Telecom vs. Xnet vs. ...

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fatboy

62 posts

Master Geek

#65315 2-Aug-2010 15:17

Hey all,

First time poster here

My story is very common, moved a house and need to decide on ISP. I've been reading these forums for about a week now and can't make my mind up as all seem to be hated by some of their users and unfortunately I can't seem to distinguish between an occasional problem and ongoing failure to deliver service.

Usage: Pretty lite - no gaming, no torrents, occasional downloads (audio), and 2-3 youtube clips a day + general browsing - I'm thinking I need about 5Gb. So speed is more important than capacity.

Location: Eden Terrace, Auckland

Overall: I'm looking for some knowledgeable performance-based comparison between these plans.

Several plans which appeal to me, but feel free to suggest any others:

Plan
Cost / Type / Allowance / Up/Down / Phone

Slingshot big thing
$70 / ADSL / 5Gb / FS/FS / Fixed Line

Compass
$73 / Wireless / 5Gb / 5Mb/1Mb / Voip

Xnet fusion unlimited
$75 / Naked / 5Gb / FS/FS / VoIP

Slingshot just broadband
$80 / Naked / 25Gb / FS/FS / VoIP

Orcon silver
$80 / ADSl / 5Gb / FS/FS / Fixed Line

Vodafone Ideal
$80 / ADSL / 5Gb / FS/128kbp / Fixed Line

Telecom Total home lite
$80 / ADSL / 5GB / FS/FS / Fixed Line

Thanks

Ragnor

8219 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#361717 2-Aug-2010 16:35

Xnet, Slingshot and Orcon have low pricing for large usage and have plans that appeal to heavy users, I would advise avoiding those ISP's as their services will deteriorate as more users move off the grand fathered Big Time plan onto these ISP's.

Vodafone seems to be having a rough patch and I've never been impressed by their peak time speeds when at friends and relatives places.

Personally I would look at Telecom, Telstra and Maxnet (using Xnet XFV for voip as Maxnet don't offer a phone service).

PANiCnz

990 posts

Ultimate Geek

#361870 2-Aug-2010 19:59

Telstra's customer services seems to be getting a lot of bad press lately, I would avoid them like the plague. I use Xnet and find their customer service to be top rate, they even hang around these forums and often the advice/help is better than you'd get from a 0800 number. Haven't noticed any slow downs due to mooches, however they normally operate during 2am to 8am when data is free.

graemeh

2078 posts

Uber Geek

#362116 3-Aug-2010 09:41

Telecom's customer service is terrible. I tried to move to them from Xnet a while ago and Telecom was so bad at calling me back for more info and for the last piece of info they needed (my account number of something) they were going to email me so I could email it back to them. Their email never arrived.

Since then Xnet speed has improved greatly and I no longer have a reason to move.

Xnet technical support is also very good, I got a problem sorted by email in a morning after emailing them late the night before. Very impressive!

jonb

1771 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#362152 3-Aug-2010 10:29

Doa quick check to see if the house will be in a cabinetised street or not. If it's cabinetised, next big thing isn't available and vodafone price increases to $90 a month. If it's not cabinetised, vodafone red zone doesn't throttle your upload speed to 128k either.

Personally I'm on the vodafone ideal pack, 10GB and after a rough patch a few weeks ago it's all good now (on my exhcange at least) especially for your kind of use.

raab

262 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#362154 3-Aug-2010 10:36

If you want consistent speed 24/7 then Telecom is your best option.

Don't waste your time with Vodafone/Xnet/Slingshot. They're inconsistent at best.

kyhwana2

2566 posts

Uber Geek

#362156 3-Aug-2010 10:49

raab: If you want consistent speed 24/7 then Telecom is your best option.

Don't waste your time with Vodafone/Xnet/Slingshot. They're inconsistent at best.

Nah, xnet is pretty consistent.
Off peak I can max out my line (1.6MB/s). On peak I can only do 50-400KB/s.. :P

graemeh

2078 posts

Uber Geek

#362221 3-Aug-2010 11:37

kyhwana2:
raab: If you want consistent speed 24/7 then Telecom is your best option.

Don't waste your time with Vodafone/Xnet/Slingshot. They're inconsistent at best.

Nah, xnet is pretty consistent.
Off peak I can max out my line (1.6MB/s). On peak I can only do 50-400KB/s.. :P

That's my experience too, peak time with Xnet is still reasonably fast and quite usable.

Equinox IT

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fatboy

62 posts

Master Geek

#362383 3-Aug-2010 14:26

Thanks for your responses guys

I'm on an Auckland central exchange, scheduled to get a cabinet (AT/DM) in Dec 2011. I'm not in Vodafone's red zone according to their checker, which would limit me to 128 Kbps up AFAIK.

To be honest I don't care about off-peak, I need good speed 7-11pm and weekends. I could live with 400 KBps, not so much with 50

I'm tempted to get Telecom, even though rather not think about potential customer service.

Any feedback on Compass wireless? I can see skytower from my balcony, so reception shouldn't be a problem.

maverick

3594 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

WorldxChange

#362443 3-Aug-2010 15:31

I use Compass wireless as a back up connection and have had it for a few years right back to the radio net days , a few issues occassionaly, The local radio site going down for periods and replacement of faulty bits has been a pain but overall not bad, not as fast as my DSL connection.

As for ISP choices, your going to get the good and bad for all companies my own included. You have your Supporters and detractors and some get very passionate over it which can detract from the information you are after.

Look at what works for you in the way of data and requirments, also look at the posts written by people that have more subjective views, to often you will see personal preference getting in the way of accurate information.

Yes I am a employee of WxC (My Profile) ... but I do have my own opinions as well

https://www.facebook.com/wxccommunications