Spark vs Skinny for Fibre

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Spark vs Skinny for Fibre

alasta

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#302355 17-Nov-2022 08:46

I am considering switching to Spark so that I can get my Apple Watch cellular functionality working. I gather that this means selecting a suitable phone plan and paying the extra $13 to include the watch.

I'd also like to have my home broadband with the same provider for ease of support and billing. Spark quote a price of $85 per month for 300mb/s fibre, but I note that it's $75 for the same thing on Skinny.

Other than fragmenting the billing, is there any disadvantage to splitting my mobile and fibre between Spark and Skinny like this?

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#2997332 17-Nov-2022 09:11

Not really, no. The only thing I can think of is if you have both with Spark (and other multi-service providers possibly do the same) and there is a fibre fault, they may boost your mobile data to compensate (they used to, not sure if they still do this).

But both services are running over the top of the same Chorus (presuming you're in a chorus area) fibre offering, so in terms of the service itself, it's fundamentally the same.

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nztim

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#2997336 17-Nov-2022 09:17

Tagged VLAN10 on Spark no Tagged VLAN10 on skinny - other than that there is absolutely no difference

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

alasta

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#2997428 17-Nov-2022 12:24

Thanks. I have no idea what a VLAN10 is so I'm guessing it wouldn't affect me.

I wonder why the Skinny offering is so much cheaper than the competition. Do they cut corners on customer support?

johno1234

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#2997432 17-Nov-2022 12:52

Don't you get $10 off for having your phone on the same account as your broadband?

surfisup1000

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#2997434 17-Nov-2022 12:53

alasta:

Thanks. I have no idea what a VLAN10 is so I'm guessing it wouldn't affect me.

I wonder why the Skinny offering is so much cheaper than the competition. Do they cut corners on customer support?

VLAN10 doesn't affect you, but you need to remember to change the vlan settings if your router is coming from another ISP that used it.

Since I went with skinny fibre a year or so back, skinny support has been good. You shouldn't need customer support after your connection is up and running since UFB is very reliable.

Skinny fibre is cheap because I believe their profit margin must be 0! I'm guessing they are trying to ramp up their customer base? But, what's the point without profit?

Also, skinny fibre is not kneecapped with CGNAT like quite a few other ISP's . It means you can easily run plex, vpn, and other such good stuff.

surfisup1000

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#2997435 17-Nov-2022 12:55

johno1234:

Don't you get $10 off for having your phone on the same account as your broadband?

Yes, I pay $80 per month for max speed skinny ufb with unlimited data. The usual price is $90, but I get $10 off as my mobile plan qualifies for the $10 discount.

yitz

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#2997440 17-Nov-2022 13:05

surfisup1000: I'm guessing they are trying to ramp up their customer base? But, what's the point without profit?

$16 -> $26 prepay mobile is all profit

surfisup1000

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#2997442 17-Nov-2022 13:14

yitz:

surfisup1000: I'm guessing they are trying to ramp up their customer base? But, what's the point without profit?

$16 -> $26 prepay mobile is all profit

We're talking about UFB!

Aucklandjafa

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#2997445 17-Nov-2022 13:19

My 2 cents: handy having both bb and mobile on one account. But also, for $90/month I get my Netflix paid for ($18.50) making it cheaper than Skinny. I was also able to get my smart modem off at mate for next to nothing, where as Skinny supply one on a 12 month contract.

Shindig

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#2997449 17-Nov-2022 13:28

Same here mate, the Netflix subs does it for me.

Also, the Spark Sport sub is reduced to $19.99 if you are into ya sports.

The little things make the biggest difference.

sen8or

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#2997452 17-Nov-2022 13:34

Recently got an email from skinny advising of a price change, full speed went from $98/mth to $90. I switched originally to them as they were giving 6 months free, they seem to want to retain customers

alasta

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#2997478 17-Nov-2022 14:05

johno1234:

Don't you get $10 off for having your phone on the same account as your broadband?

I just went into a Spark store and asked about this. Apparently the answer is no.

I hear that Skinny offer a bundle discount but that's not an option here as they don't offer Apple Watch connectivity, hence the mobile plan needs to be with Spark.

Spark's value proposition seems to be tied to Netflix and Spotify. Unfortunately in my case I don't want either of these.

quickymart

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#2997490 17-Nov-2022 14:26

Strange, they had that deal for ages (as did 2degrees and Vodafone). They must have got rid of it recently.

toejam316

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#2997567 17-Nov-2022 17:31

Easiest way to think of it, Spark is a premium offer with lots of value adds (Netflix, Spotify, Interest Free Purchases at stores, products other than Mobiles), whereas Skinny is a no frills one size fits most sort of service. If you don't want the bells and whistles, you don't see value in the additional products and services Spark offer, and just want a plug and play internet connection, Skinny is a good offer.

Anything I say is the ramblings of an ill informed, opinionated so-and-so, and not representative of any of my past, present or future employers, and is also probably best disregarded.

alasta

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#2997589 17-Nov-2022 18:15

Yeah, I get that.

The thing is, on Spark I have to pay a $13 a month fee to have internet access on my watch. That's in addition to a $29 difference between Spark and Skinny for the core services that I use.

If I'm paying $29 for a premium service then I would have thought that it should cover add-ons like this. I'd be happy to pay a $13 a month fee on Skinny but they don't offer the wearables service at all.

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