Unleashed havoc

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AndyT

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#10070 2-Nov-2006 21:05

So what is everyone going to do about Xtra's unleashed problems? Like many others, I was on Adventurer getting average dl of 2,000kbps and 3,300kbps off peak with which I was generally satisfied. However, lured by 7,600kbps and $10 less per month I opted for the change to Go Large - and regretted it ever since. I now grind along at 300 to 400kbps with perhaps max double that at best off peak. Is the problem one that can be resolved? Was it a con trick? Do we stop paying until Telecom perform reasonably under the contracts we all have with them? Its a week now since Telecom unleashed this havoc which leads me to think that if it could have been solved it would have been solved by now - which leaves me with a strong feeling of having been misled.

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Wannabe Geek

#50856 2-Nov-2006 23:43

I too have experienced the same problems since changing to go large. I used to get 3m/bits downstream no problems, but now I'm getting on average 400k. I phoned xtra yesterday and was told by them that they are doing hardware and software upgrades in exchanges across the country and thats why the speed has dropped. You'd have thought they'd done that before advertising 'unleashed'. Sounds like false advertising to me.

Stu

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#50859 3-Nov-2006 00:24

To their credit... they didn't promise a set speed.

All they said was that they were lifting the artifical downstream restrictions (and some plans... the upstream too).

And the reason why speeds have dropped is fairly obvious....

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bradstewart

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#50860 3-Nov-2006 00:24

It what way is it false advertising?

You were never promised 7.6Mbps, it was clearly stated the plans were managed and subject to fair use policies. Everybody knew this was going to happen.

Oh and welcome to Geekzone

sectoid

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#50865 3-Nov-2006 08:02

i think we need to be patient. i used to max out at around 300KB/s but this morning i'm averaging between 300 and 450KB/s so thats v.good for me.
Previously if my connection went over 300KB/s for a decent length of time my connection would likely fall over or the speed would suddenly drop below 100KB/s. This is all p2p downloading.
So things may be improving.
I do find that peak times is now useless for p2p downloading, lucky if i get more than 30KB/s

tonyhughes

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#50867 3-Nov-2006 08:22

Give it one month to let the insane downloaders get bored of filling their hard drives up.

Dont stop paying your bill, you will incur penalties and loss of service. Call your provider first, and tell them you are unhappy, and if you cant reach an agreement, tell them you want to be credited or whatever. Just not paying your bill is a crazy suggestion, unless you dont mind bad credit / cut service.

Most Telecom Ts&Cs seem to allow for 1 months credit of an affected service, which you might like to try and squeeze out of them, but in their defence, the plan no longer has a speed rating - it is simply whatever the system can deliver to you.

There is certainly no promise of 7.6Mbps, or even 1Mbps.

JonC

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#50890 3-Nov-2006 11:34

bradstewart: It what way is it false advertising?

Well - the adverts certainly imply that broadband speeds will be faster under the new plans, but for many people it doesn't seem to be the case. I certainly didn't watch the the adverts and think "wow - they're offering slower speeds than before". Did you? It doesn't matter if informed IT experts like the Geekzone populace know that it's likely people will get slower speeds - to the average broadband consumer, the advert implies that speeds will increase.

freitasm

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#50891 3-Nov-2006 11:48

I agree. Although not an intentional fault, it's a side effect of the perception of "unleashed". It sounds as though something was capped, and now it's all good for everyone. When people realise

a) more people with higher speeds means less bandwidth for everyone
b) less bandwidth for everyone means lower speed for people who used to have a great experience

then it is clear for non-tech users that something is wrong and they will only think of blaming the company selling "unleashed" broadband.

Perhaps time for people to actually take a deep and closer look in our national infrastructure? It looks to me that this is the bottleneck currently.

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#50896 3-Nov-2006 12:03

It's interesting to see Telecom's new ads mentioning that you won't be throttled back to dialup speed.. Many users are having trouble getting more than dialup speed on the new unleased plans!

tonyhughes

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#50897 3-Nov-2006 12:03

freitasm: Perhaps time for people to actually take a deep and closer look in our national infrastructure? It looks to me that this is the bottleneck currently.

And who will pay for that? The consumers who want $30 unlimited broadband?
Orcon? (They are at least investing in their own infrastructure.)
Slingshot?

Yes, the national network probably needs attention, but it was delivering fine with Telecom holding the reins. Now that everyone has pushed for unconstrained, and got it, look what has become of it...

What a mess...

Just about everyone has some fault on them somewhere I think (for the current situation)

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#50899 3-Nov-2006 12:10

tonyhughes: And who will pay for that? The consumers who want $30 unlimited broadband?
Orcon? (They are at least investing in their own infrastructure.)
Slingshot?

I think it's clear what should happen here:

1) Unbundling should be implemented forthwith.
2) Those ISPs who wish to provide a superior service will then be able to install their own gear in Telecom's exchanges (or where not possible, they can install their own roadside cabinets).
3) For other ISPs who are happy to swim with the mainstream, they can continue to use Telecom's existing hopelessly overloaded backhaul.

It's a similar situation to the introduction of Tolled Roads:

* You always have to provide a no-cost (or low-cost) option = Telecom's infrastructure
* But there should also be a premium service as an alternative for users who are happy to pay a bit more

My 2c worth anyway...

bradstewart

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#50900 3-Nov-2006 12:10

Now does anyone recall Telecom warning the government that this would happen...

The infrastructure just isn't there to support everyone having fullspeed ADSL.

We were told that this was necessary for the economy or some rubbish. I can see how were are benefitting now.. not.

Jama

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#50902 3-Nov-2006 12:17

Yeah I'm a bit gutted my DSL is chugging along at about 300-400kbps after being unleashed. Prior to being unleashed I was getting better than 1.5Mbps.

Can I opt to be leashed again?

grant_k

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#50904 3-Nov-2006 12:20

bradstewart: The infrastructure just isn't there to support everyone having fullspeed ADSL.

Exactly right. But who's fault is that?

If Telecom had re-invested more in the infrastructure over the years instead of paying out fat dividends to (mostly offshore) shareholders, as well as paying Theresa less, the country would now be better off, and we wouldn't be in this mess.

To have to admit that -- in the year 2006 -- "The infrastructure is not there to support fullspeed ADSL" is a damning indictment on Telecom who's sole prerogative it has been to manage the investment in said infrastructure.

It's time to open up the exchanges and let other players in who can and will invest some serious $ to make sure our infrastructure is up to the job.

I can hear the howls of derision coming already:

==> These "other players" will cherry pick and only invest where they can make a good return i.e. the densely populated areas

Of course they will adopt that policy. It is a commercial decision as to where they can make a good return on said investment.

But is it preferable to leave the situation as it stands i.e. with ALL AREAS of the country having seriously deficient infrastructure?

I think not.

Frankei

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#50905 3-Nov-2006 12:24

Good things take time...

Simply all that is happening now as mentioned before is that everyone is mega excited and just whoring their connection
People will get bored of sitting behind their PC 24/7 jerking off to their downloads

Give the other major ISPs to install their own equipment and get their own sheit sorted and you will more than likely see a great improvement in service and speed... Hell we might even get ADSL2

Like in the old days; when a new CS Update was out everyone wanted to download it at the same time and the servers were overloaded for days, but once those first few people got it; the rest got it no worries

Jama

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#50906 3-Nov-2006 12:43

I think you need electricity to deliver DSL. Then you need a decent transporatation network to distribute the modems. Gee which infrastructure should be fixed first?

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