Copper on the way out, but can't get a replacement (equivalent) wireless plan

Forums › New Zealand Broadband › Copper on the way out, but can't get a replacement (equivalent) wireless plan

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MichaelNZ

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#3485664 29-Apr-2026 21:29

I know we are on a dedicated line card and the splitter is 1:8 and together this compensates for the distance. I think the number was about 12dB and the tech said its comparable to town.

So basically 7 of our neighbours could also connect up.

At this time despite a few properties being close to the splitter - and I would expect their custom install cost to be cheap - noone else has connected. I suspect this is likely due to the existing VDSL working and mass market ISP's staffed by people who don't even know this can be done.

Its timely to remember not everyone values fibre as much as the demographic in this forum.

With that said, the advice I am handing out based on the situation today is if a custom install comes in at $10-30k (the lower end of the range) and someone really wants fibre they should take it. We don't know what the situation will be moving forward beyond its the end of the line for copper.

MichaelNZ

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#3487092 3-May-2026 15:10

TelcoTechDude:

Chorus can use longer range optics on the OLT PON port to get well above 20km. The bigger problem IMO is that a lot of rural cables have a low fibre count, often only 6F which are usually already in use for 1 or 2 ISAM cabinets + the SDH ring for carrying voice traffic around. These fibres should be freed up as the copper network is shutdown.

This may help in some areas but there is a point long distance NoA installs like ours are not scalable.

To get the distance they reduce the split so instead of daisy chained 1:32 splitters, they may have a single 1:8 splitter on a line card (ie: what we are on) and I believe they can go down to 1:4.

This flexibility is great because its allowed us to get connected to UFB for an amount which was not trivial, but we could manage. I think the majority of home owners could come up with the amount we paid if fibre was something they really wanted.

But if they were to rollout the whole township (around 95-100 properties depending on exactly where they stop) I think its almost certain they would put a local OLT in. And no way we could have afforded to pay for that.

So in summary while a 6F cable can feed a few properties it may not be a game changer by itself.

quickymart

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#3490642 13-May-2026 18:38

Update, Starlink ordered along with a full installation. Let's see how this goes.

quickymart

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#3491304 15-May-2026 19:52

Not sure if this should go in another thread but I can't seem to book in my Mum for her install. I paid for a full installation for her and also paid for a wall mount for outside for her dish - but when I try to book in an installation date, I'm getting this:

I thought I'd paid for it all - do they need to call her to book in the install?

coffeebaron

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#3491328 16-May-2026 08:21

I have not heard great feedback on their installs :(

I think it's contracted out to an Australian company.

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quickymart

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#3491329 16-May-2026 08:45

coffeebaron:

I have not heard great feedback on their installs :(

I think it's contracted out to an Australian company.

D'oh 😞 I think I'll leave it to next week and see what happens.

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snj

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#3491436 16-May-2026 11:29

coffeebaron:

I have not heard great feedback on their installs :(

I think it's contracted out to an Australian company.

Actually know one of the installers, it's run by the Australian company, subcontracted to a NZ division, and then subcontracted to regional installer groups. Also sounds like they're still building out the installer network.

Made worse by the fact that it sounds like SL are pulling similar tactics to in the US whereby they are basically paying peanuts for some of the installs comparable to the amount of work that may be required (there was a post on Reddit from one of the US installers, and they're not even getting paid mileage, even for cross-state work). I didn't press the guy that I know for more specific details.

coffeebaron

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#3491440 16-May-2026 11:41

Yeah, an install is typically 2-3hrs work, plus travel, plus mounting hardware, and any other misc parts required. My installs are typically from $500+

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quickymart

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#3495601 26-May-2026 18:51

Finally got a price to get a professional Starlink install for her, apparently it's going to cost $800 due to her being in a rural location.

She's going to ask what others nearby have done as there's no way she can afford that, and will probably see about getting it done as a self-install instead. The wall mount for outside has arrived though.

nztim

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#3495652 26-May-2026 20:37

quickymart:

Finally got a price to get a professional Starlink install for her, apparently it's going to cost $800 due to her being in a rural location.

She's going to ask what others nearby have done as there's no way she can afford that, and will probably see about getting it done as a self-install instead. The wall mount for outside has arrived though.

$800 is pretty reasonable considering price of fuel etc. at the moment

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