Broadband rip off....

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Ultimate Geek

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#282982 16-Dec-2009 00:47

I agree i think lack of another connection into NZ is the main reason it's so expensive if we didn't most of our data coming through only the southern cross cable then we could get competition up and running in oct05 i was on my one and only trip outta nz to Los Angeles where signs all over the place for $14.95 (usd obviously) you could get unlimited 768 down speeds and 256 up. Now i know now that's not that spectacular but back then our best speed was 256 down and 128 up and i can be pretty sure most would agree the data caps and costs for that were a lot worse than they are now.

As riahon commented about being in Hong Kong they get speeds and saturation like we here in nz will only (possibly) dream of and they are not even at the top of the scale of broadband speeds (read somewhere they were trying to reach (don't quote me but think it was Singapore who were a further 10 x faster than them)).

I also believe Nationals fibre to the home is dumb too as making it accessible should be a higher priority than getting great speeds that only the rich can afford. Where does that leave the average user who uses less than 10gig a month.

I personally love having a plan where i can get 75gig off peak for a slightly higher cost for peak usage.
:-)
John

Britguy

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#282983 16-Dec-2009 01:05

riahon:
Britguy:
riahon: I agree, price is high. Go back.

Thank you. It seems that an expat can’t make any sort of negative comment about New Zealand without someone saying “go back home then”…. yep, well done.

You're welcome. I didnt say go home, you did. Comment still stands. Price is high for many things here. Grass is greener, air is cleaner, food tastes better and there are less people than most western countries. I came back from Hong Kong and realised that with all their advances in technology and access to high speed internet, you cannot find a clean public toilet.

You did imply the same… and then to add comment still stands??!! Is this your answer to anyone who dares to say anything negative about NZ? Maybe parliament should pass a law saying that all expats should wear “coat hanger” smiles and just nod and agree with everything. Just because someone doesn’t like something in particular, doesn’t necessarily mean they should leave the country. I’m sure if that was the case, you would be one very lonely individual…….!

...and as for "Grass is greener, air is cleaner, food tastes better and there are less people than most western countries." whats all that about?

Our grass is brown/scorched with the ozone problem, the best food gets exported, and yes, there are so few people, hence one of the reasons we pay dearly for 'stuff'.

NZ has a lot to offfer, but there are also many things that could be improved, and no I wont be going back just yet, but thanks for your constructive comment.

nate

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#282984 16-Dec-2009 01:06

riahon: I came back from Hong Kong and realised that with all their advances in technology and access to high speed internet, you cannot find a clean public toilet.

raytaylor: Try finding a clean public toilet in wellington at 10pm on a friday night.

Adult diaper. Comfort and convenience.

riahon

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#282992 16-Dec-2009 05:13

Britguy:
...and as for "Grass is greener, air is cleaner, food tastes better and there are less people than most western countries." whats all that about?

Our grass is brown/scorched with the ozone problem, the best food gets exported, and yes, there are so few people, hence one of the reasons we pay dearly for 'stuff'.

NZ has a lot to offfer, but there are also many things that could be improved, and no I wont be going back just yet, but thanks for your constructive comment.

Oh well, stay then. I dont really care. If the part of your quote I highlighted is too hard for you to understand then maybe I shouldn't use complicated words. I dont know where you are that you have brown scorched grass - the only time I ever saw that problem would have been the drought we had about 2 or 3 years ago and that was the worst I have ever seen. At the moment my lawn needs mowing as the damn thing is growing too fast. The best food being exported just makes my comment even stronger - even 2nds here tastes better than the crap you get overseas.

Stay enjoy the space and freedom that having a less densely populated country offers and quietly to yourself say - this is the price I pay for having expensive broadband.

freitasm

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#283002 16-Dec-2009 07:32

I don't seriously know why all this "my side is better than yours" is going on here. The topic is "broadband costs" and it's turning into a "I don't like foreigners complaining here".

So feel free to go back... on topic. Or I lock this discussion.

freitasm

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#283003 16-Dec-2009 07:34

Britguy: For an example see here and bear in mind that the dollar is approx $2.4 to the £1

It says "Unlimited Downloads (acceptable use policy applies)". If it's like anything else in the UK they probably put a soft cap on this plan somewhere...

xpd

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#283024 16-Dec-2009 08:49

UK vs NZ - Different infrastructure, different markets etc....... Im sure theres bound to be worse than NZ out there.

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Britguy

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#283026 16-Dec-2009 08:54

Yes, there are always people who will try to take a good thing too far. I believe that the cap was for such things as downloading full length feature films one after another, as some did (illegally) 24/7.

Anyway, thank you all for the input, and yes I suppose it is a case of supply and demand here, pretty much a numbers game. And I would guess a good analogy would be to put a telephone line to the North Pole, possible yes, but boy calls from there would be mighty expensive taken all into account!

exportgoldman

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#283030 16-Dec-2009 09:18

When I went to Los Angeles last year one of the big mobile phone companies were advertising a $49.95/Month plan for unlimited nationwide calling/texting/data.

I must spend 5 times that and it's still not unlimited... And the foods nicer overseas as well :)

Tyler - Parnell Geek - iPhone 3G - Lenovo X301 - Kaseya - Great Western Steak House, these are some of my favourite things.

Athlonite

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#283457 17-Dec-2009 15:00

freitasm:
Britguy: For an example see here and bear in mind that the dollar is approx $2.4 to the ?1

It says "Unlimited Downloads (acceptable use policy applies)". If it's like anything else in the UK they probably put a soft cap on this plan somewhere...

good point ... it sounds alot like the old Orcon Zero shock plan that had a 20gb soft cap that if you went over it to many times orcon shunted you onto another plan

Screeb

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#283477 17-Dec-2009 16:11

Athlonite:
freitasm:
Britguy: For an example see here and bear in mind that the dollar is approx $2.4 to the ?1

It says "Unlimited Downloads (acceptable use policy applies)". If it's like anything else in the UK they probably put a soft cap on this plan somewhere...

good point ... it sounds alot like the old Orcon Zero shock plan that had a 20gb soft cap that if you went over it to many times orcon shunted you onto another plan

No. FFS, I'm sick of this. It's not difficult to actually look up the terms instead of pulling crap out of your arse.

http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/internet/traffic.html

It's simply throttling between 10am and 3pm and 4pm to 9pm, where if you download over 3000MB (first period) or 1500MB (second period) (for the plan being discussed) during these times, then, for a maximum of 5 hours (until that period is over) you will be throttled to 2.5Mbps. Oh no! Also, note that the 50Mb plan has no throttling whatsoever (which is only $86 NZ per month).

From their AUP:

3.2.1. Virgin Media does not place a limit on monthly network usage. However, in isolated cases (currently less than 0.1% of customers) where excessive network usage at busy times (9am to 9pm) is having a detrimental effect on other users, we may need to take appropriate action in accordance with the terms of this AUP to notify users of the impact they are having and require them to move some of their activity into the less busy period.

The throttling seems to be an automatic way of dealing with this (instead of the "notify" bit they mention in the AUP), and it is currently being trialled.

crazed

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#283493 17-Dec-2009 17:24

NZ 5 times bigger of Fiji, 5 times smaller than Aussie.

NZ 14.7 times smaller than UK.

I rest my case. Some countries/People consider NZ to be little more than a Pacific Island, Depending on who you talk to.

I honestly think NZ is fairly lucky to have the speeds it does have considering how far we are from most markets and largescale backbones.

CraZeD,
Your friendly Southern Geeky Fellow :P

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#283502 17-Dec-2009 18:30

Screeb: No. FFS, I'm sick of this. It's not difficult to actually look up the terms instead of pulling crap out of your arse.

Did you actually "shop around" for an internet plan?

If you had, maybe you would have found the 'unmetered' plan that's available and not bothered to complain about things that we already complain about.

rm *

Screeb

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#283508 17-Dec-2009 19:05

Detruire:
Screeb: No. FFS, I'm sick of this. It's not difficult to actually look up the terms instead of pulling crap out of your arse.

Did you actually "shop around" for an internet plan?

If you had, maybe you would have found the 'unmetered' plan that's available and not bothered to complain about things that we already complain about.

What on earth are you talking about? I was simply replying to the false assertions made by Freitasm and Athlonite about that plan.

Detruire

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#283519 17-Dec-2009 19:44

Screeb: What on earth are you talking about? I was simply replying to the false assertions made by Freitasm and Athlonite about that plan.

From the hostile reply, I assumed you were the OP (To whom I apologise) as he's the only one who has any reason to post such an angry reply.

rm *

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