Considering a move to Vodafone cable

Forums › One New Zealand (including Vodafone, WxC, Farmside) › Considering a move to Vodafone cable

Dunnersfella

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#141214 4-Mar-2014 21:52

As a current Vodafone naked broadband customer, I'm looking at making the move to cable...
It looks like we have access to the service where I live and a mate has just made the jump and loves it.

There may be a few potential catches for me though...
I currently have a separate modem with two routers. One (Apple Airport Extreme) for my everyday connection + streaming my media around the home via Plex. Then another router (DLink) running DD-WRT for Netflix duties (using StrongVPN).

Would any of this equipment be defunct with a cable setup?

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BDFL - Memuneh
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#999144 4-Mar-2014 21:56

Yes, it's pretty good. Except when it doesn't work, like tonight.

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toadeny

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#999183 4-Mar-2014 22:58

Agreed, if cable is working that day it should be straight forward to swap over.

-unplug your current xDSL modem
-plug the vodafone supplied cable modem into your Airport Extreme
-update the Airport's WAN settings with those that are supplied to you by the tech who comes to do the install.

Everything thing else that is behind the Airport should work without requiring re-config.

mattwnz

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#999191 4-Mar-2014 23:19

Just wondering, if people are also in a UFB area, so the customer has the option for either Cable Fibre or UFB Fibre, which will get installed by Vodafone? Or will Cable fibre and UFB fibre never exist together.

r2b2

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#999196 4-Mar-2014 23:43

mattwnz: Just wondering, if people are also in a UFB area, so the customer has the option for either Cable Fibre or UFB Fibre, which will get installed by Vodafone? Or will Cable fibre and UFB fibre never exist together.

I think they will ... eventually. We have cable and are in a UFB zone but dates for our deployment are still undecided (so I'm guessing it'll be one of the last)

mattwnz

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#999200 5-Mar-2014 00:03

r2b2:
mattwnz: Just wondering, if people are also in a UFB area, so the customer has the option for either Cable Fibre or UFB Fibre, which will get installed by Vodafone? Or will Cable fibre and UFB fibre never exist together.

I think they will ... eventually. We have cable and are in a UFB zone but dates for our deployment are still undecided (so I'm guessing it'll be one of the last)

I'm in a cable area, and UFB for mine appears to be scheduled for 2015/2016, so doesn't look like being in a fibre cable area already delays it by that much. A bit werid that they are going have have duplicate fibre infrastructure, but I guess the UFBs is newer and using better and newer technology behind it.

toadeny

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#999202 5-Mar-2014 00:58

Either i can't find it, or it got lost when vodafone took over telstraclear... there used to be a more exciting map of their coverage to which you could compare with the chorus planned maps, but this one gives an idea: https://koordinates.com/layer/4032-telstraclear-fibre-optic-network/

As an example, In the Wellington region TelstraCable was/is available generally speaking in Wellington City and the Hutt Valley excluding the Western Hills.

If you have a look at the chorus map (http://www.chorus.co.nz/network-upgrade-map) you can see where things are planned, there will definitely be crossover with the Fibre To The Premesis and the current Fibre To The Node (Vodafone InHome Cable) which "should" mean good things for consumer choice and pricing.

Regarding the duplicate infrastructure, yes in a way this is true for those regions already covered by the Vodafone HFC network, however its not Vodafone who is laying the new fibre, its Chorus certainly in the Wellington region.

timmmay

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#999221 5-Mar-2014 08:25

Cable doesn't work in a power cut, xDSL is generally battery backed up. You'd need a UPS at home to use it though.

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#999233 5-Mar-2014 08:48

VF cable is a much better option since they increased their data caps - the Entertain packages give a choice of two speeds - 50/2Mbps and 130/10Mbps - and three data caps - 80, 150 and 500GB.
I think it will be a long time before fibre comes to "cable" areas, for obvious financial reasons - why should VF compete with itself?

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toadeny

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#999274 5-Mar-2014 09:57

Vodafone is not Chorus, Vodafone is not laying fibre for UFB.

There is plenty of Fibre already laid in areas that have Vodafone HFC coverage. Just checkout the chorus UFB maps for Wellington... http://www.chorus.co.nz/maps

Dunnersfella

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#999870 5-Mar-2014 22:07

toadeny:
Agreed, if cable is working that day it should be straight forward to swap over.

-unplug your current xDSL modem
-plug the vodafone supplied cable modem into your Airport Extreme
-update the Airport's WAN settings with those that are supplied to you by the tech who comes to do the install.

Everything thing else that is behind the Airport should work without requiring re-config.

Thanks, can you think of any potential issues re: the D-Link running DD-WRT firmware?

toadeny

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#1000224 6-Mar-2014 15:58

I can't think of anything obvious that will go wrong, the wonders of NAT should mean that all the equipment on the Lan side of the Airport Extreme will function as they used to.

If you can manage it... don't get the xDSL disconnected prior to confirming the swing to cable works as and performs to your expectations.
This could be more important if cable has never been installed at your house before in case their is difficulty and delays with the install however that's unlikely.

best of luck with the switch

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#1000225 6-Mar-2014 16:01

toadeny: Vodafone is not Chorus, Vodafone is not laying fibre for UFB ...

See: Forums › New Zealand UFB › Vodafone offering it's HFC network in place of UFB rollout?

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toadeny

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#1000262 6-Mar-2014 16:47

Thanks for pointing that out and quoting my comment before that article existed :)

It reads that Vodafone are just offering to wholesale their HFC FTTN network for UFB.
It doesn't say if they will lay more HFC FTTN to expand or if they'll do some FTTP like UFB elsewhere. You could probably assume Vodafone are implying the UFB providers just do FTTP in the areas in which Vodafone don't already have HFC FTTN coverage.

Certainly it could be interesting for competition if they wholesale more than they currently do.

quickymart

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#1000398 6-Mar-2014 21:35

I highly doubt they would extend the cable network, at all. When I was working at (then-)Telstra Saturn then Telstra Clear in 2001, the cable network rollout was "paused" while they evaluated all functions of the new, merged company. As far as I'm aware, it was never restarted.
UFB is superior to cable anyway - it's sort of (IMO) become a bit of a cul-de-sac technology, being surpassed by fibre.

mattwnz

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#1000406 6-Mar-2014 22:32

Sideface: VF cable is a much better option since they increased their data caps - the Entertain packages give a choice of two speeds - 50/2Mbps and 130/10Mbps - and three data caps - 80, 150 and 500GB.
I think it will be a long time before fibre comes to "cable" areas, for obvious financial reasons - why should VF compete with itself?

I know of one cable area in the Wellington region just down the road from me, that I believe have just had UFB installed. I am in a cable area and scheduled to get UFB in 2015-16. I don't think the fac tthat cable is in certain areas has any bearing on UFB. I don't think it should either, since cable internet can only be provided by a single company that owns it. I pressume VF make larger margins on cable, as the infraastructure is already in palce, and they don't have to pay a middle man.

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