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jbard

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#61488 17-May-2010 20:09
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Hi
i am thinking of changing to xnet broadband. i am currently on telecom unlimited plan but i dont think this is sutible for me as i get really annoyed with the slow speed and dont really take full of advantage as i only use aboyt 25GB a month. I watch a lot of youtube videos and a little downloading of sites like rapidshare/hotfile but not alot. also other family members listen to online radio and watch video on othe sites apart from youtube(even though this has been impossible on current plan). Now i live quite far from the local exchange(about 7km) so my usual speed is between 100-200 kb/s which i can handle but speeds of 10-20 kb/s which i have been getting recently on my current plan are far to slow for me. For the same price as i pay now ($60) i can get 25Gb of data which is perfect but after reading this forum i have a few questions about speed and reliability. Is their anyone else in a similar position to me who is on xnet. what sort of speeds do you get. especially between 4-11pm as this is when i use it most. also what about outages, how often are they and how long do they last for?

anyway thanks for any help

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SepticSceptic
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  #331203 18-May-2010 09:38
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In all honesty, I don't think Xnet is your best bet - it's slow during peak times. Youtube buffers like you wouldn't believe, ping times for online gaming are high, torrents drop to quite low rates - around 100k

However, that doesn't bother me, as I don't watch that much online video, don't play online games, and torrents are torrents - when they arrive, they arrive:-)

Xnet has a pay as you use, rather than being locked into a set usage plan, and their VOIP is pretty reliable.

Best check out the threads on a few of the ISP forums on GZ - then you will see what is good, and what isn't.



semigeek
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  #331213 18-May-2010 09:53
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My Xnet speeds have increased quite a bit, Youtube works fine for me now and at peak times my speeds are consistent with off peak.  And agree on the Voip, its good and voice quality is very good.

SepticSceptic
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  #331303 18-May-2010 12:19
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semigeek: My Xnet speeds have increased quite a bit, Youtube works fine for me now and at peak times my speeds are consistent with off peak.  And agree on the Voip, its good and voice quality is very good.


You must be on the SWBAP plan - Squeaky Wheel Bandwidth Allocation Plan ....

My theory is that Xnet ( and others) have this spare unallocated bandwidth floating around, and then assign it to the district or suburb that are complaining the loudest, or have the most speed complaints, and when that crowd quietens down, the spare bandwidth is then switched to the next batch of grumblers.. and so on ...

:-)



semigeek
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  #331324 18-May-2010 12:51
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I'll give it a month then and see what happens ;)

maverick
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Ragnor
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  #331333 18-May-2010 13:12
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jbard: Hi
Now i live quite far from the local exchange(about 7km) so my usual speed is between 100-200 kb/s which i can handle but speeds of 10-20 kb/s which i have been getting recently on my current plan are far to slow for me.


What exchange/cabinet are you on, check your adddress here:
http://www.telecomwholesale.co.nz/maps

I suspect you are in an small/rural area connected to an old cabinet/exchange probably with a single E1 for backhaul and at peak time this is getting congested.  If this is the case changing ISP will not change anything.

Your line > cabinet/exchange > backhaul network > ISP network > ISP transit/capacity/routes etc

Many newer and existing cabinets/exchanges have been upgraded to fibre backhaul and don't suffer from this problem.  If you can find out your cabinet/exchange from the above link you might be able to find out if/when it's being upgraded?

Also can you compare the result in peak time of a local speed test vs international

Local:
http://zeus.jetstream.co.nz/

International:
https://www.speedtest.net/
Choose San Jose, CA (US west coast)

Ragnor
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  #331341 18-May-2010 13:21
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maverick: http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=65&topicid=60842


In 2009ish Xnet changed their international transit provider from Pacnet/Asianetcom and Verizon/Alternet to Vocus, presumably to get more capacity at a better rate.

Just recently they negotiated better handover link limits (which were causing major performance problems for them) with Telecom wholesale.

Two pretty big changes, should have a good effect.

Maverick, can you let us in on any other network improvements at Xnet or are they all top secret?

 
 
 

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).
kyhwana2
2566 posts

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  #331350 18-May-2010 13:29
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I haven't had any problems with ping times for gaming on Fusion (the naked DSL plan). Although youtube has been a bit slow over the past week, it has gotten a bit better as a whole.

maverick
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  #331359 18-May-2010 13:46
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Ragnor:
maverick: http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=65&topicid=60842


In 2009ish Xnet changed their international transit provider from Pacnet/Asianetcom and Verizon/Alternet to Vocus, presumably to get more capacity at a better rate.

Just recently they negotiated better handover link limits (which were causing major performance problems for them) with Telecom wholesale.

Two pretty big changes, should have a good effect.

Maverick, can you let us in on any other network improvements at Xnet or are they all top secret?



No real secrets, pretty much as you have here.... Actual Network has never been an issue ... Item 2 always has had been Wink




Yes I am a employee of WxC (My Profile) ... but I do have my own opinions as well Wink

             

https://www.facebook.com/wxccommunications

jbard

1377 posts

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  #331619 18-May-2010 21:49
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OK well thanks for the advice i guess i wont change to xnet then. seen as i am currently on telecom but cant stand big time i have changed to their 20gb capped plan for this month but are their any other alternatives that are sutible for me?

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