Is Woosh the Way for Wireless?

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ActiveMatrix

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Topic # 14815 22-Jul-2007 10:28

Hi Guys,

I'm moving to Auckland in the next month and will be getting an apartment right in the CBD of Auckland.

We're not planning to stay there long and might move around the centre of Auckland to various other apartments until we find what we want.

With this in mind, I don't want to get a phone line and have to move this each time we hop around, but we're also heavy broadband users and also use Skype a lot.

Woosh seams to be the best fit, however I've been researching over the past couple of weeks, as the best assessment I can come up with is "results my vary!".

Does anyone have any suggestions or comments about how well Woosh works for them and if they are happy with it's service in general?

All comments welcomed.

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Reply # 79179 22-Jul-2007 10:54

I was with Woosh up until about a year ago and I was very happy with their service. It was reliable and delivered consistent performance, although it's worth noting that I live about 300m away from one of their transmission stations which might explain why my experience was better than some others have reported.

I used it mainly for web browsing and email so if your requirements are more demanding then you may not be as satisfied as I was.

ActiveMatrix

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Master Geek

Reply # 79181 22-Jul-2007 11:30

Thanks for that :) - So far 1 - Nil to Woosh :)

I've had a look on the google maps and I should also be very close to the transmission sites, however I'm not sure if I'll be line-of-site as yet which I understand makes quite a difference.

BarTender

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Reply # 79367 24-Jul-2007 07:36

For me I really like woosh, it gives me all the advantages of mobile data that you can get from Telecom or Vodafone, but without the hefty price tag. A 1GB plan is $40 which is the same price as what you get ADSL / Cable (if you live in Wgtn/chc) for. So for me I have a PCMCIA card in my laptop and when I am onsite with customers and unable to plug into their network I am still able to get internet access.

Their coverage isn't the best, but you get what you paid for IMHO.

Lastly they changed their "equipment ownership" policies in Sept 05, this means that if you "buy" woosh from Dick Smith or the like they actually are leasing the equipment to you, so when / if you leave woosh you need to return the equipment to them, something I am morally apposed to if you have to pay $100. There are those who sell their equipment on Trademe, and those (like me :) who buy the equipment.

johnr

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Reply # 79374 24-Jul-2007 08:06

BarTender: For me I really like woosh, it gives me all the advantages of mobile data that you can get from Telecom or Vodafone, but without the hefty price tag. A 1GB plan is $40 which is the same price as what you get ADSL / Cable (if you live in Wgtn/chc) for. So for me I have a PCMCIA card in my laptop and when I am onsite with customers and unable to plug into their network I am still able to get internet access.

Their coverage isn't the best, but you get what you paid for IMHO.

Lastly they changed their "equipment ownership" policies in Sept 05, this means that if you "buy" woosh from Dick Smith or the like they actually are leasing the equipment to you, so when / if you leave woosh you need to return the equipment to them, something I am morally apposed to if you have to pay $100. There are those who sell their equipment on Trademe, and those (like me :) who buy the equipment.

Vodafone now do a 3Gig plan for $69 and another $10 will get you another 3Gig so thats 6 gig for $79

ActiveMatrix

88 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 79381 24-Jul-2007 08:48

Awesome, thanks for your comments guys. I think Woosh seams to be the best choice given the cost. The 20GB plan sounds like a great deal, but unfortunitly we have new notebooks which have Express slots only, which means we'd be limited to the USB Router.

I see on the website these have batteries in them, has anyone used one before? - Are they too large to carry around, or any comments about how long the batteries last?

Worried

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Reply # 79382 24-Jul-2007 08:53

Dont buy a new laptop with the new express slot, cos Woosh does not have the hardware to support it. If Woosh is the future, then God help us all...LOL

ActiveMatrix

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Reply # 79384 24-Jul-2007 09:06

Too late - we already have them! - For in-house use we'll use the Ethernet router with WiFi which should be good as gold.

ajobbins

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Reply # 79453 24-Jul-2007 16:07

I used Woosh wireless for about 10 months and was about 100m away from the cell site (Had line of sight to the tower). Would never go back to them, pings were very high making Skype almost unusable and their phone service was frequently broken. I also found that as time went on, and I assume more users signed up, performance got worse. I would never go back to Woosh wireless, I get better performance off my UMTS connection that I did off Woosh.

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ActiveMatrix

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Reply # 79472 24-Jul-2007 18:49

Were you in Auckland?

UTMS is all good and fine, however you can't get 10-20GB for a resonable price. - I do however agree the performance is probably better than what I've read so far, but I guess it's all a case of you get what you pay for.

ajobbins

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Reply # 79486 24-Jul-2007 19:49

I'm in the Wellington CBD

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Worried

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Reply # 79494 24-Jul-2007 20:52

What is UTMS? I am ready to change, getting tired of Woosh.

paradoxsm

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Reply # 79496 24-Jul-2007 20:59

your results will vary.

firstly. The latency and jitter are terrible so don't expect to play online games or use voip. But for web surfing it's fine
If you can get a good signal it will do well. Just make sure you can get the system near a window if need be.

For the price, the service is ok but don't expect huge download speeds from them in crowded areas.

For the last two years woosh has had an atrocious attitude to it's customers but they seem o realize this and are taking steps to rectify i hear.

If you can get a right of return to try it out go for it. Do bear in mind that they will charge you $99 fee to connect with 12 month contract then will charge you $99 if you break that.

nzbnw

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Reply # 79514 24-Jul-2007 22:19

Worried: What is UTMS? I am ready to change, getting tired of Woosh.

Universal Mobile Telecommunications System; aka Vodafone's 3G Mobile network. Other comparable standards include EVDO rev 0/A, aka Telecom New Zealand's 3G Mobile Network.

nzbnw

ActiveMatrix

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Master Geek

Reply # 79533 25-Jul-2007 07:30

Awesome, thanks for the heads up paradoxsm, I'll see if they still offer the 30 day trial.

The 12 month contract is a shame, because after we finally find an apartment/house we want to stay in, we'll no doubt get a phone line.... But I can't grizzle too much at 99 dollars. - It's far cheaper than trying to get a cellphone contract cancelled early.

Thanks again for the advice.

ajobbins

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Reply # 79557 25-Jul-2007 10:29

Be warned - if your thinking about getting a phone through Woosh wireless the quality is not always good (I would liken it to an 025 AMPS call on bad days, GSM on a good day) and my router would often crash resulting in a disconnected tone to callers (Which you don't often know for a day or so until someone tells you). Also has issues with the phone gateway having difficulty passing DTMF tones down the line. As soon as my contract was up I ported my number away and cancelled my account.

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