[WXC/VFX] WxC: some interesting information

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freitasm

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#20149 14-Mar-2008 18:17

Today I was having a chat with someone from WorldxChange and found a couple of interesting things that I think are important for you guys to know...

First I found that an amasing 1 TB of data is moved every month for Speedtest. This is the traffic to the international sites used for speedtest.net, not the local server maintained by WorldxChange.

Apparently this traffic also spikes a bit every time anyone starts a thread with "my speeds are slow" or "my speeds rock".

Next we talked about some of the posts here about help desk wait times for both WorldxChange (data) and WorldxChange VFX (VoIP)

It appears that help desk times are influenced by the type of support required. People need to come to the realisation that VoIP is very different of using an old phone plugged into POTS - that simply works and if not it's the operator's fault.

With VoIP it can be anything - the broadband connection, the ISP providing the connection, incorrect router configuraton including NAT, firewall, wrong IP addresses for port forwarding, faulty cabling, etc.

I found out that a part of the problems WxC faces these days are actually outside their scope - things like helping people configure their own internal networks, changing router configuration, etc.

I can imagine the chaos this would be if they allowed soft phones to connect to their services! Then it would be unusable!

So, let's give them some space to breath. When I see people complaining about five minutes waiting for a technician it makes me sad. I've had longer wait times with TelstraClear and I am still using them because the only couple of times that I had to use a speakerphone while waiting were more than compensated by their great cable modem service.

The same applies to WxC. I don't personally use their ISP services, but I do have a VFX number (ported off of TelstraClear) and know it works. I also have a tight grip of my network here at home (with two servers, exchange server, six clients and VPN setup) so I know if things go wrong I would first look inside the house.

I guess a lot of people forget they also have their part to play?

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#116689 14-Mar-2008 19:36

Well said, thanks for the feedback. I fully agree and support your comments/statements.

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#116700 14-Mar-2008 20:50

The decision by Orcon to deliver a POTS service over their ULL circuits was an interesting decision. I've been 100% VoIP only at home for the past 2 years and have never had single problem with my hardware because I've got good quality equipment in a house that I wired myself. From recent posts on here however it's very obvious that some reliability and technical issues are indeed affecting people loooking at moving towards naked ADSL, ULL or cable solutions and planning on running a VoIP service on top.

Orcon's move of still delivering a dialtone and into their own linecards running back to their own VoIP network has the potential to remove a huge problem area for support and also give people the ability to move to the smart services that can be delivered over a VoIP platform but without having to rewire their house into an ATA or router. Obviously this can only be delivered at present over ULL circuits and not a wholesale product. Such a solution requires copper to the house and obviously isn't going to work in some of the new subdivions that are true FTTH and then rely on a gateway inside the house. It's something worth thinking about for all of the people who believe that FTTH is the ultimate solution. Your connection now only becomes as good as your gateway and the reality is that a $100 router sitting in your house isn't going to be anywhere near as good as a $1000 business grade unit.

As we move forward there are plenty of things to think about and there will be companies who get things right and those who get things completely wrong.

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#116711 14-Mar-2008 21:44

sbiddle: Orcon's move of still delivering a dialtone and into their own linecards running back to their own VoIP network has the potential to remove a huge problem area for support and also give people the ability to move to the smart services that can be delivered over a VoIP platform but without having to rewire their house into an ATA or router.

I agree fully, our experiences with selling VoIP are that every site is very different in A) how they use their phones and B) how they have their physical setup for phones in their building.

Selling VoIP to businesses is a lot harder and longer a process than simply pumping POTS down from a linecard in the exchange.

If I would hesitate to guess the movement of the market, a lot of people are going to try VoIP, then move to a POTS/VoIP solution as the saving are there in the latter solution, without the problems associated with running VOIP from their local network, over their routers and broadband backhaul.

It also means no capital outlay for VoIP capable PABX or phone equipment.

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#116801 15-Mar-2008 12:11

I don't agree that supplying a "dial tone"is the way forward. Sure it makes life simpler in the short term, but for VoIP to really work and make the most of all the features to come, you really need to move away from ATA's and go to full IP phones. That may not be that simple yet, and the range of IP phones available has some way to go, but ultimately that's where the technology will head. I.E. will a "dial tone" support full HD video calling? I think not.

Guess we're at that stage like moving from VHS to DVD, so how long do we continue to support VHS?

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#116806 15-Mar-2008 12:40

I think there is a market for both VoIP services delivered over POTS to the house and also delivered as a true SIP service over the IP connection. For the large majority of end users delivering a POTS solution is the simplest method, reduces support issues and means that there is no requirement to alter the house wiring.

There is also a huge market for delivering a true VoIP service and I think markets will continue to exist for both products. You obviously can't deliver 2 (or more) POTS phonelines over a single piece of copper but at the end of the day you have to weight up delivering the customer with no technical knowledge a product with the highest possible uptime that isn't going to require a reboot every few days so they can use their phone vs delivering the customer a technically superior service that's going to require an onsite IT administrator to run! :-)

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#116819 15-Mar-2008 14:27

sbiddle: Such a solution requires copper to the house and obviously isn't going to work in some of the new subdivions that are true FTTH and then rely on a gateway inside the house.

FWIW many PON systems support TDM transport off the ONT, meaning no RG required for PSTN services. Unless you're counting the ONT as a gateway.

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#116828 15-Mar-2008 14:50

PenultimateHop:
sbiddle: Such a solution requires copper to the house and obviously isn't going to work in some of the new subdivions that are true FTTH and then rely on a gateway inside the house.

FWIW many PON systems support TDM transport off the ONT, meaning no RG required for PSTN services. Unless you're counting the ONT as a gateway.

That's what I was meaning. If you run fibre directly to the house you still have to have an ONT on the premises to plug in an analogue phone even if the fibre is carrying TDM services. This means you've got another point of failure and requirement for a UPS or battery backup system to ensure a phone service in a power cut.

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#116841 15-Mar-2008 17:01

sbiddle:
I think there is a market for both VoIP services delivered over POTS to the house and also delivered as a true SIP service over the IP connection. For the large majority of end users delivering a POTS solution is the simplest method, reduces support issues and means that there is no requirement to alter the house wiring.

There is also a huge market for delivering a true VoIP service and I think markets will continue to exist for both products. You obviously can't deliver 2 (or more) POTS phonelines over a single piece of copper but at the end of the day you have to weight up delivering the customer with no technical knowledge a product with the highest possible uptime that isn't going to require a reboot every few days so they can use their phone vs delivering the customer a technically superior service that's going to require an onsite IT administrator to run! :-)

Yes, I quite agree, but this is still more an interim step. My personal opinion is make the whole jump in one go, but you're right this won't suite everyone and that's why there a many options out their.

Keeping on WxC topic, I feel this is where they see the real future for broadband. I.E. let someone who is good at infrastructure (Telecom) put the backbone in, then someone who is good at services (WxC) to put all the stuff - data / voice / video etc on top.

Adding to this are the people who do the work setting the stuff up. I don't fix my own car, that's what the mechanic is for. Likewise, I don't expect people who don't really understand networks, VoIP etc to go try installing this stuff themselves - that's a job for a Tech. I'm often amused by some of the posts here, and can understand why the help-desk get hung up on trying to solve many issues that are not theirs. Sometimes I'm almost tempted to say "just get a Tech and pay some $$ to get it sorted".

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#116871 16-Mar-2008 03:05

sbiddle: That's what I was meaning. If you run fibre directly to the house you still have to have an ONT on the premises to plug in an analogue phone even if the fibre is carrying TDM services. This means you've got another point of failure and requirement for a UPS or battery backup system to ensure a phone service in a power cut.

OK but an ONT is quite different from the concept of a Residential Gateway (the $100 unit you refer to). Most ONTs come with UPS built into the ONT demarc unit (particularly in an MDU deployment); and in any case it's not that much different from locations which are PCM muxed or are using pairgain equipment.

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#116940 16-Mar-2008 14:52

Yes I can say too I own an isp and each month 2 TB travel across speedtest.net

lol..

i agree with most of the stuff you said just not that point.I am not convinced

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#116942 16-Mar-2008 15:13

ninjabear: Yes I can say too I own an isp and each month 2 TB travel across speedtest.net

i agree with most of the stuff you said just not that point.I am not convinced

Yes, you could say. But then again that's you - not them.

I have talked to someone who knows their stuff at WxC. Are you not sure about the accuracy of the information or the veracity of the information?

Either way it's a reliable source, why would they provide wrong information - knowing that they have a pretty good profile around here?

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#116949 16-Mar-2008 16:15

ninjabear: Yes I can say too I own an isp and each month 2 TB travel across speedtest.net

lol..

i agree with most of the stuff you said just not that point.I am not convinced

Its obvious then that you have no idea about the amount of bandwidth and data that is chewed through by an ISP then. I used to work in the same building as a dialup ISP years ago, with a pool of 33.6kbps modems, and it was insane the amount of data they fed out.

Let alone broadband.

Why is 1TB so hard to believe?

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#116950 16-Mar-2008 16:28

1TB is actually surprisingly low. That works out to about 3Mbps sustained for a month, which when considering the number of tests that are done at peak times and the speed of the average broadband connection.... I seem to recall the administrator of nzdsl.co.nz breaking 1TB/month of test data on the speedtest there over a year ago.

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#117011 16-Mar-2008 21:44

I don't believe its 1TB
Hey..I have a good profile towards you as well.I'm gonna rule the world one day.I'm being honest.Have I ever lied to you?

Anyway.I don't believe that but your welcome to believe them.They don't have to lie nor do they need to tell you the truth.

I actually wonder how many people do speedtest results.Not alot ....

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#117013 16-Mar-2008 21:45

Those are my assumptions.You can believe what you want.Just like apple....

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