Withdrawing from Vodafone, suggestions for broadband and TV please.

Forums › New Zealand Broadband › Withdrawing from Vodafone, suggestions for broadband and TV please.

Eva888

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#280674 2-Jan-2021 13:26

We have the old Vodafone set top box which I prefer to the new Vodafone TV. We have been informed by letter that it has to be replaced. I don’t like the new Vodafone box and so am looking at other options available to improve everything.

At present we have;

TV Basic Package $49 via Vodafone with free recording. It has more channels than the advertised Sky Basic Package and would need an add-on to get what we have now if moving to Sky.
Our broadband costs $101, ultra fast cable100/10 plus home phone with 5 free mobile to best mates and free national calls. Having one provider was convenient and I have no contract now.

Our last bill was $154 including incidentals.

Our broadband is so slow it’s painful even after a technician came and fiddled with it. It was just easier to grin and bear it knowing that we have to eventually change something. Avoided fibre so far because a possible issue is that we have a tenanted granny flat downstairs who have their own separate HFC internet connection with Vodafone. When a technician came to the main house we were told we couldn’t have HFC because downstairs had it.

Our TVs are smart and have the apps for Netflix, TVNZ, Prime etc

Have kept Vodafone because I liked their TV interface and being able to record anything and keep the recordings indefinitely. I can record movies for when my grandchild stays and have quite a collection which will be lost.

I would appreciate some recommendations for me to move forward. If I went to Sky what is their system like? Can I record and keep indefinitely? I can’t see anything on their website. I want decent internet that covers the entire top house. The downstairs tenant issue is a concern.

Am sure there are now going to be many others like me looking for new options.

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#2629305 2-Jan-2021 13:42

Just been talking about this on another thread here https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=40&topicid=280665

Honestly just get Sky + RSP of your choice VFTV is streaming and for sport is 2minutes behind live which is just unacceptable

You will be paying more tho

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antoniosk

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#2629307 2-Jan-2021 13:46

Right, lots going on with your situation, and I think you should seperate into 2 pieces: the internet (which is the most critical service), and what you get from the internet (ie tv content and so on).

Its not clear to me whether you own or rent, but from what you describe your HFC cannot/willnot be improved because of the two dwelling setup.

So first thing you need to check is whether you can get fibre installed to your dwelling: the rules are clear that fibre will only be supplied 'free' to the first dwelling requesting service. A two-flat setup like this is not going to get 2 free installs. Equally if you use up the first free install and are a tenant, the landlord should know and be ok with it, as they will be responsible for connecting the granny flat when the time comes.

Can you confirm what is possible? I'm sure others will pitch in on comments for content, your requirements of which seem to be blanket recording with no expiry (ie classic tv recording)

It appears the content industry is moving to a 'right to view' bookmarking that has an expiration date and is not available across all content (free channels come to mind). The common response to this appears to be that the content is available online, so you dont need to record it, which is misleading and not ironclad.

I also think when Sky launches their new digital service, it will be similar to the VodafoneTV experience and have some of the same constraints around rights management and expiry

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Eva888

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#2629308 2-Jan-2021 13:51

Thanks. We own the house and have tenants downstairs who have Vodafone HFC.

So now another question is...can tenants retain HFC with Vodafone if we get Fibre installed upstairs with another provider?

antoniosk

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#2629311 2-Jan-2021 13:54

Eva888: Thanks. We own the house and have tenants downstairs who have Vodafone HFC.

So now another question is...can tenants retain HFC with Vodafone if we get Fibre installed upstairs with another provider?

Of course! There is no requirement in the fibre agreement that Vodafone must withdraw their lines; only that Chorus had the right to withdraw the historical copper lines put down for use by Telecom. Vodafone wholly owns the HFC network and can leave it there if they wish. Or they may decide that wireless is the answer to everything and withdraw the HFC service. Anythings possible, and they have not stated they are definetly keeping it (or definetly withdrawing it)

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Eva888

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#2629312 2-Jan-2021 13:54

nztim: Just been talking about this on another thread here https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=40&topicid=280665

Honestly just get Sky + RSP of your choice VFTV is streaming and for sport is 2minutes behind live which is just unacceptable

You will be paying more tho

Yes I saw that thread but wasn’t sure if I should throw my problem in there. We don't watch sport much unless it’s a game on TVNZ so the few seconds lapse wasn’t an issue.

Eva888

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#2629314 2-Jan-2021 14:01

Yes fibre is available on our street.

nztim

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#2629315 2-Jan-2021 14:01

Eva888: Thanks. We own the house and have tenants downstairs who have Vodafone HFC.

So now another question is...can tenants retain HFC with Vodafone if we get Fibre installed upstairs with another provider?

Yes, the HFC and fibre networks are seperate

You get one free ONT install per SAM ID (Address in Chorus Database) without paying more so unless your downstairs is legally separated address if they want to get fibre also then you will need to pay for in-fill about $3000

Hope this helps

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cyril7

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#2629317 2-Jan-2021 14:12

Hi the sky STB and its operation whilst similar to the TBox is showing its age, however way more functional and stable compared to my recent interactions with the vtv which Vodafone will offer as a replacement.

It does annoy me that the vtv service is a bit less than Stella, I really do hope they finally sort it as its clear as mud that IP based solutions are way ahead of HFC or Satellite solutions.

So as of today based on your current liking of the TBox and its functionality you are better going for Sky satellite and a fibre ISP of your preference. Ymmv

Cyril

nztim

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#2629322 2-Jan-2021 14:27

cyril7: Hi the sky STB and its operation whilst similar to the TBox is showing its age, however way more functional and stable compared to my recent interactions with the vtv which Vodafone will offer as a replacement.

It does annoy me that the vtv service is a bit less than Stella, I really do hope they finally sort it as its clear as mud that IP based solutions are way ahead of HFC or Satellite solutions.

So as of today based on your current liking of the TBox and its functionality you are better going for Sky satellite and a fibre ISP of your preference. Ymmv

Cyril

And most importantly for sport, Like the T-Box is real time

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Eva888

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#2629323 2-Jan-2021 14:27

nztim:
Eva888: Thanks. We own the house and have tenants downstairs who have Vodafone HFC.

So now another question is...can tenants retain HFC with Vodafone if we get Fibre installed upstairs with another provider?

Yes, the HFC and fibre networks are seperate

You get one free ONT install per SAM ID (Address in Chorus Database) without paying more so unless your downstairs is legally separated address if they want to get fibre also then you will need to pay for in-fill about $3000

Hope this helps

Downstairs is not legally separated. As predicted this is getting more complicated. If I get one ONT for the entire house including downstairs won’t that mean that our internet would get worse spread over two families? Downstairs appear to be into gaming.

Can they do in-fill to downstairs if it’s not a legally separated flat with its own power meter? At present we have an arrangement where we share power proportionally. We left it this way in case the kids return from overseas and not in any hurry to change it. Thanks.

zaptor

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#2629338 2-Jan-2021 14:47

Eva888:

Downstairs is not legally separated. As predicted this is getting more complicated. If I get one ONT for the entire house including downstairs won’t that mean that our internet would get worse spread over two families? Downstairs appear to be into gaming.

Can they do in-fill to downstairs if it’s not a legally separated flat with its own power meter? At present we have an arrangement where we share power proportionally. We left it this way in case the kids return from overseas and not in any hurry to change it. Thanks.

You could look at using the ONT/fibre connection for the gaming demographic, and just keep the HFC for your own use. AFAIK, they'll be totally independent connections into your house.

Possibly, the only noticeable degradation in relative performance could be with WiFi, depending on how it's setup.

snnet

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#2629340 2-Jan-2021 14:48

Another option is to have another port on the fibre ONT livened for downstairs - but this might complicate things with choice (I don't think all providers liven anything other than port 1, I could be wrong) and maybe speed (there may be a limitation to having 1x max speed connection per ONT, not sure anymore)

The price varies. I've had clients with a granny flat connected for an additional $1000, I've had clients tapping off NGA/custom fibre connections that someone else has funded for free to them, so it's best to ask for a price via a provider if you're wanting more than one ONT in a legal property...

Chorus can add an ONT if there is capacity whether or not a property is separated - we've requested two before because clients have wanted total separate services for home and home office, for example

Edit: Livening a separate port on one ONT for the downstairs router to plug into will not diminish the speed of the router for upstairs - but again just look into the cost, it might not be a lot more for an ONT closer to downstairs than to get ethernet cabling between up and down

cyril7

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#2629341 2-Jan-2021 14:51

Hi if you have proper managed wifi throughout the property and vlans for you and down stairs etc then wifi proliferation issue is not a problem. Then you can route traffic to selected WAN's ie HFC or UFB or multiple UFB connections, might sound hard to you but to experienced network folk its BAU.

Cyril

nztim

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#2629368 2-Jan-2021 16:05

cyril7:
Hi if you have proper managed wifi throughout the property and vlans for you and down stairs etc then wifi proliferation issue is not a problem. Then you can route traffic to selected WAN's ie HFC or UFB or multiple UFB connections, might sound hard to you but to experienced network folk its BAU.

Cyril

^^^^^ This can be done for about $500

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

Eva888

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#2629381 2-Jan-2021 16:43

Thanks all. I’m in Wellington. So as a first step, who should I speak with to get the best advice, do I call each provider and ask for a quote or do I speak directly to Chorus first. There seems to be a preference here for 2 degrees, is that a good option in my case?

What comes first...sorting broadband or Sky? Am I correct in assuming Sky would use my existing dish which is old and rusting so if I need a new one do Sky install it. I suspect that system will change soon also.

If I stay with VTV and accept the new box, does it need fibre or HTC and does that mean Vodafone install fibre or do Chorus. The V technician told me that we can only have one HTC connection per address and I didn’t know the tenant had captured it.

Apologies, I have so many questions. Definitely I want a solution for the long term as I don't want to revisit this again in a years time so your advice is appreciated.

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