Body Corp: Wireless UFB or Bust

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meow
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#1649978 12-Oct-2016 22:02

kornflake: Your body corp sound like a bunch of retards, I feel sorry for you, I would most certanly increase the noise floor of the RF just to mess with them.

Just spam each AP with deauth packets - prevents anyone from connecting.

Raspberry Pi's + small batteries (or connected to power) = no internet for anyone.

Not that I would recommend broadcasting deauth packets for the lulz on public spectrum.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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richms

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#1649988 12-Oct-2016 22:10

That is intentional interference so means you are violating the GURL that allows you to use the band, so yeah, don't under any circumstances do that.

Also last time i researched this it wasn't possible on the 5GHz band so it may not be totally effective if someone else did it.

Richard rich.ms

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#1650039 13-Oct-2016 01:08

if the body corporate is receiving kick-backs directly and blocking any alternative is that actually legal? And if the chairman gets a personal kick-back is that corruption?

Either way some body corps, especially those "professionally managed" are turning into a rort:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11537405

Go to the AGM and mention this and make sure it is minuted. I am sure other people will be just as frustrated with their internet and if it looks dodgy for the chairman in the minutes e.g. kickbacks then they could create a tonne of pressure.

Speedtest 2019-10-14

kornflake

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#1650060 13-Oct-2016 06:57

what are the very good freedom packages? I know this is not the point but could add weight to your argument with other residents.

tripp

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#1650072 13-Oct-2016 07:31

This all sounds dodgy.

It reads like, no we won't do that because we are not getting a kickback if we do UFB, our currently provider pays us off to block any other service.

You can't even look up the plans freedom offers unless you are on their network inside one of buildings

mail2mm

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#1650075 13-Oct-2016 07:43

I have served on several body corporate (BC) owner's committees and it is generally lots of work, no pay and no thanks. At first contact the Chorus approach to installing UFB can be be alarming to owner's committee members who are concerned about how it looks, what effect the install might have on fire regulation compliance, structural issues like core drilling concrete floors and what costs the body corporate might incur. The siren call of free and easy, no mess, wi-fi installation along with a portion of the revenues for the body corporate starts to look quite good to volunteers dealing with a multitude of other issues. I would doubt that any of the committee members or the chair are personally benefitting from the 20% payment by the wi-fi provider. The payment normally gets paid to the body corporate account (that's you and the other owners).

I would suggest:

Find out who handles your building's BC account at Crockers. Introduce yourself. Get yourself a copy of the body corporate rules (Crockers can email you a copy) and determine exactly what is required to get a resolution on the AGM agenda calling for making Chorus fibre UFB service available to all units in the building.
Introduce yourself to the building manager. Find out what she or he knows about past efforts to get Chorus UFB service. The manager is likely to be able to tell you about committee member feelings about the broadband service.
Find out what broadband wi-fi service is now available including features and cost. You are going to be asked to compare what is available versus the Chorus fibre to the premises service.
Find out who the owner's committee members are (Crockers or the building manager) and consider talking with them before the AGM.
As has already been helpfully suggested get out and knock on doors meeting and talking with owners before the AGM. AGM attendance is usually sparse and it does not take many owners supporting an idea to get it approved at an AGM. Collect proxies from owners who can not attend.
At the AGM be prepared to volunteer to take this project on. Someone needs to do the leg work including dealing with Chorus to insure a successful outcome.
Good luck!

MikeAqua

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#1650099 13-Oct-2016 08:24

Having the BC run by owners (volunteers) is quite different to having it run by a professional body corp agency.

The latter will typically manage number of buildings and come with a pre-existing network of preferred providers.

A key thing here is getting a groundswell of support from your owner neighbours. Ideally you want to know the motion is won before the AGM.

Edit: I forgot to add, I'm looking at apartments right now and anything without at least wired ADSL is instantly excluded.

Mike

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HellraiserNZ

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#1650116 13-Oct-2016 08:45

BarTender:

HellraiserNZ:

Building is 5 floors with 10 tenants on each floor

I am unsure on what the other owners think - We kind of keep to ourselves. Was talking to someone from Myrepublic on the GZ forums and they have had a few consents turned down because of this.

This is the first thing I would change if it was important to you.

Knock on everyones door on your floor, if nothing else you might get to meet your neighbors as you never know when you will need them.

Then as has been previously stated find all the owners (as renters are at a distinct disadvantage in this situation) who think it's not good enough and stage a mutiny at the next AGM.

I would say with at least 5 other owners on your side that would be sufficient to get things moving.

If you want things to go slowly, don't do any of the above prior to the AGM and don't be surprised when you get fobbed off again. If the Building Manager / Body Corp is getting 20% kick backs from the current arrangement then don't expect anything other than the brush off until you find at least a few like minded owners to say this isn't on.

Thanks for the advice! Ill see what I can do, I probably won't knock on doors as I wouldnt do something that I wouldnt want other people to do to me i.e. Randomly have someone knocking (In 4 years I haven't had that, and I am kind of happy about this).

What I do plan on doing is distributing a small flyer into every persons mailbox outside and also on the notice board in the lobby. Saying something along the lines of, AGM is on the 14 Nov, if you are an owner who would like UFB installed in this building, speak up at the AGM and forward the motion on the agenda.

HellraiserNZ

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#1650120 13-Oct-2016 08:51

mail2mm:

I have served on several body corporate (BC) owner's committees and it is generally lots of work, no pay and no thanks. At first contact the Chorus approach to installing UFB can be be alarming to owner's committee members who are concerned about how it looks, what effect the install might have on fire regulation compliance, structural issues like core drilling concrete floors and what costs the body corporate might incur. The siren call of free and easy, no mess, wi-fi installation along with a portion of the revenues for the body corporate starts to look quite good to volunteers dealing with a multitude of other issues. I would doubt that any of the committee members or the chair are personally benefitting from the 20% payment by the wi-fi provider. The payment normally gets paid to the body corporate account (that's you and the other owners).

I would suggest:

Find out who handles your building's BC account at Crockers. Introduce yourself. Get yourself a copy of the body corporate rules (Crockers can email you a copy) and determine exactly what is required to get a resolution on the AGM agenda calling for making Chorus fibre UFB service available to all units in the building. I have and the email reply was directly from that person, original post. But I will read up on this.
Introduce yourself to the building manager. Find out what she or he knows about past efforts to get Chorus UFB service. The manager is likely to be able to tell you about committee member feelings about the broadband service. Building manager knows me as I ask about the Fibre all the time, he normally brushes me off and then tells me about the wireless internet packages.
Find out what broadband wi-fi service is now available including features and cost. You are going to be asked to compare what is available versus the Chorus fibre to the premises service. I dont have the actual plans but I do know the unlimited package runs @ 74.95 p/month (Which is OK in the scheme of things, but WIRELESS! It has steadily been reduced from $110 --> $99 -->$89--> $74.95)
Find out who the owner's committee members are (Crockers or the building manager) and consider talking with them before the AGM. There are motions for this AGM to elect new chairpersons and committee members.
As has already been helpfully suggested get out and knock on doors meeting and talking with owners before the AGM. AGM attendance is usually sparse and it does not take many owners supporting an idea to get it approved at an AGM. Collect proxies from owners who can not attend. Ill try :)
At the AGM be prepared to volunteer to take this project on. Someone needs to do the leg work including dealing with Chorus to insure a successful outcome. I wouldn't mind taking this on, in terms of coordinating with Chorus but I work long hours year round too
Good luck!

MikeAqua

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#1650121 13-Oct-2016 08:51

Flyers are easily ignored. There is no substitute for face to face discussion.

If this puts you out of your comfort zone just do it anyway (I'm inferring that it does, apologies if I have this wrong). Each conversation will be easier than the last and by the end of the exercise you will no longer find it uncomfortable.

Mike

HellraiserNZ

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#1650122 13-Oct-2016 08:56

Thanks GZ readers for replying and offering your thoughts on a possible resolution. It is greatly appreciated :)

JeremyNzl

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#1650168 13-Oct-2016 10:25

There is usually a cutoff for adding Items on the Agenda, 10 business days / 2weeks prior to the meeting,

Aredwood

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#1652610 18-Oct-2016 02:27

Is your building listed in this thread? http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=49&topicid=184009 If not click the "request unlock" button and type your post there. A Moderator will approve adding to that thread.

As it will also help your case as it will demonstrate that people are already making rent / but decisions on wether UFB is available or not. And how fast is the building WIFI? Compare it to Chorus 1Gbps UFB. So you could say something like "the WIFI is only 1/100th of the speed available on UFB.

And what type of encryption / authentication does it have? Does it appear as an "open" network on your devices? Meaning no encryption of the actual WIFI traffic? If so then show the body corp https://www.asb.co.nz/banking-with-asb/protecting-yourself-online.html

Basicly the paragraph on public WIFI. Im sure the other banks will have similar on their websites. So you could suggest that the body corp may be liable if someone gets hacked while using their WIFI.

And if you decide to become really evil - another way of messing with their network - A device that gives itself a random MAC address, connects to the wifi just so it gets assigned an IP address from the DHCP pool. Then chooses another random MAC address to get another IP from the DHCP pool. And continues doing that until all of the pool IPs have been used up. Any currently connected devices will still work but they will get lots of complaints from other users saying that even though their devices say "connected" the internet doesn't work. Even better if tech support don't say anything beyond "have you tried restarting your device"

michaelmurfy

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#1652612 18-Oct-2016 03:52

From what @Aredwood said I have had experience with an apartment building and an office complex here in Wellington.

Apartment building "didn't see the need" for UFB to get installed - we explained to the Body Corp that it is beneficial to have UFB installed as it enables the tenants a far better experience - we also pointed out the fact that the building was too far away for VDSL and thus there were no other options for a faster connection. The building itself is mostly concrete and so the body corp didn't want too much to do with it. In the end getting other people on board caused them to investigate further and so there is now UFB available at the 31 Pirie Street apartment buildings here in Wellington. It was quite a lengthy process but we got there.

Office building - owner didn't know much about UFB and what it does etc however we got other offices to tee up a connection to UFB in the same building (moving away from Citylink Fibre). In the end the building owner decided it is a great idea and signed the papers - this was a process that lasted around 5mo. Much easier than the apartment building but still quite difficult.

My current residence - I just told the owner I am getting UFB. He said "fine" and got his sparkies in to install a new power point for where I wanted the ONT (in a cupboard) - best landlord I've ever had and I honestly wish there were more landlords like him.

Basically, the more people you have on board the better. From a security perspective this also offers tenants much more secure access to the internet at better speeds since even if the WiFi was secured knowing the encryption keys is enough to sniff other peoples traffic and I bet your bottom dollar it'll be a portal login over insecure WiFi meaning all unencrypted data is free for all - please, use a VPN if you're using this network.

kornflake

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#1660525 29-Oct-2016 16:35

HallraiserNZ how are you progressing with this, are your neighbours on board?

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