wireless broadband and boosters to help signal

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ahollier

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#56710 21-Jan-2010 14:07

HI I am moving to the rural area of waiuku soon and cant get broadband - I have explored compass but they could only get weak signal and vodafone has also told me that wireless signal is weak in my area and telecom hasnt told me anything Lol
I am wondering is it possible to get a better signal from either compass - where you have to sight the transmittor or through vodafone - with some type of signal booster which will help solve the problem. satellite is very expensive so dont want to go there unless I have to.

I am new to all this so any help would be much appreciated or any other ideas.
thanks
Alison

grant_k

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#291909 21-Jan-2010 14:16

Another option is Kordia's Extend wireless network. We have been using it for 6 years now, being in a similar predicament to you. Check if you have coverage here:

http://www.kordiasolutions.com/telecommunications_solutions_extend_network_coverage

If you can't make head or tail of it, send me a PM as I have some detailed maps which may help further.

ahollier

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#291970 21-Jan-2010 17:09

hi grant it does seem to be within their map ( ie green) although when I type in address it says it isnt ie fisher road waiuku
is this expensive? and do they have VOIP? or FOIP as well

Thanks

johnr

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#291976 21-Jan-2010 17:54

Waiuku and surrounding areas has great 3G broadband coverage from vodafone and Telecom

coffeebaron

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#292005 21-Jan-2010 19:14

If you have 1-2 bars mobile signal on your roof, there are 3G router options with external antenna kits that will do the job. Also I have had good results running VoIP over such connections too.

Send me a message if you would like some more info.

Fraser

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grant_k

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#292012 21-Jan-2010 19:50

ahollier: hi grant it does seem to be within their map ( ie green) although when I type in address it says it isnt ie fisher road waiuku

Yes, the map I have shows Fisher Road to be well within the coverage area. I can see it on Google Maps, and it appears to be well within the green area. However, you would need a visit from an installer to be 100% sure.

ahollier: is this expensive? and do they have VOIP? or FOIP as well

Thanks

The ISP who connects me to Extend is called NetSpeed:

http://www.netspeed.net.nz/

They don't publish plan prices on their site, but I am paying $69.95 per month for a service with 1Mbps download, 340kbps upload and 2GB of data. There are cheaper and more expensive plans, depending on what your needs are.

I have been using WorldxChange's VFX VoIP service to provide my phone line for 3+ years now. After using it for a few months, I cut my Telecom landline, and have not looked back since.

Occasionally, I do send faxes via VFX and it works fine to numbers within NZ. International faxes though are not usually successful.

When I was regularly receiving Faxes, I used a Fax-to-email service, as I found that more convenient. However, VFX does have the option of a separate fax number for a small additional fee per month.

Regarding using of VoIP over Telecom Mobile Broadband, I have tried it on various occasions, but found the call quality not very good. Even in urban areas of Auckland during last October/November, I found that it was unreliable, with my wife reporting frequent dropouts in my voice.

Based on my experience, I would recommend only using VoIP over mobile broadband as a last resort, whereas using VoIP over Extend is actually better than a landline in our area, due to distance from the exchange, and unreliability due to the floods which sometimes happen in our area.

ahollier

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#292084 22-Jan-2010 08:17

thanks for your help Guys - it is the most sense I have got out of anybody so far. :)

telecom have also given me a T stick to try so will go and see if it works although on their system it shows bad coverage for wireless broadband - same as vodafone.

Do Any of you know about Orcon and them unbundling the wires at waiuku exchange for adsl 2 - the coverage is meant to go up the awhitu peninsula. I contacted them also but they couldnt really tell me much.