Need help choosing my next ISP

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pbjtime

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#307121 21-Sep-2023 11:04

Hey guys, first time posting here.

Have been with Slingshot (previously Orcon) for a few months now and things have not been smooth sailing at all, so desperately looking for alternatives.

On my gigabit connection:

usenet would only do 4MB/s and if I use VPN it can reach around 12MB/s and then steadily slow itself back down.

partner often experiences dropouts watching her tiktok videos.

buffers when watching youtube.

Current weighting a few options:

Skinny - pros: no shaping; cons: no IPOE which I like, no AKL-IX peering.

Quic and Voyager seem to be brought up here alot on the forum but I'm keen on hearing some opinions re: usenet usage and international peering. both also PPPOE I learnt:(

One NZ - seem to have better peering outbounds to US?? IPOE and no CGNAT, decent price too but i'll wait for someone to chime in.

Thanks in advance!

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#3130086 21-Sep-2023 11:17

VPN to where? if it's a Geo Unblocking VPN the speeds are terrible irrespective of ISP especially during peak times when everyone is trying to use them.

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#3130092 21-Sep-2023 11:31

Have you checked out @quic broadband and they are very active on Geekzone for support

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=194

timmmay

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#3130097 21-Sep-2023 11:38

Suggest you call Slingshot support for help before you go to the trouble of changing ISPs.

Quic has no phone support, it's bare bones for experts only. Probably best avoid.

2degrees has a good technical service, customer service used to be excellent, these days it's often difficult to get through to get any help, but because they service works well I rarely need help.

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#3130098 21-Sep-2023 11:41

I was with Voyager for a few years, great connectivity and service - mainly left due to cost.

Have been with 2D last couple of years, was all good until they started with the migrations from SS/Orcon/2D etc - things went downhill extremely fast, and the price is going up....

I'm with Quic as of next month due to the good reports and fairly open conversations they have with Geekzone.

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shrub

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#3130101 21-Sep-2023 11:44

Just throwing it out there. Was with orcon but left mid August for the same reasons as OP. Went with OneNZ on a staticip and it's been fine.
I found that in the evenings the connection would deteriorate and contacting orcon they claimed that it was my end and they have no faults on the network.
Moved ISP and problems went away.🤷

pbjtime

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3130106 21-Sep-2023 12:02

nztim:

VPN to where? if it's a Geo Unblocking VPN the speeds are terrible irrespective of ISP especially during peak times when everyone is trying to use them.

VPNing from AKL to AKL just to get around shaping

pbjtime

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3130108 21-Sep-2023 12:04

shrub: Just throwing it out there. Was with orcon but left mid August for the same reasons as OP. Went with OneNZ on a staticip and it's been fine.
I found that in the evenings the connection would deteriorate and contacting orcon they claimed that it was my end and they have no faults on the network.
Moved ISP and problems went away.🤷

Thanks for the info, do you get a public IP without a static IP tho?

pbjtime

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3130109 21-Sep-2023 12:11

timmmay:

Suggest you call Slingshot support for help before you go to the trouble of changing ISPs.

Quic has no phone support, it's bare bones for experts only. Probably best avoid.

2degrees has a good technical service, customer service used to be excellent, these days it's often difficult to get through to get any help, but because they service works well I rarely need help.

spent the last month with their support for an unrelated IP issue... on my last call was told I'd better off switch ISPs.

Jiriteach

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#3130112 21-Sep-2023 12:18

I was with 2degrees for many years and then Orcon (since I needed DHCP) and it was solid but unfortunately since 2degrees started the migration - things have been hit and miss and all over the place.

I monitor my network closely and have multiple sites around the country with a similar setup.

I moved to Spark (with static IP’s) and have been really impressed with speeds and latency. No problems so far! Have also run backup via Quic and Spark 4G.

pbjtime

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3130114 21-Sep-2023 12:25

xpd:

I was with Voyager for a few years, great connectivity and service - mainly left due to cost.

Have been with 2D last couple of years, was all good until they started with the migrations from SS/Orcon/2D etc - things went downhill extremely fast, and the price is going up....

I'm with Quic as of next month due to the good reports and fairly open conversations they have with Geekzone.

Agree with the 2D statement, I was with Orcon, wasn't even aware of the merger until I started searching for what's with the drop in connection quality.

pbjtime

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Wannabe Geek

#3130116 21-Sep-2023 12:33

Jiriteach: I was with 2degrees for many years and then Orcon (since I needed DHCP) and has been solid but unfortunately since 2degrees started the migration - things have been hit and miss and all over the place.

I monitor my network closely and have multiple sites around the country with a similar setup.

I moved to Spark (with static IP’s) and have been really impressed with speeds and latency. No problems so far! Have also run backup via Quic and Spark 4G.

I was with Skinny at one point one thing I didn't like was their DNS performance(This was before they started peering with Cloudflare) lol. I'm keen to know your thoughts on Spark vs Quic though:)

hsvhel

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#3130117 21-Sep-2023 12:34

I moved from Voyager on a cost scenario. Quic have been fine for me

Referral Link Quic

Free Setup use R502152EQH6OK on check out

michaelmurfy

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#3130120 21-Sep-2023 12:45

pbjtime: VPNing from AKL to AKL just to get around shaping

No providers shape anymore. This is a thing of the past. Using a VPN is also exposes you to quite a number of risks: https://overengineer.dev/blog/2019/04/08/very-precarious-narrative.html

But Quic (Vetta) are very open to peering: https://www.peeringdb.com/net/6836

Usenet is very dependent on many factors and one of those is the Usenet host you use. I have both 2degrees and Quic currently and get similar speeds with my mix of Usenet providers on both (this maxes out my line).

Buffering when watching YouTube etc on 2degrees/Slingshot shouldn't happen. This actually more sounds like a problem you've got on your local network rather than an ISP problem. This almost sounds like you're using WiFi?!

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michaelmurfy

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#3130122 21-Sep-2023 12:48

pbjtime: I was with Skinny at one point one thing I didn't like was their DNS performance

Yep this sounds like a problem 100% on your end. The Spark (which Skinny runs via - Skinny is owned by Spark and is a no frills ISP of theirs) network is quite solid and their DNS servers are solid too and distributed across the country. If their DNS servers were not up to par you'd think the ~1mil customers they have would complain.

pbjtime

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3130141 21-Sep-2023 13:19

michaelmurfy:

pbjtime: VPNing from AKL to AKL just to get around shaping

No providers shape anymore. This is a thing of the past. Using a VPN is also exposes you to quite a number of risks: https://overengineer.dev/blog/2019/04/08/very-precarious-narrative.html

But Quic (Vetta) are very open to peering: https://www.peeringdb.com/net/6836

Usenet is very dependent on many factors and one of those is the Usenet host you use. I have both 2degrees and Quic currently and get similar speeds with my mix of Usenet providers on both (this maxes out my line).

Buffering when watching YouTube etc on 2degrees/Slingshot shouldn't happen. This actually more sounds like a problem you've got on your local network rather than an ISP problem. This almost sounds like you're using WiFi?!

I don't know what it is then if it's ont shaping, my usenet speed is consistently at 4MB/s regardless or the provider/port/SSL or not - It's a VPN tunnel established exclusively in the LXC that hosts sabnabd for use of usenet, I won't lose my sleep over that.

I'm not saying they are not - my internet usage is international heavy so any bit of international peering helps.

I'm not using WiFi for youtube streaming - Cat6A cabling straight from my RB4011 to ATV 4K, not that it's often but it can happen from time to time. my partner's iPhone 14 can pull easily 600Mbps from our AP. I've been using the same gears for few years now and I'm pretty sure I'll know if anything is off.

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