Was supposed to have Slingshot VDSL installed today...

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, 2talk and Vocus) › Was supposed to have Slingshot VDSL installed today...

Kodiack

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#143034 1-Apr-2014 18:01

...but supposedly the signals weren't good enough for it! As far as I know, we're within one kilometre of the exchange and it would be reasonable to expect excellent signal strength. I'm in absolute shock that they couldn't perform the upgrade. We've been waiting on a technician to get here for over a month, and when they finally arrive they tell us they can't set anything up anyway.

Currently, I'm needing to support seventeen people with nearly fifty devices on one lousy ADSL network. It's frustrating. What other options do I have? UFB probably won't be here for another 1.5-2 years, and available cable connections have data caps, which are out of the question.

Should I look into at least swapping out the ADSL modem? The current one is extremely old, and very low-end (Dynalink 1320v6).

I'm just looking for anything to help out at this point. I'm beyond frustrated with the setup, and the only saving grace we seemed to have is no longer an option. I just don't understand how there can be such poor selection in a region that's only a few minutes' walk from Wellington CBD.

*EDIT
I would also like to note that I'm currently using a Linksys EA4500 router with the 1320v6 modem as well. The 1320v6's NAT and DHCP are both disabled, putting it into a half-bridge mode. It isn't doing any of the internal network routing itself.

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Dangerous Chocolate
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#1016709 1-Apr-2014 18:05

Sounds like a commercial setup, or approaching it? How about adding another ADSL line and bonding them together, could cost a little bit but would improve throughput dramatically for that number of users.

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Kodiack

661 posts

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#1016711 1-Apr-2014 18:07

It's definitely approaching it. It's a residential area, but with several flatmates connecting on one simple connection. Are there any decent prices on multiple ADSL connections that you may know of? One of the biggest draws of VDSL is that it wouldn't double the price. It would also have allowed over 5x the upload speed, which is something we really need right now. We're getting less than 1 Mbps upstream now, and it's downright brutal, especially when people want to video chat, stream, or share files online.

hio77

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#1016712 1-Apr-2014 18:11

harsh.. i dont quite recall, what was your attenuation again?

sounds like you will need to look at something like HSNS or bonding multiple links.

ild probably look at setting up a decent firewall too, to help manage the connection..

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Kodiack

661 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1016716 1-Apr-2014 18:19

I'm seeing downstream attenuation of 14.0 dB and upstream attenuation of 6.1 dB. Here's the current ADSL modem line status:

hio77

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#1016717 1-Apr-2014 18:27

yep.. outside of range, hate to say it. but good to hear chorus actually denied a line that was too long for once.

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Kodiack

661 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1016720 1-Apr-2014 18:30

Blah, I just don't understand how the signal can be poor when the exchange can be walked to within about two minutes. I wouldn't be surprised if the wiring was routed around in a strange fashion that made it travel crazy distances before ending up here. I just really want to see better upload speed.

What sort of a range should I be looking for, by the way? I'm not the most familiar with VDSL since I mainly used a cable connection back in the States. I'm not finding any concrete guidelines to follow.

RunningMan

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#1016722 1-Apr-2014 18:38

Kodiack: I wouldn't be surprised if the wiring was routed around in a strange fashion that made it travel crazy distances before ending up here. I just really want to see better upload speed.

Well, that's probably exactly the issue - the cables don't always follow the route you would walk - they were installed many years ago with voice being the only service delivered over them, getting every line under the 800m odd length for VDSL wasn't really considered.

Are you in a Vodafone cable area?

Kodiack

661 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1016742 1-Apr-2014 18:46

RunningMan, I'm pretty sure it's the issue too. It's a shame!

I'm almost certain there's Vodafone cable here as the landlord mentioned it and I've researched it before. I was turned off by their data caps, although I could definitely live with them for personal use. The landlord has given me explicit permission to run such a connection to my room, and he already has the setup for it. I'm awfully tempted to go through with this. The speeds would be better, I'd be able to maintain my own connection, and I wouldn't have to tear down my existing network. In fact, I could connect to the Internet directly through Ethernet, then connect to the existing network via WiFi, so I would still be able to manage things just as tightly as I do now.

(also, get this, Vodafone cable is actually cheaper than what I paid in the United States while being about 30% faster >_>)

Thanks for the replies, guys! I'll keep hammering away at this network. It seems like it's always one thing after the other, haha.

Sideface

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#1016748 1-Apr-2014 19:11

Your download attenuation is too high at 14db and your line distance to the exchange is greater than 900m.
Chorus were quite right not to proceed.
EITHER
Install an ADSL master filter and dedicated XDSL line if you haven't done so already - this may improve your ADSL performance.
OR
VF cable is vastly superior to xDSL, and is far more suitable for multiple users. [but the highest available data cap is only 500GB]

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Kodiack

661 posts

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#1016749 1-Apr-2014 19:13

I'm probably going with Vodafone cable for personal use, while keeping the existing connection for everyone else. Most people don't seem to care. I probably use the Internet connection more than everyone else in the building combined! There used to be some issue with a handful of people torrenting (mainly, unknowingly seeding) but I've since smacked that down.

The 130/10 Mbps speeds are quite enticing. It's just a shame that they don't have an unlimited plan, otherwise the landlord mentioned he would have made the jump straight to them.

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#1016751 1-Apr-2014 19:16

Kodiack: I'm probably going with Vodafone cable for personal use, while keeping the existing connection for everyone else. Most people don't seem to care. I probably use the Internet connection more than everyone else in the building combined! There used to be some issue with a handful of people torrenting (mainly, unknowingly seeding) but I've since smacked that down.

The 130/10 Mbps speeds are quite enticing. It's just a shame that they don't have an unlimited plan, otherwise the landlord mentioned he would have made the jump straight to them.

Remember the 500GB data cap - this may not be enough for 17 users.

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Kodiack

661 posts

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#1016752 1-Apr-2014 19:18

Yeah, I'm looking at the 500 GB plan for my own personal use. I'd tear through the 80 GB almost monthly, and 150 GB plans occasionally, although I don't see myself getting too close to 500 GB.