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Buttonmash

361 posts

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#57366 11-Feb-2010 08:36
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I'm seriously contemplating leaving TelstraClear cable as it's extremely hard to justify the high cost.

My situation is as follows:

 

I'm currently on the $150 cable only 80GB plan. My wife and I both have cellphones so a landline is just an opportunity for telemarketers to call us and not much more. We use ~80GB a month and would easily use more if we weren't going to be stung (as it is I'm rationing my Steam downloads & movie rentals out over several months).

Since Telstra just bumped the cable plans for those on the lower end plans and gave nothing to me, I've started looking to see what I could be getting elsewhere, and this one sticks out in particular.

On Slingshot I'd be paying $80 a month for naked ADSL (ADSL2 to come later when Vodafone upgrade the Karori exchange). For that I'd get only 25GB, but uncapped downloads between 2am and 8am. It wouldn't be hard to schedule whatever downloads I practically can to this window, and if I were to go over well I can just buy a 50GB datablock for $50, and any not used would roll over to the following month.

This is substantially cheaper than what I'm paying Telstra and while the speeds on Telstra will be faster (much no doubt), it's extremely hard to justify paying almost double for the same service.

 

On the other hand if I switched to Slingshot and they announced their DOCSIS 3 upgrade with newer more competitive plans I'd regret changing. But as it stands now we've gone what.. 4 years and all I've got to show for it is a $10 price increase? It's hard to reward that with loyalty.

 

What would you do in my situation?


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cyril7
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  #297861 11-Feb-2010 08:46
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On Slingshot I'd be paying $80 a month for naked ADSL (ADSL2 to come later when Vodafone upgrade the Karori exchange).


Hi, all Slingshot plans except the bottom two (<$30) are at Fs/Fs on ASDL2+, infact all connections to Karori Exchange are ADLS2+, have been for 3yrs or more.

Cyril



Linuxluver
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  #297862 11-Feb-2010 08:50
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I pay Orcon $129 / month for 101GB DSL. 6.6mbps down and 980kbps up.

MyTelecom landline is extra and my exchange (Birkdale) is ancient and can't do un-bundling. (Hell, it can't even do Caller-ID. We're talking *ancient*) So we can't ditch the landline.

101GB is a good amount. I have - effectively - 9GB / month of 3G across my two VF cell phones. So add that to the mix. But it's a lot more dear than the DSL. But the DSL (Telecom's fault usually 2 days once, 3 days the other time) in past 6 months) craps out frequently enough and for long enough (days) that we decided we need a contingency backup and tethering three PCs to a cell phone for 3 days at time gets expensive if you don't have data pre-arranged at a reasonable price.




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mattbush
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  #297864 11-Feb-2010 08:52
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You can get TCL to disconnect your landline at no cost. The cable plans do not need a phone line.



Buttonmash

361 posts

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  #297865 11-Feb-2010 09:02
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*

Buttonmash

361 posts

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  #297866 11-Feb-2010 09:02
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mattbush: You can get TCL to disconnect your landline at no cost. The cable plans do not need a phone line.


That $150 is for internet only, no phone line included!

cyril7:
Hi, all Slingshot plans except the bottom two (<$30) are at Fs/Fs on ASDL2+, infact all connections to Karori Exchange are ADLS2+, have been for 3yrs or more.

Cyril


I'll definitely have to check that out.  Vodafones map shows the Karori exchange as not in their "Red Zone". 

ATinyChipmunk
138 posts

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  #297867 11-Feb-2010 09:02
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whats this about them bumping their plans? i haven't herd anything about this? im on the 20gb plan...

Buttonmash

361 posts

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  #297868 11-Feb-2010 09:05
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ATinyChipmunk: whats this about them bumping their plans? i haven't herd anything about this? im on the 20gb plan...


They bumped the 4Mb 10GB plan to 10Mb 10GB and the 10Mb 40GB plan to 10Mb 50GB....

 
 
 

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.
ATinyChipmunk
138 posts

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  #297869 11-Feb-2010 09:09
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so they left me out of it... SON OF A.. sigh, cant they just drop the prices abit..

  #297889 11-Feb-2010 10:53
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cyril7: ... infact all connections to Karori Exchange are ADLS2+, have been for 3yrs or more.

Yes I can confirm my Telecom connection on the Karori Exchange has been on ADSL2+ for about that length of time - and generally performs flawlessly these days.

Sounddude
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  #297898 11-Feb-2010 11:25
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Linuxluver: I pay Orcon $129 / month for 101GB DSL. 6.6mbps down and 980kbps up.

MyTelecom landline is extra and my exchange (Birkdale) is ancient and can't do un-bundling. (Hell, it can't even do Caller-ID. We're talking *ancient*) So we can't ditch the landline.

101GB is a good amount. I have - effectively - 9GB / month of 3G across my two VF cell phones. So add that to the mix. But it's a lot more dear than the DSL. But the DSL (Telecom's fault usually 2 days once, 3 days the other time) in past 6 months) craps out frequently enough and for long enough (days) that we decided we need a contingency backup and tethering three PCs to a cell phone for 3 days at time gets expensive if you don't have data pre-arranged at a reasonable price.


I am working on getting the Birkdale exchange unbundled. I am also off that exchange :)

Sign up your neighbours :) Will make it easier to justify.

Buttonmash

361 posts

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  #297901 11-Feb-2010 11:38
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Ok so it looks like the Karori exchange is 2.5km away from my house by road. That isn't too terrible but certainly not the best.

Anyone else on Telstra you should be encouraging me to make the move! The moment I do they'll improve their data plans and make me regret leaving!

cyril7
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  #297904 11-Feb-2010 12:06
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Ok so it looks like the Karori exchange is 2.5km away from my house by road. That isn't too terrible but certainly not the best.


There are also a number of recently introduced cabinets in that area, check the following site to see if you are on the exchange or a cabinet.

www.telecomwholesale.co.nz/map...

Cheers
Cyril

ronindanbo
180 posts

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  #297926 11-Feb-2010 13:05
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Buttonmash: $150 cable only 80GB plan


Buttonmash: $80 a month for naked ADSL For that I'd get only 25GB


Buttonmash: I can just buy a 50GB datablock for $50


So we are saying that for 75GB you are paying $$130 per month for a possibly slower connection?

Might just be me but I dont see much of a difference here, maybe just the uncapped downloads part but how fast would that go? save yourself the hassell and don't move is my advice as I have experienced and heard of many service issues with Slingshoot in the past.


buzzy
217 posts

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  #297930 11-Feb-2010 13:11
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Me? I'd stop downloading movies over the net, and join Fatso for $20 a month. Far cheaper and you can get through three DVDs a week if you watch them immediately (if they're non-copyrighted, you can also rip them to a PC and return them immediately, then watch them later).

That'd probably drop your usage somewhat, allowing you to move to a lower-cost plan.

Buttonmash

361 posts

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  #297936 11-Feb-2010 13:30
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So we are saying that for 75GB you are paying $$130 per month for a possibly slower connection?

Might just be me but I dont see much of a difference here, maybe just the uncapped downloads part but how fast would that go? save yourself the hassell and don't move is my advice as I have experienced and heard of many service issues with Slingshoot in the past.



Not necessarily $130, it could be substantially cheaper.  Slingshot allow databanking of your add ons so that 50GB a month might end up partially used and roll over for a while.

A lot of my downloads I can schedule to start and stop in the wee hours of the morning so there's a very good chance of a substantial saving


I've thought of Fatso but it's just not as convenient having to deal with sending and receiving physical media.

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