 13:34

Cool - thanks for all replies.

· No need for fibre - they have no need of entertainment, so NetFlix=0
· New location is down a driveway and they already had a nasty stuffup with fibre install on present location.
· Probably most browsing during the day so potential evening bottlenecks not a problem.

The Vodafone and 2° basic wireless plans are quite a bit more expensive.
Vodafone not a contender anyway.

technico

19 posts

Geek

#2894244 30-Mar-2022 13:52

Update 30 March: The box that Spark supplies is a Huawei V9517
which had a nasty vulnerablity last year
(DDoS botnet - see refs on [TheRecord] [TomsGuide] and others.)

https://therecord.media/routers-and-modems-running-arcadyan-firmware-are-under-attack/

SparkNZ

Smart Modem (Arcadyan VRV9517)

6.00.17 build04

Anyone have comments on using Huawei in general these days?

TIA

Talkiet

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#2894252 30-Mar-2022 14:01

technico:

Update 30 March: The box that Spark supplies is a Huawei V9517
which had a nasty vulnerablity last year
(DDoS botnet - see refs on [TheRecord] [TomsGuide] and others.)

https://therecord.media/routers-and-modems-running-arcadyan-firmware-are-under-attack/

SparkNZ Smart Modem (Arcadyan VRV9517) 6.00.17 build04

Anyone have comments on using Huawei in general these days?

TIA

The VRV9517 is an Arcadyan modem, NOT a Huawei device - it's also the fibre modem - not the FWA modem... Also, the vrv9517 we supplied was _NOT_ vulnerable to the attacks described there as the main critical vulnerability (of the 3 I think needed to conduct the attack) was not present in the FW we had. In addition, the remote management port wasn't exposed - AND the remaining issues were addressed promptly with updated FW (despite neither enabling an attack)

Network monitoring also showed no evidence of any infections on the Spark network (apart from deliberate accesses to their hack payload we did ourselves to test monitoring).

The couple of websites that asserted the specific Spark firmware was tested and vulnerable to the attack were simply wrong.

Cheers - N

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

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technico

19 posts

Geek

#2894262 30-Mar-2022 14:20

Thanks for reply Neil.

Have no way of knowing who you are or if you are a Spark employee?

Is it just a coincidence that the Spark modem offers has the same nomenclature [ . .V9517] as Arcadyan then?

MaxineN

Max
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#2894265 30-Mar-2022 14:25

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=39&topicid=289033&page_no=1#2757948

^ Here OP, both an explanation and also some re-assurance from the original thread back when it happened last year.

Also for what it's worth.

My in laws have the FWA (Smart Modem 2) CPE at their address and it's fine with 0 issues on also the same plan. They also have some Panasonic handsets and that works fine as well.

Ramblings from a mysterious lady who's into tech. Warning I may often create zingers.

liquidcore

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#2894272 30-Mar-2022 14:43

technico:

Is it just a coincidence that the Spark modem offers has the same nomenclature [ . .V9517] as Arcadyan then?

I think you may be a bit confused:

* Spark offers the Smart Modem (for UFB) and Smart Modem 2 (mostly for FWA)

* The V9517 is the Spark Modem (for UFB) and it is made by Arcadyan

* The Spark Smart Modem 2 is also made by Arcadyan (unsure of exact model number)

* Huawei has nothing to do with the above

yitz

2083 posts

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#2894278 30-Mar-2022 14:49

~~I'm pretty sure Spark Smart Modem 2 (pictured below) is manufactured by Huawei.~~

Talkiet

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#2894279 30-Mar-2022 14:53

yitz:

I'm pretty sure Spark Smart Modem 2 (pictured below) is manufactured by Huawei.

Nope, the earlier B315 and B618 are Huawei... The Smartmodem 2 is Arcadyan.

Cheers - N

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

yitz

2083 posts

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#2894281 30-Mar-2022 14:55

Talkiet:

Nope, the earlier B315 and B618 are Huawei... The Smartmodem 2 is Arcadyan.

Ok thanks for correction, they all do look very similar!