TrustPower ISP - Quality? (Hamilton)

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rinmic

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

Topic # 147220 12-Jun-2014 19:21

Hi,

we are considering switching to Trustpower for power, gas and ISP, since the prices are pretty good. So does any one here have experience with their quality as an ISP using unlimited broadband? We have been with Slingshot so far and are pretty appalled by Slingshots quality. We are talking periods of heavy package loss almost every day (kills online gaming) and a general drop to snail speeds on the weekend.
Our usage is comprised of:

Lots and lots of streaming, Twitch and the like.
Downloading lots of software packages (I'm a CS Grad student, I often need to download and install software for my research) + Steam games and updates
Video chatting: we have our families in Germany, so we like to catch up with our families via video chat once a week
Gaming, mainly DOTA 2

So we really need unlimited broadband, not unlimited = snail speed when you actually start using it a lot.

Thanks for any input on this!

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Reply # 1064326 12-Jun-2014 19:21

Hello... Our robot found some keywords in your post, so here is an automated reply with some important things to note regarding broadband speeds.

If you are posting regarding DSL speeds please check that

- you have reset your modem and router

- your PC (or other PCs in your LAN) is not downloading large files when you are testing

- you are not being throttled by your ISP due to going over the monthly cap

- your tests are always done on an ethernet connection to the router - do not use wireless for testing

- you read this topic and follow the instructions there.

Make sure you provide information for other users to help you. If you have not already done it, please EDIT your post and add this now:

- Your ISP and plan

- Type of connection (ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL)

- Your modem DSL stats (do not worry about posting Speedtest, we need sync rate, attenuation and noise margin)

- Your general location (or street)

- If you are rural or urban

- If you know your connection is to an exchange, cabinet or conklin

- If your connection is to a ULL or wholesale service

- If you have done an isolation test as per the link above

Most of the problems with speed are likely to be related to internal wiring issues. Read this discussion to find out more about this. Your ISP is not intentionally slowing you down today (unless you are on a managed plan). Also if this is the school holidays it's likely you will notice slower than usual speed due to more users online.

A master splitter is required for VDSL2 and in most cases will improve speeds on DSL connections. Regular disconnections can be a monitored alarm or a set top box trying to connect. If there's an alarm connected to your line even if you don't have an alarm contract it may still try to connect so it's worth checking.

I recommend you read these two blog posts:

- Is your premises phone wiring impacting your broadband performance? (very technical)

- Are you receiving a substandard ULL ADSL2+ connection from your ISP?

I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

nigelj

854 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 125

Reply # 1064343 12-Jun-2014 19:33

One person supports this post

I can't speak about TrustPower's quality as an ISP, but based on previous discussions here and advertising I've seen, I think it's wise to point out their confusing Terms and Conditions...

As highlighted by KiwiNZ here http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=48&topicid=141283&page_no=2 :

Exit Fees
• If you switch broadband and or phone service providers at any time in the future, or terminate either of these services, an exit fee of $95 will be charged. This exit fee will not be charged if you only change your Double Play plan (and do not switch broadband or phone service providers), but it will be charged if you switch from Trustpower Phone and Internet at a later date.

- Can be found at https://www.trustpower.co.nz/~/media/files/terms/tpl20952%20tp455%20telco%20tc%20bpp%20perpetual%20fa_nocrops.pdf

Before you make a decision, ask TrustPower to clarify the exit fees, and if you have the ability, record and archive the discussion, out of contract exit fees for Phone/Broadband are unusual, generally the 'gotcha' is "30 days notice" not an exit fee.

Their site is horrible in my opinion, if you want their other services' Ts and Cs they can be grabbed from https://www.trustpower.co.nz/your-account-and-support/your-account/service-terms-and-conditions

rinmic

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

Reply # 1064362 12-Jun-2014 19:48

Ouch, that is a rather nasty 'gotcha'.. Thanks for pointing out, I'll ask them about this, but if it is confirmed I'll stay the hell away from the company.

quickymart

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Reply # 1065122 13-Jun-2014 18:32

Do they do VDSL?

quickymart

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Reply # 1065125 13-Jun-2014 18:33

nigelj:Their site is horrible in my opinion, if you want their other services' Ts and Cs they can be grabbed from https://www.trustpower.co.nz/your-account-and-support/your-account/service-terms-and-conditions

Their site doesn't display properly in Firefox either (well, not my Firefox anyway).

Behodar

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Reply # 1065129 13-Jun-2014 18:42

It appears that you can pay an extra 5% per month to avoid the exit fee, although the terms aren't completely clear. I've asked for clarification and will post back when I get a response.

rinmic

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

Reply # 1065140 13-Jun-2014 19:20

Well that seems very confusing / dodgy terms. I tend to stay away from companies that are pulling such shenanigans, as I do not want the hassle.

nigelj

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Reply # 1065178 13-Jun-2014 20:12

quickymart:
nigelj:Their site is horrible in my opinion, if you want their other services' Ts and Cs they can be grabbed from https://www.trustpower.co.nz/your-account-and-support/your-account/service-terms-and-conditions

Their site doesn't display properly in Firefox either (well, not my Firefox anyway).

It seemed to render okay on Firefox 30 for me, but the only way I could navigate to that, was searching for the Terms and Conditions via Google.

Behodar: It appears that you can pay an extra 5% per month to avoid the exit fee, although the terms aren't completely clear. I've asked for clarification and will post back when I get a response.

That doesn't sound like it'd add up. Plus note that there is apparently equally large out-of-contract exit fees for each service according to their terms and conditions, certainly looks like an attractive offer at first, but then the saying of a wolf in sheeps clothing comes to mind. As mentioned earlier, the closest I've seen is the likes of Orcon pinging people for a month's worth of usage for not giving a complete 30-day notice period before churning but that is easy to avoid by simply understanding and following the terms you agree to.

Behodar

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Reply # 1065183 13-Jun-2014 20:19

Yeah, it's tricky. I have my power with them but I'm paying an extra 2.5(?) percent and have no exit fee. It's easy to switch to the cheapest power company since they all offer identical levels of service.

ISPs are trickier since they can have different speeds, caching, transparent proxies, CG-NAT, shaping, etc. I tend to stay with ISPs for years at a time, but don't want to be tied into a contract at first since I have no idea what the service is like. If I was to try TrustPower then I'd go on the higher rate for a couple of months, then switch to the cheaper rate if it's good (and then I'd need to stay for at least 20 months to come out ahead).

I'm going to need to make a choice in the next few months because fibre's coming and my current ISP doesn't support it!

myfullflavour

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Full Flavour

Reply # 1065195 13-Jun-2014 20:54

TP is $95 exit fee per service. Break one service, pay 3x exit ffees - effectively a lifetime contract.

Save yourself some money and switch to Powershop.

We wouldn't mind your UFB business either. 100/20 for $99 unmetered. The gamers rave about our network too :)

Behodar

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Reply # 1065206 13-Jun-2014 21:13

myfullflavour: TP is $95 exit fee per service. Break one service, pay 3x exit fees

Really? Three exit fees even if you only break one service? That doesn't seem to make sense but the terms are a tricky read so you could be right.

In any case, even with the extra 2.5%, TrustPower is currently the cheapest provider in my area but this is really scaring me off using it as an ISP. You (Full Flavour) don't appear to be available here in Whakatane at this stage (choices are Telecom, Vodafone, Orcon, Slingshot, TrustPower, Vibe). Hopefully there will be more options by October when the fibre goes in!

rinmic

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

Reply # 1065209 13-Jun-2014 21:18

myfullflavour: TP is $95 exit fee per service. Break one service, pay 3x exit ffees - effectively a lifetime contract.

Save yourself some money and switch to Powershop.

We wouldn't mind your UFB business either. 100/20 for $99 unmetered. The gamers rave about our network too :)

You guys don't do gas though, do you?

myfullflavour

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Full Flavour

Reply # 1065264 13-Jun-2014 22:57

We're a pure-play Ultrafast Fibre provider.

Saving money by bundling is a myth [Trustpower like to tell you otherwise. We've got an unbundle campaign being worked on at the moment :) ]

I'm not sure who does gas in Hamilton but it pays to shop around.

eXDee

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Reply # 1065265 13-Jun-2014 23:10

Power with powershop for lower usage or budgie if you don't need service or want pretty graphs to find out what's using everything. If you're on higher usage they don't seem to be as good value, Mercury possibly is a better deal for this last I threw some high usage numbers into the powerswitch calculator.

Internet I would not use Trust power for, from the complaints I've heard.
Snap is worth mentioning. I've been with them a year and am upgrading from their VDSL service to UFB. It's been good service.
Orcon I'm not sure of but last I heard they improved as of late.
Lightwire is another local ISP but I think they aren't as cheap as Full flavour, cannot comment on real world service of either.
I'm inclined to steer clear of slingshot due to a poor history but perhaps they have improved too if truenet is to go by. Speed wise, their customer service would have to leap up several notches from what I last experienced on behalf of someone.

Doesn't matter they are different companies for each utility, throw everything on automatic payment or direct debit and it's just as convenient. I'd only bundle together if it didn't require a service compromise and/or saved significant money to do so.

NZCrusader

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Reply # 1065292 13-Jun-2014 23:27

One person supports this post

rinmic: Hi,

we are considering switching to Trustpower for power, gas and ISP, since the prices are pretty good. So does any one here have experience with their quality as an ISP using unlimited broadband? We have been with Slingshot so far and are pretty appalled by Slingshots quality. We are talking periods of heavy package loss almost every day (kills online gaming) and a general drop to snail speeds on the weekend.
Our usage is comprised of:

Lots and lots of streaming, Twitch and the like.
Downloading lots of software packages (I'm a CS Grad student, I often need to download and install software for my research) + Steam games and updates
Video chatting: we have our families in Germany, so we like to catch up with our families via video chat once a week
Gaming, mainly DOTA 2

So we really need unlimited broadband, not unlimited = snail speed when you actually start using it a lot.

Thanks for any input on this!

Have you bothered to investigate why your service is poor.

If you are rural you may be on an old ASAM / Conklin. +
Also you might need re-wiring of the phone / ADSL if it has degraded.

If either is the case, changing ISP will not solve the issue.

NZ / AU Battlefield 4 Gaming Community
http://www.sonsofvalour.net/forums/forum.php

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