Thoughts On Orcon unlimited

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › Thoughts On Orcon unlimited

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294 posts

Ultimate Geek

#828655 31-May-2013 10:25

I'm on the unlimited Orcon Genius plan and I find it pretty good. Switched from vodafone, and for me, my download speeds are faster on Orcon. Aren't in a fibre area though.

We use Netflix daily, and haven't had any issues with streaming. It's pretty instant and streams fine in HD when available.

As a household we usually do about 400GB a month (although last month was 700GB) and have never had any warnings about over usage or anything.

My only gripe would be the landline audio quality when using the phone. It's not that great. But that doesn't really bother us as we use our mobiles most the time anyway.

markboynz

45 posts

Geek

#828775 31-May-2013 12:26

JayTaicho -

I'm on Orcon Genius too, just not unlimited yet, and I gotta say I agree with you.

The one thing I've found with the landline audio quality - the phone that comes with the Genius is nasty. I've plugged a new cordless phone into the modem, and that has noticeably improved the quality. Still not perfect, but a noticeable step up.

NZCrusader

646 posts

Ultimate Geek

#828780 31-May-2013 12:38

nickb800: I came across from SS unlimited to Orcon unlimited (both on DSL) late last year.

Definitely a downgrade, Slingshot had really upped their game in 2012 and with their extensive caching most things came down at line speed.

Orcon has had major issues all year with international speeds, they seem to have been resolved recently, but they don't have a lot of youtube caching it seems so anything outside of the most mainstream videos tends to crawl, constantly buffering, during peak hours. Wouldn't expect 720p to stream without buffering in peak times, unless its like Gangnam style or something else popular.

I've recently started using netflix through unblock-us, which has been mostly good, but can also be pretty poor in the peak of peak times.

In my mind it is a big downgrade in quality, I guess the question is 'is it worth $27 per a month difference'. I'd be inclined to say yes in my situation, but youtube sounds pretty important to you so I'd be hesitant in recommending it for your sitch

I remember you saying when I asked in an earlier thread.

Which is why I decided to go to Slingshot, even though it costs a little extra.
Also the support has been fantastic (via both official and unofficial support channels).

Currently getting 17.5 / 1.04 Mbps (Sync at 19.74 / 1.24 Mbps).

International hasn't dropped below 6 Mbps (normally at least 12 Mbps) and national is always 14-17 Mbps.

NZ / AU Battlefield 4 Gaming Community
http://www.sonsofvalour.net/forums/forum.php

JayTaicho

294 posts

Ultimate Geek

#828788 31-May-2013 12:59

markboynz:I've plugged a new cordless phone into the modem, and that has noticeably improved the quality. Still not perfect, but a noticeable step up.

Good to know. Thanks.

nickb99

128 posts

Master Geek

#829196 1-Jun-2013 14:56

I'm on the Orcon unlimited plan with a Genius modem. I'd say if you are happy with your current provider stay with them. Maybe Slingshot might even offer you some deal if you call and say you are thinking of moving? If you commit for another year etc.

I'm not a heavy user compared to you and would be concerned about Orcon's Fair Use and unlimited user management policy if I was.

As another poster already noted the phone handset option for the Genius is rather crappy. I sent mine back to reduce the rental. In addition the USB feature for network storage is so restrictive its useless.

Support-wise my experiences with Orcon were not good, only fixed the last problem by making a Geekzone post. The frontline staff seem to have very limited skills based around reboot, reboot...

And finally Orcon never proactively tell existing customers when better deals appear. The last two times I have changed packages with them (the last one onto unlimited), both saving decent amounts of money, I had to find out about them myself. Maybe they think its smart practice to not tell a customer if they are over-paying unnecessarily but that is not the path to long term customer relationships IMHO...

aros71

122 posts

Master Geek

#834279 11-Jun-2013 15:53

FireEngine: The only traffic shaping that occurs on the Orcon Unlimited Plan is on P2P at peak evening times. All other traffic types have the same priority irrespective of which plan/ip pool the customer is in.

Can you substantiate that? Would be interested in your source of this information. Thanks

FireEngine

1223 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#834291 11-Jun-2013 16:07

aros71:
FireEngine: The only traffic shaping that occurs on the Orcon Unlimited Plan is on P2P at peak evening times. All other traffic types have the same priority irrespective of which plan/ip pool the customer is in.

Can you substantiate that? Would be interested in your source of this information. Thanks

I work for Orcon and (re)checked the position before posting with our Chief Network Architect.

Regards FireEngine

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Screeb

698 posts

Ultimate Geek

#834428 11-Jun-2013 19:35

FireEngine:
aros71:
FireEngine: The only traffic shaping that occurs on the Orcon Unlimited Plan is on P2P at peak evening times. All other traffic types have the same priority irrespective of which plan/ip pool the customer is in.

Can you substantiate that? Would be interested in your source of this information. Thanks

I work for Orcon and (re)checked the position before posting with our Chief Network Architect.

So 1:50am counts as "peak evening time"?

That was a week or so ago on a well-seeded torrent. It had been going at the consistent low speed all afternoon, but then, all of a sudden at exactly 2:00am...

nickb99

128 posts

Master Geek

#834430 11-Jun-2013 19:39

Would be useful to know what the exact Orcon definition of 'peak evening times" is?

FireEngine

1223 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#834438 11-Jun-2013 19:56

Maybe they think its smart practice to not tell a customer if they are over-paying unnecessarily but that is not the path to long term customer relationships IMHO...

Nor do supermarkets have big signs on the Watties Beans pointing to the Pams lines, as with everything it is rarely <just> a price point, it is a value judgement based on YOUR needs both now and the future.

Marketting is between a rock and a hard place on this one, to successfully tell you about a new plan YOU (singular) would find attractive, they would have to market to (read call, email or mail drop), perhaos 10-20 customers who don't see a value increase and consider the communication intrusive...

Regards FireEngine

FireEngine

1223 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#834442 11-Jun-2013 20:01

Screeb:
FireEngine:
aros71:
FireEngine: The only traffic shaping that occurs on the Orcon Unlimited Plan is on P2P at peak evening times. All other traffic types have the same priority irrespective of which plan/ip pool the customer is in.

Can you substantiate that? Would be interested in your source of this information. Thanks

I work for Orcon and (re)checked the position before posting with our Chief Network Architect.

So 1:50am counts as "peak evening time"?

That was a week or so ago on a well-seeded torrent. It had been going at the consistent low speed all afternoon, but then, all of a sudden at exactly 2:00am...

Yep. So is 1:59:59am currently....I'll leave it to your imagination when the "early evening peak start time" might be.

Be assured our capacity and bandwidth management policies and technology are continually reviewed to ensure we give the best possible experience we can.

Regards FireEngine

nickb99

128 posts

Master Geek

#834454 11-Jun-2013 20:18

Nor do supermarkets have big signs on the Watties Beans pointing to the Pams lines, as with everything it is rarely <just> a price point, it is a value judgement based on YOUR needs both now and the future.

Agreed...but they do group them all in the same place and price them clearly in a consistent manner so the customer can immediately see the options and compare. If only comms products were so clearly marketed :)

Marketting is between a rock and a hard place on this one, to successfully tell you about a new plan YOU (singular) would find attractive, they would have to market to (read call, email or mail drop), perhaos 10-20 customers who don't see a value increase and consider the communication intrusive...

Well, sorry to be obvious but this is exactly what marketers do 24/7/365. They segment as much as they can but eventually send a whole bunch of messages to a group of people who (mostly) don't want to hear about them. You expect that most people WON'T be interested but you market to them anyway.

My point is this; it is widely recognized that it is much cheaper to retain existing customers rather than find new ones. Therefore the goal of a business is to develop long term relationships with its customers. We all know comms prices fall over time; I expect to continue to get more for less from my comms provider. By not telling me about new products effectively Orcon are taking the risk that I might be tempted by some offer elsewhere. MUCH better for them to simply let me know that I can cut costs by swapping to their X plan...they have a happy customer, and the cost to them - reducing my bill v finding a new customer to replace me - is reduced. Now, back to the thread...

Screeb

698 posts

Ultimate Geek

#834464 11-Jun-2013 20:49

FireEngine:
Yep. So is 1:59:59am currently....I'll leave it to your imagination when the "early evening peak start time" might be.

I'm not sure 1:59:59am or even 12am fits any reasonable description of "evening" - though that's just a term you used of course, not an official one, so my point is largely a pedantic one. Still, I would certainly not think anyone would also describe it as "peak" time of any description though. I can't imagine a large proportion of users are online at 2am on a weekday (besides the ones torrenting in the first place).

FireEngine:Be assured our capacity and bandwidth management policies and technology are continually reviewed to ensure we give the best possible experience we can.

One would have thought that the "best possible experience" would not involve arbitrarily shaping P2P down to extremely low speeds up until 2am. Why is it not just prioritised lowly? That way, if people are actually trying to use the net for other purposes, they don't get drowned out by the P2Pers, but when there is bandwidth available, the P2Pers can make use of it. I know it's not a trivial task but it's certainly not impossible.

FireEngine

1223 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#834505 11-Jun-2013 21:48

Screeb:Still, I would certainly not think anyone would also describe it as "peak" time of any description though.

If you could see the traffic graphs as I can then you would know why we conclude that tming. If you don't want to believe what I say then don't, it matters not to me. I am not posting guesses, opinion or assumptions here.

Regards FireEngine

FireEngine

1223 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#834511 11-Jun-2013 21:58

nickb99:Well, sorry to be obvious but this is exactly what marketers do 24/7/365. They segment as much as they can but eventually send a whole bunch of messages to a group of people who (mostly) don't want to hear about them. You expect that most people WON'T be interested but you market to them anyway.

But not to their own customers, I can't think of a single organisation that actively markets to their own customers in the same way as to prospective customers (excluding accidental mail drop hits).

Anyway back on topic....

Regards FireEngine

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