[TelstraClear] Wellington area TCL feedback

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MikeB4

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#80231 29-Mar-2011 08:09

Hi

I am considering changing service providers and would like some honest feedback concerning Telstra Clear's performance.

1. Is their installation and connection promises timely and as per sales promises?
2. Is the Broadband speeds better or worse than Telecom for Local traffic?
3. Is the Broadband speeds better or worse than Telecom for International traffic?
4. What is the reliability of the Home phone line service?

Now with regards to their Television service.

1. Is T-Box reception the same better or worse than MySky HDI for SD broadcast?
2. Is T-Box reception the same better or worse than MySky HDI for HD broadcast?
3. Is the feature set of T-Box comparable with MySky HDI?
4. Is the service reliable, is there dropped reception, record failures etc etc ?

Lastly I am currently paying for my Broadband/phone (Telecom) and Sky around $230 per month I am on the Total home 40GB plan would there be cost savings going to Telstra Clear?

I know I ask a lot here but it's really hard to get good hard data on this and changing provider is a pai and to find that you gone from the frying pan into the fire after changing is a right royal pain. So any info would be gratefully received.

timmmay

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#453031 29-Mar-2011 09:05

I have cable tv and internet, so this only applies if you're on their cable network.

My install process was 4 years ago, they turned up on time and did a good job. The TV works as expected, but this is the older analog offering. I haven't used their digital TV.

Broadband is generally blisteringly fast. On a well seeded torrent I have no problem hitting my line speed, which is 15Mbps. On a single download from the US I get good speeds, can't remember off the top of my head but no complaints. Internet downtime is relatively low.

I got rid of my home phone with them, which I don't think ever went down. It was a real hassle to get rid of the phone, as it's not a standard package they offer, even though it's listed separately on the bill. If I ever need a home phone again i'll get a VOIP offering from vfx for 1/4 the price, with an initial investment of equipment of maybe $150-$300.

Their real downfall is customer service, it's really not great. Generally there are few problems so you won't need to talk to them most years, but if you do be prepared for waits and people who don't speak English. Sometimes you get through straight away and whatever you need gets done no problems, but sometimes it's just really frustrating.

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itxtme

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#453037 29-Mar-2011 09:16

I assume you are talking about cable as your are reffering to the Tbox. I find the cable Internet to be a superior product to ADSL, having said that I have had it since the days of ADSL and never tried ADSL2. My speeds are always good on cable.

I have had MySKY for years and so was never tempted to get TC cable TV. My setup is

TC Cable ($50 for 20GB)
Sky incl. MySKY & Sky Sport ($80ish)
VFX from xnet ($12)

I have never had a problem with my VOIP related to cable - always has been rock solid working together. Plus you get all the features that you would normally pay more for like caller ID call waiting etc. for 1/4 the price of a land line!!

EDIT: Just had a quick look on what i could get it for as a package from TC and the total is $168 vs $142 I pay now!!

pando

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#453048 29-Mar-2011 10:03

Been using TBox, very good viewing quality, but you have to make sure you get a good box. Had to get one replaced as it would sometimes hang and a few times black screen and need power cycle to get going again.

I'm shifting house and set up an online connection for the new place, got a call from a NZer 3 days later to confirm and all was good but when I needed to change the datetime of the install it took 15 mins to get through to someone not in NZ for a further 10 mins to finally speak to a kiwi that took 1 min to understand what I wanted and change the datetime.

It really irks me why NZ companies use foreign call centres during NZ business hours. I can understand if it was 2am but if I call at 9am it's because I want to speak to someone that understands NZ English.

At least my power company and gas company had Kiwi call centres, painless.

TelstraClear

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#453049 29-Mar-2011 10:04

Hi there, drop us an email online.marketing@telstraclear.co.nz and we'll be happy to give you a call and answer your questions.
Thanks,
Tim.

MikeB4

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#453249 29-Mar-2011 20:07

I have emailed Telstra Clear as invited above but would still love to hear personal experiences.

sbiddle

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#453260 29-Mar-2011 20:35

Image quality is identical or better than Sky - TCL don't do any form of re-encoding with the MPEG transport stream other than adding their own encryption. This means that you'll still find poor quality on many channels with Sky's low bitrate. Some channels are sourced independently of Sky so these may be transmitted at a higher bitrate.

MikeB4

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#453603 30-Mar-2011 20:53

I haven't had a response to my email to Telstra Clear

graemeh

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#453696 31-Mar-2011 08:10

KiwiNZ: I haven't had a response to my email to Telstra Clear

No surprises there. That's one of the reasons I left.

If you ever do get a response it'll probably be "call us on 0800 xxxxxxx"

1080p

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#453730 31-Mar-2011 10:07

I would suggest heading into one of the Telstra Clear brick and mortar stores. If you sign up there they are able to provide exact dates for install appointments and sort everything out immediately. Doing it over the phone is just horrible from what I hear.

I am planning on adding a cable connection as a second internet connection once I have added some cabling to my house. I plan to use it for browsing as the speeds are generally much more stable from my experience (using a friend's connection) and the increased upload speed is a welcome relief for heavy users. I will likely tunnel the entire connection to the US or EU first as I am not a fan of their transparent proxy.