Wireless vs VDSL speeds?

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danepak

1112 posts

Uber Geek

#207966 21-Jan-2017 13:12

My Aunty (in Mt Eden) currently has ADSL and gets around 10mbit down. She just signed up with Spark for 12 months. I told her to get VDSL instead for same price. Would be good with faster speeds, as she watches a lot of TV via Kodi on an Android box.
The guy at Spark called me, while she was there and offered to upgrade her to wireless instead. He claims the speeds are faster than VDSL.
My question is: Is he telling the truth or just getting a higher commission by selling her wireless? I assume he will get paid more, as Spark don't need to send someone out to install wireless. They just gave her a modem.
Also, is connection less stable with wireless vs VDSL?
And finally, he said she would get speed as fast at fibre 30.
Wireless plan is 150GB per month, where VDSL is unlimited, but she saves $10 or so on wireless.
We just want to avoid buffering (as much as possible), when she watches live TV via Kodi.

DarkShadow

1647 posts

Uber Geek

#1706977 21-Jan-2017 13:47

Both VDSL and wireless speeds depend on the location.

Since you only get 10Mbps on ADSL, that suggests that VDSL speeds won't be very high, if you are able to get VDSL at all. So it's entirely possible wireless will be faster than VDSL at that location.

However, if you're using streaming media, you probably want an unlimited plan so wireless probably isn't the best option for you.

kornflake

409 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1706979 21-Jan-2017 13:54

If streaming media is been done, 120gb may not be enough!

danepak

1112 posts

Uber Geek

#1706980 21-Jan-2017 13:55

VDSL is definitely available at the address.
I thought that VDSL speed would be anywhere from 15-70 mbit, depending on location?
So 10mbit ADSL is considered slow? I thought it was pretty standard.

Yes, we'll monitor the usage and see if she's likely to go above 150GB.
30 day trial, so she can switch to VDSL, if she isn't satisfied with wireless.

DarkShadow

1647 posts

Uber Geek

#1706984 21-Jan-2017 14:22

danepak: VDSL is definitely available at the address.
I thought that VDSL speed would be anywhere from 15-70 mbit, depending on location?
So 10mbit ADSL is considered slow? I thought it was pretty standard.

VDSL being "available" on a website or in a prequal doesn't necessarily mean VDSL will actually working well at that location.

VDSL can get you anywhere between 0-100Mbps depending on a lot of factors. Judging from the ADSL speed you're probably looking at the lower end of that range. My rule of thumb is if you're not getting at lest 15Mbps on ADSL, switching to VDSL probably wouldn't help much.

Jase2985

13457 posts

Uber Geek

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Lifetime subscriber

#1706988 21-Jan-2017 14:37

but then the question is, is the reason they are only getting 10mbps due to distance or just poor internal wiring?

danepak

1112 posts

Uber Geek

#1706999 21-Jan-2017 15:04

DarkShadow:
danepak: VDSL is definitely available at the address.
I thought that VDSL speed would be anywhere from 15-70 mbit, depending on location?
So 10mbit ADSL is considered slow? I thought it was pretty standard.

VDSL being "available" on a website or in a prequal doesn't necessarily mean VDSL will actually working well at that location.

VDSL can get you anywhere between 0-100Mbps depending on a lot of factors. Judging from the ADSL speed you're probably looking at the lower end of that range. My rule of thumb is if you're not getting at lest 15Mbps on ADSL, switching to VDSL probably wouldn't help much.

Hmm, bugger.
OK, I'm popping over now to see what wireless speeds she's getting and also will keep an eye on the usage.
So it's unlikely that she'll be getting even 15-20mbit with VDSL, if she only gets 10mbit on ADSL?

kornflake

409 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1707004 21-Jan-2017 15:28

Does she get 120 or 150gb of data, only asking as I believed sparks biggest wireless package is 120gb of data on wireless

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danepak

1112 posts

Uber Geek

#1707060 21-Jan-2017 18:42

kornflake: Does she get 120 or 150gb of data, only asking as I believed sparks biggest wireless package is 120gb of data on wireless

You're spot on.
It's 120 and not 150, although the Spark guy said this several times.
I did a speed test and got around 30mbit on the wireless, but they need unlimited, so VDSL it is.
Will post the Speedtest result, when VDSL has been installed.

hio77

12999 posts

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Trusted

Lizard Networks

#1707065 21-Jan-2017 18:59

This really depends on the situation, as others have stated as you are only looking at raw speeds wireless may be faster on a edge case VDSL.

Certainly if you are after unlimited, Wireless is not an option and This is a discussion point that should have come up as part of the sales push.

If you want, PM me the line number and i can give you a reasonable indication on where the connection is likely to preform.

10mbit is low for a ADSL -> VDSL movement so i do question if it may be a case i'd recommend a master filter installation to squeeze out what you can get

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

Talkiet

4792 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1707082 21-Jan-2017 19:01

You can check the historical usage with My Spark... That might give some idea... As for the 10Mbit ADSL, that is considered pretty slow for ADSL2+ and as others have said, unless there is a wiring issue somewhere, then there's a very good chance that the wireless BB will give better speeds than VDSL.

Again, you can get an idea of that using the Chorus address checker - it lets you see what speeds individual houses are getting for ADSL and VDSL, so click on some of the neighbours and you can see if the speed is out of step with others in the area.

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.

Jase2985

13457 posts

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Lifetime subscriber

#1707085 21-Jan-2017 19:04

my i suggest getting @coffeebaron in to install a master filter and tidy up your wiring to ensure you have the best possible house wiring so that you get the best possible connection.