Cheaper Options for all phone requirements.

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Studentkyle

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#11431 23-Jan-2007 11:36

We are currently in the process of reviewing all our phone, mobile and internet needs with the purpose of getting the most appropriate product at the best price.

Currently we have the following services:

Homeline with Telecom with wire maintanence ~$44

Tolls with ihug (~$10/month)

Unlimited Dial Up internet with ihug $14.95

Telecom Mobile (for txts mostly) ~$10

Total Spend = ~$80

Given that we only make less than 5 local calls a month the homeline is really only so we can get the internet.
Now we are looking to upgrade to Broadband where are needs we are believe would be ~5GB data allowance (want to try xbox live as part of this)

The homeline is the kicker if we could reduced or get rid of this and still be able to use the internet it would be ideal.

Anyone out there got any ideas.

Thanks

grant_k

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#58570 23-Jan-2007 11:37

Whereabouts in NZ are you?

Studentkyle

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#58591 23-Jan-2007 13:55

Canterbury - Rangiora

grant_k

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#58595 23-Jan-2007 14:09

I'm not too much up on my Christchurch geography but Chiefie can probably tell you whether Rangiora is covered by the TCL Cable Network. They would be the best option (although possibly not the cheapest) if you are in their coverage area.

Another option is Woosh Wireless. They offer a Phone + Broadband service with 1GB data cap for $49 per month.

Details are here:

http://www.woosh.com/ContentClient/Phone/PhonePricing.aspx

Or you can ditch the phone idea, and just use your mobile with one of the following plans:

http://www.woosh.com/ContentClient/Internet/InternetPricing.aspx

For $39.95 per month you will get the 5GB of data you are looking for.

You will need to enter your actual address to check the coverage.

Because you are coming from dial-up, the 1GB data cap may well be enough for you. However, if it isn't, you can increase your data cap to 5GB for an extra $10 per month.

Even with the Phone + Broadband service and 5GB data cap costing $59.95 per month, you are still paying no more than for your existing Telecom/iHUG-based dial-up plan, yet you would receive a vastly better service.

Have a think about it and let us know what you decide.

Cheers,
Grant.

Studentkyle

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#58606 23-Jan-2007 14:47

Will this still allow me to go onto Xbox live? What makes it a better service?

chiefie

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#58613 23-Jan-2007 15:36

Sorry Kyle, TCL doesn't go that north so you'll missed out on the big world of cable broadband. I feel for you.

As for Woosh Wireless (not Woosh ADSL), I think someone posted that their Woosh experience hasn't been good and don't really enjoy WoW, and for Xbox live, you want at least 256kbit and low latency. Woosh at the moment has high latency.

So your option is back to square one, ADSL. Sorry mate :-(

Does the option of perhaps moving into East, South, or Lower-West part of Christchurch help? Beside most these areas are in cheaper zone than the Upper West like Avonhead or Burnside or Fendalton etc.

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grant_k

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#58621 23-Jan-2007 16:09

chiefie: As for Woosh Wireless (not Woosh ADSL), I think someone posted that their Woosh experience hasn't been good and don't really enjoy WoW, and for Xbox live, you want at least 256kbit and low latency. Woosh at the moment has high latency.

First I have to say that I'm not a gamer, so I'm not sure how much effect the extra latency of Woosh Wireless would have.

However, the download speed should certainly be up to the job. This from the Woosh web site:

** Download design speed is up to 1.6 Mbps and Upload design speed is up to 120 Kbps for all plans. Download speeds subject to coverage conditions and bandwidth availability.

Studentkyle: Will this still allow me to go onto Xbox live?

To connect your Xbox to Woosh Wireless, you will need to order the router:

http://www.woosh.com/CommerceClient/Module.aspx?ModuleUrl=/CommerceClient/Internet/Package/SpecialOfferRouter.ascx

At present, it looks like they are offering this at no extra charge if you sign up for a 12-month contract.

Studentkyle: What makes it a better service?

Simple: VASTLY improved download speed compared to dialup

. I don't expect that you would actually get 1.6Mbps, but it should be at least 300 to 400kbps which is around 7 to 10 times faster than dialup. This will allow you to connect your Xbox whereas Dial-up doesn't...

I think it's fair to say that 7-10x download speed improvement qualifies as a "vastly better service", don't you?

Seriously, are you still happy to be on dial-up?

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Studentkyle

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#58631 23-Jan-2007 17:05

Happy enough for now. Still waiting to see what will happen with prices. Besides we've survived this long and one of my main drives for broadband is for xbox live.

I just think that paying $44 for a phoneline we barely use as a phone is a waste. So maybe if i go to woosh on the basic plan it will be still be cheaper, get the broadband speeds and i dont NEED to use xbox live.

thanks

chiefie

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#58632 23-Jan-2007 17:12

or wait just a tad bit longer and see what's up the hood for naked DSL... i mean, you have waited this long, perhaps a bit longer won't kill you, would it?

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Studentkyle

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#58635 23-Jan-2007 17:32

Whats Naked DSL?