Goodbye TrueNet

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#228846 25-Jan-2018 14:14

Just received:

After not winning the latest bid for supply of our service to the Commerce Commission, TrueNet is closing down and will end testing on 31 January 2018. No public announcement has yet been made by the Commerce Commission, but word has it that they are awarding the bid to an overseas supplier.

We have enjoyed keeping the ISPs competitive over the last 6 years and the success of our effort can be seen in our long term impact - see the ADSL chart above. In the majority of cases, you are now able to receive the 9pm speed you purchased . Exceptions always apply, but back in 2012 it was normal to see speeds drop by up to 30% throughout the day.

Thank you for supporting us as a volunteer panelist, we could not have done this without the strong support you and many others have provided.

Please leave the probe connected to your line until the 1st February, after which you can do anything you like with the probe. It will no longer report, and you will not be able to change the wifi settings, but it will continue to switch with the current wifi settings.
However, if you have time you should be able to download a bit of software from MikroTik.com to rewrite the firmware on the probe to return it to it's original router settings, providing you with a free GigE router. (I am sorry I do not know how to do this, maybe someone who does can post it on our facebook page.

We will be sending out the January report this week.

Thanks @JohnButt for all your efforts. What a journey. I hope all the best for your next adventure.

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#1946611 25-Jan-2018 14:18

What a shame to see, I have appreciated all the work John and the volunteers have put into this service over the years.
Thank you!

acjh58

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#1946616 25-Jan-2018 14:23

I wonder if, or how, the new reporting will continue or relate to the trends/graphs reported by TrueNet? Will be interesting to see how this develops.

Alan

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#1946627 25-Jan-2018 14:35

Is a shame, for somethings this platform was rather useful in metrics.

Will be interesting to know who the comcom have opted to go with, Possibly a service that is a little more accurate with faster connections (be at the cost to the consumer)

Surely they won't have given the bid to the likes of Okloa?

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michaelmurfy

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#1946629 25-Jan-2018 14:41

It is a shame to see. I've also asked them for some Truenet probes and will write a guide on re-purposing them (assuming I succeed). If anyone has one that they don't want then I am happy to pay shipping to get it to me and to donate out.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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DarkShadow

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#1946630 25-Jan-2018 14:42

hio77:

Surely they won't have given the bid to the likes of Okloa?

I guess SamKnows? Given they run broadband monitoring for most of the Anglosphere already (FCC, Ofcom, CTRC and ACCC), it's not a stretch to imagine they will expand to NZ.

CYaBro

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#1946631 25-Jan-2018 14:44

michaelmurfy:

It is a shame to see. I've also asked them for some Truenet probes and will write a guide on re-purposing them (assuming I succeed). If anyone has one that they don't want then I am happy to pay shipping to get it to me and to donate out.

Yea I have one of their Microtik routers at home.

Never done anything with them before so I wonder if it will just be case of reflashing the firmware, to get it back to stock?

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

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.

acjh58

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#1946644 25-Jan-2018 15:07

DarkShadow:

hio77:

Surely they won't have given the bid to the likes of Okloa?

I guess SamKnows? Given they run broadband monitoring for most of the Anglosphere already (FCC, Ofcom, CTRC and ACCC), it's not a stretch to imagine they will expand to NZ.

Ookla currently collects data from NZ - there are samples on their site. SamKnows has a similar approach to TrueNet, except that when used by Ofcom etc, there was a known sample set of users (customer locations, equipment, test servers etc) - to ensure fair reporting of absolute speeds between ISPs. This was a little different to what TrueNet could do in NZ.

The last time ComCom changed its broadband reporting (from Epitiro to TrueNet) there was an unavoidable change in the reporting, making it difficult to map long-term trends etc. Will be interesting to what happens now.

Alan

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#1946659 25-Jan-2018 15:08

What does this mean for the Aussie users as well?

xpd

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#1946665 25-Jan-2018 15:10

I've still got one of the DLink probes I think (unless I did send it back...cant remember) - will dig around - if I do still have it, wonder if that can be reverted back to factory ? Its nothing flash but be handy to extend coverage.

XPD / Gavin

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#1946676 25-Jan-2018 15:18

DarkShadow:

hio77:

Surely they won't have given the bid to the likes of Okloa?

I guess SamKnows? Given they run broadband monitoring for most of the Anglosphere already (FCC, Ofcom, CTRC and ACCC), it's not a stretch to imagine they will expand to NZ.

Considering their adoption in AUS already, valid option..

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#1946769 25-Jan-2018 16:26

DarkShadow:

hio77:

Surely they won't have given the bid to the likes of Okloa?

I guess SamKnows? Given they run broadband monitoring for most of the Anglosphere already (FCC, Ofcom, CTRC and ACCC), it's not a stretch to imagine they will expand to NZ.

They have a bit more than that. I do not know any other competitors who measure broadband from the same location as us, ie they are our only true competitors with experience at testing, but they have no experience at monthly reporting.

We quoted to cover our full cost of monthly reporting, which continues to grow in cost to cover multiple checks of performance results to ensure we never do an ISP in the eye with incorrect results. We rarely did. Our first quote was just $3k only 5 years ago, it now rises over $15k some months when special events occur.

SamKnows just won Australia too, so they now have Singapore, UK, EU, USA, Brazil, Australia, Canada. I dont know if they have NZ

HP

Shop now for HP laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

JohnButt

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#1946778 25-Jan-2018 16:31

acjh58:

DarkShadow:

hio77:

Surely they won't have given the bid to the likes of Okloa?

I guess SamKnows? Given they run broadband monitoring for most of the Anglosphere already (FCC, Ofcom, CTRC and ACCC), it's not a stretch to imagine they will expand to NZ.

Ookla currently collects data from NZ - there are samples on their site. SamKnows has a similar approach to TrueNet, except that when used by Ofcom etc, there was a known sample set of users (customer locations, equipment, test servers etc) - to ensure fair reporting of absolute speeds between ISPs. This was a little different to what TrueNet could do in NZ.

The last time ComCom changed its broadband reporting (from Epitiro to TrueNet) there was an unavoidable change in the reporting, making it difficult to map long-term trends etc. Will be interesting to what happens now.

Alan

There was no "This was a little different to what TrueNet could do in NZ" Samknows does precisely the same as in NZ. However, we measure all the time, SamKnows only measures 1 month per year, so have to recreate their panel every year. We work with panelists all the time, so have excellent relations with them to ensure we know where they are and what product they are connected to. Since we pick up changes quickly I expect that to make it more accurate, but hey, maybe I am just a researcher and you know better?

michaelmurfy

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#1946816 25-Jan-2018 18:33

@xpd They can be TFTP flashed. I had one in the past that TrueNet didn't want back. Basically downloaded the latest OpenWRT image and put the router into TFTP flash mode.

acjh58

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#1946835 25-Jan-2018 20:04

JohnButt:

acjh58:

Ookla currently collects data from NZ - there are samples on their site. SamKnows has a similar approach to TrueNet, except that when used by Ofcom etc, there was a known sample set of users (customer locations, equipment, test servers etc) - to ensure fair reporting of absolute speeds between ISPs. This was a little different to what TrueNet could do in NZ.

The last time ComCom changed its broadband reporting (from Epitiro to TrueNet) there was an unavoidable change in the reporting, making it difficult to map long-term trends etc. Will be interesting to what happens now.

Alan

There was no "This was a little different to what TrueNet could do in NZ" Samknows does precisely the same as in NZ. However, we measure all the time, SamKnows only measures 1 month per year, so have to recreate their panel every year. We work with panelists all the time, so have excellent relations with them to ensure we know where they are and what product they are connected to. Since we pick up changes quickly I expect that to make it more accurate, but hey, maybe I am just a researcher and you know better?

Agree that TrueNet and SamKnows kit might do roughly (or maybe exactly) the same thing. But how you compare results from different kinds of panel might be more tricky. Not making a comment on what is more accurate!

Alan

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#1946836 25-Jan-2018 20:16

OK, that makes it less urgent to find the probe that vanished during our move to the South Island...

But a great shame nonetheless. Thank you, John, for all the good work you've done. TrueNet will be missed.

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