Best/recommended UFB providers and deals as at Jan 2017

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JEDENZED

437 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#207928 19-Jan-2017 20:00

Hey geeks,

Happy not-so-new year, hope the holidays were good to all y'all.

I'm looking into changing my ISP and would appreciate some input from you learned folks out there in New Internetland.

My main contender at this point is Stuff Fibre, mainly because, on paper at least, they seem to clean the floor with every other offer that I can find - ~$115 per month for unlimited 1000/500 data (in my area) with free install, free macdaddy ASUS router and no contract to boot.

Does anyone currently use Stuff Fibre and/or know much about the actual service they provide? Do they throttle or restrict speeds during high volume traffic time slots? Which other providers should I be considering? I'm currently a moderate (?) data user ~300GB per month but this is growing fast with 4K streaming and gaming becoming more popular in my household.

Brumfondl

1183 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1706072 19-Jan-2017 20:32

There is a review of sorts here: http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=49&topicid=207681

AliExpress

Shop now on AliExpress (affiliate link).

Talkiet

4786 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1706093 19-Jan-2017 20:57

I'm not going to recommend anything, but I can't help but wonder why people don't include the following sort of thing in their "What's best for me?" criteria

- Number and capacity of CDNs in the provider network?

- Do they have a national handover presence?

- What's the support like?

- Do they run their own network?

- Is their network design resilient to major events (like earthquakes etc)?

- Are there any concerns they deliberately congest parts of their network (that are in their control) for reasons of saving money?

It really frustrates me that so many apparently smart people think that price and unlimited is the only criteria worth considering. I'm not saying you do, I am however saying that most seem to.

Cheers -N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

Detruire

1755 posts

Uber Geek

#1706105 19-Jan-2017 21:20

These are the options that I'm considerig myself. I think that a 12 month contract is an OK (with a good ISP), and I don't mind changing again in 12 months. Prices are over 12 months.

For gigabit:

Spark: $1235, $102.92/mth
$140/mth plan, 3mths free, $40 "buy online credit", $15 router charge. 12 month contract, router, Lightbox included.

Bigpipe (new to UFB): $1399, $116.59/mth
$129/mth plan, 1mth free, $20 referral credit. No contract, no router, CGNAT ($45 one-off for static IP.)

Bigpipe (UFB with another ISP): $1319, $109.92/mth
$129/mth plan, 2mths free (UFBSWITCH), $20 referral credit, $49 install fee. No contract, no router, CGNAT ($45 one-off for static IP.)

Stuff: $1374, $114.50/mth
$114.50/mth. No contract, router.

The Spark offer is very appealing, but I'm still debating whether a gigabit plan is worth the extra $20/mth to me. Plus I'm not a fan of the high-latency Global Gateway routes (can make gaming/working on US/EU servers extra frustrating.) Stuff is interesting because it's cheap(ish), uses Vocus, and has no contract (shouldn't be too hard to just go elsewhere if they're not any good.)

For 100/20:

Bigpipe (new to UFB): $849, $70.75/mth
$79/mth plan, 1mth free, $20 referral credit. No contract, no router, CGNAT ($45 one-off for static IP.)

Bigpipe (UFB with another ISP): $819, $68.25/mth
$79/mth plan, 2mths free (UFBSWITCH), $20 referral credit, $49 install fee. No contract, no router, CGNAT ($45 one-off for static IP.)

I can't recall another 100/20 plan with the same mix of price/performance/competency as Bigpipe.

rm *

DarkShadow

1647 posts

Uber Geek

#1706132 19-Jan-2017 23:03

Detruire:

For 100/20:

Bigpipe (new to UFB): $849, $70.75/mth
$79/mth plan, 1mth free, $20 referral credit. No contract, no router, CGNAT ($45 one-off for static IP.)

Bigpipe (UFB with another ISP): $819, $68.25/mth
$79/mth plan, 2mths free (UFBSWITCH), $20 referral credit, $49 install fee. No contract, no router, CGNAT ($45 one-off for static IP.)

I can't recall another 100/20 plan with the same mix of price/performance/competency as Bigpipe.

Skinny fibre $68/month, no sign up discounts though and has to pay router/install fee, but will be cheaper in the long run. Same network as Bigpipe but CGNAT only.

Detruire

1755 posts

Uber Geek

#1706152 20-Jan-2017 06:23

DarkShadow:

Detruire:

For 100/20:

Bigpipe (new to UFB): $849, $70.75/mth
$79/mth plan, 1mth free, $20 referral credit. No contract, no router, CGNAT ($45 one-off for static IP.)

Bigpipe (UFB with another ISP): $819, $68.25/mth
$79/mth plan, 2mths free (UFBSWITCH), $20 referral credit, $49 install fee. No contract, no router, CGNAT ($45 one-off for static IP.)

I can't recall another 100/20 plan with the same mix of price/performance/competency as Bigpipe.

Skinny fibre $68/month, no sign up discounts though and has to pay router/install fee, but will be cheaper in the long run. Same network as Bigpipe but CGNAT only.

Comparing Bigpipe vs Skinny pricing for a one year period: (FMWYPL is the first month where you'd have paid less with Skinny)

Skinny: $964, $80.34/mth for the first year ($74.17/mth over 24 months.) -- ($68/mth + $99 router + $49 connection)
Bigpipe (current customer): $948, $79/mth -- FMWYPL: month 14
Bigpipe (new customer): $849, $70.75/mth -- FMWYPL: month 23
Bigpipe (new customer, switching UFB from another ISP): $819, $68.25/mth -- FMWYPL: month 26

Of course, this is only the case if you have a capable router which you're satisfied with. If you want the router, Skinny works out cheaper far sooner.

rm *

timmmay

20372 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1706153 20-Jan-2017 06:56

I'm happy with 2degrees.

Talkiet:

I'm not going to recommend anything, but I can't help but wonder why people don't include the following sort of thing in their "What's best for me?" criteria

- Number and capacity of CDNs in the provider network?

- Do they have a national handover presence?

- What's the support like?

- Do they run their own network?

- Is their network design resilient to major events (like earthquakes etc)?

- Are there any concerns they deliberately congest parts of their network (that are in their control) for reasons of saving money?

It really frustrates me that so many apparently smart people think that price and unlimited is the only criteria worth considering. I'm not saying you do, I am however saying that most seem to.

Because I'd say only 0.1% of people care about that kind of thing, and ISPs rarely share this kind of information.

LWJCarroll

138 posts

Master Geek

#1722624 19-Feb-2017 12:45

I guess the first $$ shown is the connection/install charge..??? !!!!!!

We started here in Alex with Spark as they offered a free fibre upgrade/install to start the phone/internet with them, at the home we bought here now three years ago. I expect them to honor this when we get the UFB2 install here in 2020 as I recall.....Laurie

DarkShadow

1647 posts

Uber Geek

#1722710 19-Feb-2017 16:20

LWJCarroll:

I guess the first $$ shown is the connection/install charge..??? !!!!!!

We started here in Alex with Spark as they offered a free fibre upgrade/install to start the phone/internet with them, at the home we bought here now three years ago. I expect them to honor this when we get the UFB2 install here in 2020 as I recall.....Laurie

I believe the first dollar figure is the total amount you have to pay for the first year.

Most ISPs offer a free upgrade to fibre. It's nothing special.

Detruire

1755 posts

Uber Geek

#1722723 19-Feb-2017 17:16

LWJCarroll: I guess the first $$ shown is the connection/install charge..??? !!!!!!

If you're asking about my posts, then no. It's the cost per year. Installation charges for a standard install (the subsidised type) are included in those figures.

rm *

Networker

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1725566 24-Feb-2017 11:01

Talkiet:

I'm not going to recommend anything, but I can't help but wonder why people don't include the following sort of thing in their "What's best for me?" criteria

- Number and capacity of CDNs in the provider network?

- Do they have a national handover presence?

- What's the support like?

- Do they run their own network?

- Is their network design resilient to major events (like earthquakes etc)?

- Are there any concerns they deliberately congest parts of their network (that are in their control) for reasons of saving money?

It really frustrates me that so many apparently smart people think that price and unlimited is the only criteria worth considering. I'm not saying you do, I am however saying that most seem to.

Cheers -N

Completely agree.

Maybe this is something sales / marketing should start including in the product descriptions.