Do Chorus Still Fit ADSL to Rural Cabinets?

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TLD

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#157346 28-Nov-2014 08:40

After years of ever slowing speeds (1.5Mb/s) Chorus upgraded our cabinet this week. I had a chat with the Chorus guy, starting with 'I don't know what you've done, but our broadband is suddenly a lot faster'. He asked for details, and was surprised when I said 6.5Mb/s. He thought it would be more. We are 400m from the cabinet on a Spark 150Gb plan.

The Chorus guy actually said we'd be able to get VDSL, but when I phoned Spark the next day, that wasn't happening. They managed to get an HG630b to me the very next day, but that only took us up to 7.4Mb/s and actually dropped the upload to .6Mb/s. (We were still using the original 604T) Upgrading the 630b firmware bought the upload to .85 with no effect on download speed.

So my question is, is it conceivable that Chorus would fit ADSL1 to a rural cabinet? The 604t reported the connection as ADSL_2plus. The 630b just says adsl.

Also, is it possible to find the same SNR, Attenuation, etc. stats on the 630b as I could with the 604T? I did not record them, but AFAIR they were something like:

14 - 17
(can't remember) - 5
TX power -30

We are in Ashford Grove, Rapaura, 8km out of Blenheim.

Incidentally, it is more than two years since they ran the big green UFB cable right past my house up to the school at the end of our road, but there does not appear to be any plan to ever let us hook up to UFB.

TIA

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

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#1184617 28-Nov-2014 08:40

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.

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RunningMan

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#1184653 28-Nov-2014 08:51

Post your line stats. Until we have those everything else is speculation.

sbiddle

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#1184657 28-Nov-2014 08:55

If your cabinet has literally only been upgraded this week all customers and profiles will remain the same until they're migrated. This normally takes a few weeks. If would also not be possible for Spark to know you can now get VDSL2 as once again this won't be possible until the cabinet is fully signed off and customers migrated.

TLD

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#1184673 28-Nov-2014 09:16

So it might work out OK then? Thanks for that. I'm still wondering why I can only get 7.4Mb/s 400m from the cabinet.

Thanks again. I have trawled through a mountain of forum posts, FAQs etc. but it is a whole new world to me.

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

TLD

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#1184676 28-Nov-2014 09:18

How do I find my stats with an HG630b ? AFAICT I have checked every tab, and read right through the user guide, without finding that information.

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

sbiddle

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#1184695 28-Nov-2014 09:26

TLD: I'm still wondering why I can only get 7.4Mb/s 400m from the cabinet.

For the very reason I posted above - profiles need to be changed first once final sign off is complete on the cabinet install.

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Chorusnz

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Chorus

#1184712 28-Nov-2014 09:49

As Steve Biddle stated there is more to a cabinet upgrade than the work that the local technician has to do at the roadside.

Step 1
Swap out the DSLAM. Depending on the size of the original cabinet this might be as simple as swapping out the equipment. For older cabinets we may have to build a whole new cabinet on top of or beside the existing one.

Step 2
Connect the local copper to the new DSLAM. At this point the ADSL profiles are the same as they were on the old DSLAM. This is why most people see an immediate jump to 6-7Mb/s as the profile is working at full speed for ADSL1 due to the much improved technology and the throughput is greatly improved due to the improved fibre backhaul.

Note: For some folks with old ADSL1 modems this is as good as it gets. A quick trip to town to purchase a decent ADSL2+ will fix that problem.

Step 3
We soak test the configuration for several days to ensure there are no reported faults. At this stage the only thing that's has changed is the hardware.
Then we change the user profiles to ADSL2+ which is when you should see another speed jump if you live within the ADSL2+ service covergage area.

Then we update all the network records so that service companies and ISPs are aware of what service config applies to each connection. The information on are broadband availablity map will change from " PLANNED" to " Available".

At this point residents are able to ring up their ISP and upgrade to VDSL.

As Steve advised this is usually 10-days to two weeks after the cabinet work is complete.

^GL

Chorusnz

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#1184734 28-Nov-2014 10:17

Re Rural Fibre at your house.

Your property is approx 120 - 130 metres from the new ducting laid to get fibre to Raupara School.

The big difference between UFB rollout and RBI Rural Fibre is that there is no subsidy to get the fibre to your house under the rural scheme.

So if you want to get together with your neighbours and pay for the reticulation of fibre down Asford Grove we could do that for you. This would be the most cost effective way of providing fibre to you.

Alternatively we could do the work just for you but you would bear the entire cost.

DM me your contact details and I can advise the expected costs and the process you follow with your ISP to make this happen.

^GL

hotrok

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#1184768 28-Nov-2014 10:50

Out of Interest Gerard, do you have to run the fibre from the cabinet back to the home or can you use the main fibre trunk that runs past the house to feed to the house?

Do you run the cable under the road or would you run on a grass verge if rural?

Thanks

johnr

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#1184796 28-Nov-2014 11:24

You can't connect to a main fibre trunk

sbiddle

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#1184826 28-Nov-2014 11:49

How it would be installed would depend on a number of variables.

I know Snap have now done quite a few rural RBI fibre installs, and the reality is providing you are willing to pay the upfront install costs (which will probably be somewhere in the vicinity of $10k+ upwards) you will get access to UFB speeds and pricing.

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TLD

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#1184901 28-Nov-2014 14:13

It occurred to me that Chorus ran a conduit under the road to my side when they laid the fiber. This is above the main fiber run across the road to me:

And this immediately outside the hedge that borders my property, five meters from the outside wall of my house:

So, assuming they can break into this, it would not need a 400meter run all the way to the cabinet.

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

hotrok

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#1184991 28-Nov-2014 15:54

I will be interested in how you get on with this. I am hoping that the cabinet 200metres from me will get upgraded under the national broadband pledge and I would drop a considerable sum to get fibre to the house but dont want to pay p2p prices for the monthly bill which work out at $1300 a month!!!

TLD

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#1185017 28-Nov-2014 16:35

Since my last reply, I discovered that VDSL had become available, so I have signed up for that. Spark says there will be no extra costs if UFB subsequently becomes available, so win win.

It does seem to me though, that with an apparent break out point being so close to the house, we should not be prejudiced because we have a rural address. A buddy in town (Blenheim) had fiber connected earlier this year, and Chorus said they would bury the cable under their long back section drive way, and make good. It turned out they were able to fit it without digging up the driveway — I have no idea how. It would be a piece of cake connecting us by comparison, but rules are rules! :-(

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

InstallerUFB

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#1185023 28-Nov-2014 16:45

TLD: It occurred to me that Chorus ran a conduit under the road to my side when they laid the fiber. This is above the main fiber run across the road to me:

And this immediately outside the hedge that borders my property, five meters from the outside wall of my house:

So, assuming they can break into this, it would not need a 400meter run all the way to the cabinet.

The Grey Pilar is copper only (they may have done some copper replacement @ the same time as running the Ducting for the Fibre / The Pit is again for your copper service

The equipement that is in the cabinet would not be used to feed your fibre (if you had it installed) as it is for the copper DSL - the Rural UFB service would come from the nearest GPON equipment (which normaly would be in the nearest Exchange (up to 20km way)

To connect up such service they install a fibre terminal (@ the nearest pit - which could be in front of the Cabinet) and run it from there - they could use the conduit under the road though if it was suitable (depending on cableing size)

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