[WXC/VFX] Considering the switch

Forums › Vodafone New Zealand › [WXC/VFX] Considering the switch - possible drawbacks

parsley

57 posts

Master Geek
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Topic # 25045 10-Aug-2008 17:54

I'm currently with iHug but sick of the nosediving service since Vodafone took over so I'm looking for a new ISP. My current plan (which iHug don't offer anymore) gives me 20 GB daytime and 40 GB nighttime per month.

The Torrential plan looks like it gives me everything I need and Fusion sounds really interesting. I see from the forums here that there are a few problems (slowing international speeds, problems switching phone numbers, etc).

What are the most important things I need to know before making the decision to switch? Would you recommend it, or now beginning to regret it?

Thanks for any responses.

exportgoldman

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Reply # 155652 10-Aug-2008 18:27

We are a WorldxChange reseller and I use XNET at home, and also work for a large IT company which has clients on many types of broadband connections and ISP's.

I used to be on the exact ihug plan you are on, but gave up a few years ago because I simply couldn't use my allocation of data each month! :(

When I first moved to XNET, I did around 250GB of data on the first month :) hehe, I switched my connection at home in Parnell to the Torrent plan and get good speeds to Los Angeles and on torrents. I used to do around 50GB a month, I've recently got freeview so I've stopped with torrents for a while.

The helpdesk is not 24/7 so be aware of that if you are a night owl, but their network is very reliable.

The VFX VOIP lines are very stable, but not as reliable as a POTS line, and have a much much better feature set, with cool things like voicemail to e-mail. :-)

A word of warning, don't purchase the Linksys router as it has a really bad modem/firmware in it. They are close to releasing a all the new Linksys router/VOIP box so it may be worth waiting for that, or simply buy a SPA2102 and plug it into your existing router.

I'm happy.

Tyler - Parnell Geek - iPhone 3G - Lenovo X301 - Kaseya - Great Western Steak House, these are some of my favourite things.

Batman

Mad Scientist
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Reply # 155654 10-Aug-2008 18:35

slingshot inferno. muahahaha

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?ForumId=49&TopicId=24613

also if you do, put my name in for 1 terabyte!

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exportgoldman

1200 posts

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Reply # 155670 10-Aug-2008 19:27

joker97: slingshot inferno. muahahaha

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?ForumId=49&TopicId=24613

also if you do, put my name in for 1 terabyte!

Yeah, hows that working out? Last time I was on slingshot the speeds were not good, and I heard about problems with caching servers?!?!

Is it all fixed now? How do you find the speeds? I like the TV Ads. :)

Tyler - Parnell Geek - iPhone 3G - Lenovo X301 - Kaseya - Great Western Steak House, these are some of my favourite things.

billgates

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Reply # 155741 10-Aug-2008 23:07

What problems are you you currently experiencing with Vodafone?

Do whatever you want to do man.

parsley

57 posts

Master Geek
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Reply # 155755 10-Aug-2008 23:51

We moved house a few months ago and the transfer of the account took weeks because of the staggering incompetence and stupidity of the helpline staff. I'm guessing that when Vodafone took over they fired the iHug staff and transferred the calls to their own staff because they had real trouble understanding a simple thing like moving house. They also kept coming up with these set phrases like "I'll be keeping an eye on your account personally" - nice to hear it once, but hearing the same thing every time you call and never hearing back from any of them just makes it sound stupid.

The last straw was checking the online help last week and finding it seems to have been hidden in with the mobile phone support. I sent them an email asking where I was supposed to look and still haven't had a reply.

The service itself works fine, I just hate giving money to a company that are so bad at customer support.

kfella2000

487 posts

Ultimate Geek
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Reply # 155764 11-Aug-2008 06:24

I have had VFX for coming up to 2 years now and was one of the first to get fusion back in January this year. I must say I have not regretted making the move. I also changed over to the torrent plan when that became available and yes get good download rates most of the time. I had a Belkin modem/router and a PAP2T phone adapter and they gave me a good run. Two weeks ago I upgraded to a Linksys AG310 which is also a all in one unit modem/router/phone adapter and after a couple of minor hickups like the phone adapter not grabbing the VFX settings from Xnet for the VFX service which I believe Xnet have figured out what was causing that and the modem was disconnecting randomly from the internet which a very helpful Xnet tech support staff member seems to have resolved for me (no dropouts in 2 days now) I am finding the AG310 is working just as reliable as my original setup. The AG310 does not have a wireless router built into it and my son has just last week purchased a laptop and so he has the Belkin working through the AG310 so that he can use the wireless on that. I would recommend Xnet fusion to anyone. I have talked my other son into it and he should have his fusion service up and running today. He applied for it last Monday.