Orcon wants to move me onto Genius, will I be moved off the telecom network!?

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › Orcon wants to move me onto Genius, will I be moved off the telecom network!?

powerforce

162 posts

Master Geek

#93221 16-Nov-2011 13:55

Hi there, I got the below email from Orcon They want to move me onto the orcon genious thing.
I dont have any problem with that - but i do have a problem with being moved off the telecom network/cabinet.
If the below means I will be moved off the telecom network, I will leave Orcon and never look back. (which kind of sucks as I like being with Orcon, and have previously recomended them to others)
Im obviously not willing to go from 20mbps sync rate down to the mere 3-4mbps I had a year or so ago when on Orcons equipment.
I called the helpdesk- who told me nothing would change, but quite honestly it sounded like the person I spoke to didnt really understand what i was saying or know what they were talking about-
SO, i want written confirmation...
Below is the email i recieved. Can anyone at Orcon please confirm that i will stay on the Telecom network?

"Hi there,

There are some important changes to your monthly bill that we want to tell you about.

You may remember that a while ago we moved your service from our network onto the Telecom network. We have been offsetting the price difference between the two networks with a monthly credit of $35.85 per month.

We were doing this because we planned to install some of our own equipment in the exchange and then move you back onto our network.

This is no longer viable for a number of reasons, and this makes maintaining the subsidy unsustainable for us as a business. So, unfortunately, we will be ending the subsidy on 23 December 2011.

But – there may be a better broadband option for you

We’ve recently launched a new product called Orcon Genius. Orcon Genius starts at just $75 per month, and includes a homeline + 30GB of data, or a homeline with 5GB of data + free national calling. Looking at your recent monthly bills, we think Genius may be a good option for you to consider.

So, what’s next and what does this mean for you?

If you are happy with the plan you are on, you don’t have to do anything. Just be aware that you won’t receive a monthly credit from 23 December 2011. You can still expect to receive great service from us, and your phone number and smartphone features won’t change.

If you’d like to find out if Genius could be a better solution for you, drop the team a call on 0800 JOIN US, we’d be happy to talk you through the options.

Thanks, the team @ Orcon "

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Biddle Corp

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#546027 16-Nov-2011 13:57

You still still be on the Telecom network for broadband (via a Telecom Wholesale EUBA connection) but your voice service will be provied by the Genius IAD.

trig42

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#546032 16-Nov-2011 14:03

Yep, that's what it looks like to me too. Orcon are not putting gear into the telecom exchange so will continue to use Telecom Wholesale from the cabinet, you will just lose your Analog POTS line and go to a VOIP product via Orcon Genius (you will not be able to use your current phones I believe).

sbiddle

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#546034 16-Nov-2011 14:06

FYI there is already aother thread discussing this issue http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=82&topicid=93165

powerforce

162 posts

Master Geek

#546039 16-Nov-2011 14:18

I dont mind about phone services - currently my house wiring consists of a cat6 cable from the entrance point to a single RJ45? wall socket and thats it - i dont have any phone wiring or phone jacks or anything in my house- so the calling is of no concern to me.
So i should just go with the genious plan then? Id save a couple of dollars in the process -and basically nothing will change as i dont use the calling / phone anyway?

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

Uber Geek

#546049 16-Nov-2011 14:47

this bit is slightly odd

"You may remember that a while ago we moved your service from our network onto the Telecom network. We have been offsetting the price difference between the two networks with a monthly credit of $35.85 per month. "

I thought the price difference between orcon purple network vs the rest was only $10/month. wonder where the $35.85 came from?

If you don’t use the phone at all then probably genius will suit you well, although like in the other thread you might want to also look at vodafon’s naked DSl if you have postpaid mobile with them, and if you can get it.

bameron

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#546283 17-Nov-2011 08:45

powerforce: I dont mind about phone services - currently my house wiring consists of a cat6 cable from the entrance point to a single RJ45? wall socket and thats it - i dont have any phone wiring or phone jacks or anything in my house- so the calling is of no concern to me.
So i should just go with the genious plan then? Id save a couple of dollars in the process -and basically nothing will change as i dont use the calling / phone anyway?

Sounds like the Genius Lite option would be best for you - it comes without the Genius handset.

As you've probably gathered there should be no change in your physical line speeds - if your connection is currently being served via a cabinet that's how it will be served on Genius with some tweaks to the phoneline which doesn't seem to be an issue for you anyway.

NonprayingMantis: this bit is slightly odd

"You may remember that a while ago we moved your service from our network onto the Telecom network. We have been offsetting the price difference between the two networks with a monthly credit of $35.85 per month. "

I thought the price difference between orcon purple network vs the rest was only $10/month. wonder where the $35.85 came from?

If you don’t use the phone at all then probably genius will suit you well, although like in the other thread you might want to also look at vodafon’s naked DSl if you have postpaid mobile with them, and if you can get it.

It did depend on what add-ons you had with the plan, which varied the amount of credit the customer received to match the pricing.

graemeh

2078 posts

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#546393 17-Nov-2011 11:19

powerforce: If you are happy with the plan you are on, you don’t have to do anything. Just be aware that you won’t receive a monthly credit from 23 December 2011. You can still expect to receive great service from us, and your phone number and smartphone features won’t change.

If you’d like to find out if Genius could be a better solution for you, drop the team a call on 0800 JOIN US, we’d be happy to talk you through the options.

This seems to be saying if you do nothing all that will happen is your monthly bill will increase. Your service will remain exactly the same as it is now.

They are suggesting Genius is a better option but if you want that you'll have to ask them for it.

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powerforce

162 posts

Master Geek

#546539 17-Nov-2011 15:00

Also, what’s stranger is they appear to want me to pay a $99 connection fee to go onto the Orcon genius plan...(with no contract)
So... pretty much they want me to pay another $99 to stay as their customer...
Seems ridiculous id have to pay the $99 connection fee when im already their customer...
hmmmm what to do..

Orcon..Please just put me on the Genius plan... (30gb, I don’t care about calling) don’t charge me a connection fee- and you keep your customer. Simple.

bameron

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2degrees

#546544 17-Nov-2011 15:17

powerforce: Also, what’s stranger is they appear to want me to pay a $99 connection fee to go onto the Orcon genius plan...(with no contract)
So... pretty much they want me to pay another $99 to stay as their customer...
Seems ridiculous id have to pay the $99 connection fee when im already their customer...
hmmmm what to do..

Orcon..Please just put me on the Genius plan... (30gb, I don’t care about calling) don’t charge me a connection fee- and you keep your customer. Simple.

Genius connections require a bit of additional work at the exchange which is why we charge this set up fee. If you opt for any of our term contracts (12, 18 or 24 month depending if you have the full or Lite Genius device) we'll happily waive the $99.00 fee.

powerforce

162 posts

Master Geek

#546565 17-Nov-2011 16:13

That just doesn?t seem rite to me... either pay an extra $35.85 a month, pay $99 to swap plans (and pay an extra monthly modem rental which I also don?t want), or get roped into a contract.
That was one of the reasons I joined Orcon in the first place - no contract.

Either way you?re forcing more money out of me just to keep what I already have and give me what I don?t want.

That $35.85 is over half the cost of a 20gb connection directly with telecom.

Thinking about this a little more I don?t think I will be happy even if the $99 fee gets waived.
Really I want no connection fee, no contract and no monthly modem hire..That?s what I originally signed up for.
Could I use my current modem on the genius plan given that I don?t care at all about the calling etc?

I?m going to have to think long and hard about this one.
What would others do in this situation? Anyone want to recommend a good ISP/Plan?

Xile

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#546995 18-Nov-2011 16:55

You're not alone powerforce. It is going to cost me an extra $21 a month to a total of $101 for 7gig.

So looking at their website I decided to go for orcon@home with 5gig with no contract. They came back and said would cost me $99 per month. I would also have to pay a $99 connection fee even though I would be getting exactly the same options but with 2gig less. They said if I didn't want to go on a contract I should stay with what I have and pay the $101 per month. They also said the connection fee was not negotiable.

I like you signed up to Orcon because I didn't want a contract. But there is no way I'm paying $101 for 7gig.

So I am currently looking for a new ISP.

alliao

321 posts

Ultimate Geek

#547029 18-Nov-2011 18:06

Yup got that e-mail too, I got "subsidised" initially due to serious degradation of the line, according to Orcon that's due to Telecom's cabinetisiation.

IIRC some time ago Orcon and the rest of others got some comepensation from Telecom and so that's going to be the end of that "subsidy".

In short Orcon is going to put up the price and there's nothing I can do, time to start shopping.......

As far as my research goes, 3 major types of plan exist..

1. Telecom/Vodafone - around $100 for 60GB, if you have mobile phone plans with them then it could work out for you.
2. Slingshot/Compass - unlimited internet. Will the network be less congested now that all the "vampires" and "pirates" stopped their p2p action?
3. Pay slightly more ($20 ish) per month and go with a small ISP, in theory they may have less subscribers and therefore the extra money's used to buy more bandwidth so one "might" have better performance.

Bit futile really :P

sbiddle

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#547105 18-Nov-2011 22:35

The compensation has nothing to do with your issue, it's totally unrelated.

The compensation was to do with the the (in)ability to offer UBA xDSL services from a cabinet, and ULL voice services from an exchange.

The issue most people are experiencing is Orcon's decision to deploy ULL gear in exchanges, which in turn has become useless to the many customers who they actively signed up, knowing that when those customers were ultimately cabinetised that the ULL connection would deliver sub standard performance, and the customer would have to be migrated back to a wholesale connection.

Some ISP's chose not to sign up ULL customers who would ultimate be cabinetised because they knew the issues midpoint injection would cause.

alliao

321 posts

Ultimate Geek

#547108 18-Nov-2011 22:54

sbiddle: The compensation has nothing to do with your issue, it's totally unrelated.

The compensation was to do with the the (in)ability to offer UBA xDSL services from a cabinet, and ULL voice services from an exchange.

The issue most people are experiencing is Orcon's decision to deploy ULL gear in exchanges, which in turn has become useless to the many customers who they actively signed up, knowing that when those customers were ultimately cabinetised that the ULL connection would deliver sub standard performance, and the customer would have to be migrated back to a wholesale connection.

Some ISP's chose not to sign up ULL customers who would ultimate be cabinetised because they knew the issues midpoint injection would cause.

I see, so the fact that injecting a stronger signal to a point that interfered existing signal carried zero penalty since they have announced in advance that would be the case.. wouldn't Orcon as a subsidiary of SOE be at fault then? Wasting tax dollars this way?

powerforce

162 posts

Master Geek

#548383 22-Nov-2011 12:37

After some thinking, and looking at options...I think I will stay with Orcon and go on a contract.
After all, they have indeed provided me with good service, I have no complaints there. Im not planning on moving house or anything...and i dont want to pay a monthy modem hire - or a sign up fee... So i guess if they continue providing me with good service - the contract shoud not be a problem.

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