what is the norm?

Forums › New Zealand Broadband › what is the norm?

Misa

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#15554 28-Aug-2007 16:45

Hey All

Having only been in NZ for a short period of time and not really being aware of what the broadband standards here are, I'm just wondering what can be expected from the broadband providers here.

After researching, I signed up with Xnet due to their reasonable price (as compared to others) and no need to be on a contract. I have found their service pretty good so far but I have a question about what to expect as a reasonable download speed.

The best download speed I have achieved is around 1.8Mbps, and is this reasonable for a plan that is not speed inhibited? I am on their river plan which is FLS (full line speed) down and 128 up. I understand that distance from the exchange can affect the speed, but for what I am receiving would you say this is reasonable for what I have signed up to?

One of the things that has surprised me is the inclusion of uploaded data as part of my total usage, especially after coming from a market, with the exception of a couple, that you only pay for the higher of the two. Are there any broadband providers here in NZ that provide that kind of usage charging?

Not having to pay for uploads is a real bonus for me due to a number of sites I manage and the frequent uploading of photos.

Ciao for now
Michael

itey

476 posts

Ultimate Geek

#84145 28-Aug-2007 16:48

How fast does your line sync at ? (Check your routers status page)

regarding the upload AFAIK not anymore. Ihug used to offer free upload, but that was terminated a long time ago

garvani

1873 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#84149 28-Aug-2007 16:53

sorry to say it, but all this has been discussed many many times already. The upload situation has been discussed recently too, i would have a look around the forum and you will find all the answers u need.

Misa

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#84163 28-Aug-2007 18:44

Hi

Thanks for the replys.

I understand that the whole "my download speed is slow" has been discussed many times, but my question was to find out if what I'm getting is the norm or acceptable. With my last ISP, on one of their plans they offered up to 8Mbps in which a lot of people were able to get above 6Mbps but for most people it was around 3Mbps. So this was accepted as the norm for the plan.

The speed I am getting is quite acceptable for me as its definately a lot better than 256kb and doesn't necessarily warrant making changes, but if I am getting below what most people get then it would be great to know and be able to resolve it.

In answer to the question about sync, I could only find the following information on my router (DSL-502t)

Data rate in Kbps
downstream 7264
upstream 160

Cheers
Michael

cyril7

9058 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#84168 28-Aug-2007 19:18

Have you optimised your registry settings. I have three XP boxs/Laptops here, most struggle to get more than 1.5Mb/s where as the two Linux boxs (one a Laptop) will pull 4.8Mb/s every time. Ive tried all sorts of settings and recommendations, but the XP machines seem just downright slow, and yes they are decently provided for, ie 1.6GHz procs and 1GMem, infact one of the laptops I dual boot, same issue.

Guess there is a lot to do with drivers and MS TCP stack software to deal with on this one.

Oh, and my DSL modem/router always indicates 6144 or 6240 for a downstream connect speed.

Cyril

tonyhughes

Hawkes Bay
8476 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#84169 28-Aug-2007 19:30

Misa: Hi I understand that the whole "my download speed is slow" has been discussed many times, but my question was to find out if what I'm getting is the norm or acceptable. With my last ISP, on one of their plans they offered up to 8Mbps in which a lot of people were able to get above 6Mbps but for most people it was around 3Mbps. So this was accepted as the norm for the plan.

The speed I am getting is quite acceptable for me as its definately a lot better than 256kb and doesn't necessarily warrant making changes, but if I am getting below what most people get then it would be great to know and be able to resolve it.

In answer to the question about sync, I could only find the following information on my router (DSL-502t)

Data rate in Kbps
downstream 7264
upstream 160

Cheers
Michael

Welcome to Geekzone Michael.

Your speed is 'the norm' (notwithstanding the fact that most people find 'the norm' in NZ unaacceptable).

There is no provider I know of that doesnt charge uploads anymore.

I hope that answered your questions.

Cheers

Tony

Zimsar10

210 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#84221 29-Aug-2007 09:03

Misa: Hi

Thanks for the replys.

I understand that the whole "my download speed is slow" has been discussed many times, but my question was to find out if what I'm getting is the norm or acceptable. With my last ISP, on one of their plans they offered up to 8Mbps in which a lot of people were able to get above 6Mbps but for most people it was around 3Mbps. So this was accepted as the norm for the plan.

The speed I am getting is quite acceptable for me as its definately a lot better than 256kb and doesn't necessarily warrant making changes, but if I am getting below what most people get then it would be great to know and be able to resolve it.

In answer to the question about sync, I could only find the following information on my router (DSL-502t)

Data rate in Kbps
downstream 7264
upstream 160

Cheers
Michael

Judging by your sync rate, you seem to be quite close to the exchange. However, if I were you, I would get a better quality router, such as a Linksys AG241 (this may improve your performance) & also upgrade your upload speed to MAX, as this will help to improve your download speed.

In ideal conditions, your current upload speed of 128kb/s will only give you an absolute MAX download speed of 4.5Mbit's. Also, what is the wiring like in your house?

Misa

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#84305 29-Aug-2007 16:52

ZIMsar10:

Judging by your sync rate, you seem to be quite close to the exchange. However, if I were you, I would get a better quality router, such as a Linksys AG241 (this may improve your performance) & also upgrade your upload speed to MAX, as this will help to improve your download speed.

In ideal conditions, your current upload speed of 128kb/s will only give you an absolute MAX download speed of 4.5Mbit's. Also, what is the wiring like in your house?

I'm assuming the wiring is pretty good as I had to get a telecom technician in recently to get me connected with a landline.

I've been in communication with XNet and they investigating the issue where some of their customers are getting inconsistent upload speeds and poor throughput, and then be able to pressure telecom for a resolution.

So I guess what I'm getting in definitely not the norm.

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

Zimsar10

210 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#84404 30-Aug-2007 10:02

Misa:
ZIMsar10:

Judging by your sync rate, you seem to be quite close to the exchange. However, if I were you, I would get a better quality router, such as a Linksys AG241 (this may improve your performance) & also upgrade your upload speed to MAX, as this will help to improve your download speed.

In ideal conditions, your current upload speed of 128kb/s will only give you an absolute MAX download speed of 4.5Mbit's. Also, what is the wiring like in your house?

I'm assuming the wiring is pretty good as I had to get a telecom technician in recently to get me connected with a landline.

I've been in communication with XNet and they investigating the issue where some of their customers are getting inconsistent upload speeds and poor throughput, and then be able to pressure telecom for a resolution.

So I guess what I'm getting in definitely not the norm.

It also depends on how congested your exchange/cabinet is as well. However if you want the best performance you can get, then upgrading your Router to a Linksys AG241 or something of comparible quality, plus increasing your upload speed to MAX, will also improve yor download performance.