Broadband, Do you have it? [Archive]

The Tazman

17th October 2006, 22:01

Hi Kbers

I'm on a fairly old machine and on dial up. I was wondering how many of you out there are still on dial up and how many have broadband.

If you have broadband how much are you paying and what do you think of the service.

From what I've seen so far it is still quite expensive and they restrict you on how much you can download!!! This is quite weird for me coming from the UK where I am sure they don't do that.

All the ones that look cheap have hidden cost and conditions which make them no where near as cheap as they advertise.

I think they should be made to do what Air NZ have had to do and show the actual cost!!

Would love some feed back from any of you that have the time.

Regards

Taz

chanceyy

17th October 2006, 22:08

hi taz

still on dial up .. due to being on a "mini exchange" & rural .. :bye:

bugjuice

17th October 2006, 22:08

I've had BB for a while. Was with Xtra a few years back, paying for slow connection speed, and a privilege for it. Thankfully things changed, I moved a few times, and now got myself set up again. Was with one package on Clear.net which expired, and got replaced with PDQ (http://www.telstraclear.co.nz/products-res/internet/pdq/speed-usage.cfm) (which they say is for 'Pretty Damn Quick', but really it just means 'Porn Downloads Quicker'), and for my old 1GB plan (256kb/s) I'm on the 'Turbo' (3mb/s $40) and the usage is per gig ($3) per billing cycle, so use whatever you need. So that package, and 2 gig packs, is less than what I was paying for the 256kb plan (by a buck or so).. ain't bad..

Clear have got pretty good, then there's Slingshot and Quicksilver. Avoid iHug, cos they hide the important stuff (like 'all plans high speed' with low caps rates and expensive usage etc)

NinjaBoy

17th October 2006, 22:27

Xtra has been driving the sales pitch pretty hard lately. I've been on BB for about 3 months ( as Telecom finally got off their butts and wired up my sub-division properly :angry: ).

While I was speed and download restricted, they have just announced that within the next couple of months (maybe sooner but can't find the email) they are going to de-restrict ( ie. give u the highest speed your line can handle) the speed and introduce a set of new plans which have no download limit.

why Xtra ? well pure and simple they were offering the best deal at the time ( free modem, filters, connection, 1st month free, welcome back to Telecom Tolls credit $10/month for the first 6 months and most importantly if I didn't like it in the first 30 days - money back guarantee -)

Street Gerbil

17th October 2006, 23:09

I have a pathetic excuse of a broadband. An awfully narrow one.
But then I am a spoiled child addicted to roadrunner cable service (unlimited and 3 times as cheap).

MyGSXF

18th October 2006, 00:00

Hi. I'm on BB. Check out the Slingshot website.. (co.nz). I am with them for my toll calls too, & calls are cheaper again if you have internet with them also. PLUS.. if you call another Slingshot customer (toll) you BOTH then get 200 minutes FREE each month!! They sometimes offer free join up & free modems etc.. keep an eye on their website. I pay $29.95 p/m

Jen :mobile:

Edbear

18th October 2006, 05:40

Xtra BB here on 10gig for $59.95 due to two other users in the house! Feel sorry for those still on dial-up, it's a major pain when I run out of BB and they "throttle you back" to dial-up for the rest of the month! Flat fee, though so no hidden costs and no extra charges when you do run over your limit.

Xtra have a better security system I think but still get a lot of spam coming through.

26th Oct the new plans come in, max download speeds and unlimited BB for about the same money, so my Son-in-Law and boarder can then download flat out and share the cost.

Had good service from Telecom contrary to some comments here on KB, but there are members here who are techies for Telecom and have been very helpful.

miSTa

18th October 2006, 05:55

Still on dial up, but will be going cable as soon as TelstraClear announce their new pricing plans (in response to Telescom "unleshed" pricing plans when they're announced next week)

James Deuce

18th October 2006, 05:57

No one in NZ has broadband Internet connectivity. Just some people who will argue long and loud that they do.

cowboyz

18th October 2006, 06:59

Whynot

18th October 2006, 07:08

No one in NZ has broadband Internet connectivity. Just some people who will argue long and loud that they do.

this man knows the score ...

and by the way im on woosh. It's better than dial up and i dont have to fork out an extra $30-40 a month to telescum for a landline, but thats as good as it gets.

:whocares:

Karma

18th October 2006, 07:32

No one in NZ has broadband Internet connectivity. Just some people who will argue long and loud that they do.

Here comes a dictionary definition;

broadband

<communications> A class of communication channel capable of
supporting a wide range of frequencies, typically from audio
up to video frequencies. A broadband channel can carry
multiple signals by dividing the total capacity into multiple,
independent bandwidth channels, where each channel operates
only on a specific range of frequencies.

The term has come to be used for any kind of Internet (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=internet)
connection with a download (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=download) speed of more than 56 kbps (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=kbps),
usually some kind of Digital Subscriber Line (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=digital%20subscriber%20line), e.g. ADSL (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=adsl).

So where's the bit that says it has to be 2mbps or 5mbps or 10mbps?

paturoa

18th October 2006, 07:44

With XTRA, excellent service and modem hooks up at over 4 meg so get good speed too.

MSTRS

18th October 2006, 07:44

Broadband. Isn't everyone?:dodge: My telephone is still dial-up tho.:innocent:

Jantar

18th October 2006, 07:51

hi taz

still on dial up .. due to being on a "mini exchange" & rural .. :bye:
+1

And there is a large proportion of the country who can't get BB.

Motig

18th October 2006, 07:55

Xtra broadband which hopefully will be a lot better after the 26th. 5gb with 2 kids doesnt take long to disappear! The pricing of the others which all seem to be similar plus the fact I dont think you can get some of them in Oamaru means stating with xtra. Plus memories of changing to a cheaper dial up option a few years ago and discovering half the time you couldnt even connect so staying with what I can rely on.

paturoa

18th October 2006, 08:02

+1

And there is a large proportion of the country who can't get BB.

not true any more..

Just with Telecom over 95% of the population can access DSL based BB and there is wireless for a bunch more see http://www.telecom.co.nz/chm/0,5123,203313-202469,00.html

...and other providers like woops (Woosh) have been paid millions from the gubbermint to provide coverage too

James Deuce

18th October 2006, 08:06

Here comes a dictionary definition;

broadband

<communications> A class of communication channel capable of
supporting a wide range of frequencies, typically from audio
up to video frequencies. A broadband channel can carry
multiple signals by dividing the total capacity into multiple,
independent bandwidth channels, where each channel operates
only on a specific range of frequencies.

The term has come to be used for any kind of </communications>Internet (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=internet)
connection with a download (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=download) speed of more than 56 kbps (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=kbps),
usually some kind of Digital Subscriber Line (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=digital%20subscriber%20line), e.g. ADSL (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=adsl).

So where's the bit that says it has to be 2mbps or 5mbps or 10mbps?

By definition Telecom have defeated the Dictionary definition of Broadband.

In case you haven't been paying attention, our major Telco owns the infrastructure and decides how traffic is managed, often to the detriment of the ISPs forced to use their service.

Yes, your gear may be capable of dividing traffic into multiple independent channels, using multiple signal, but at the points where NZ interfaces with the rest of the world, or even rural telephone switches, we are limited by physical hardware as to the number and type of concurrent connections that can be supported.

VOIP, Internet gaming, and lately International DNS replication (query the forward lookup zones on a couple of different ISPs and gag at the different responses.) are all unreliable services in the NZ environment, due to the arbitrary way Telecom chops those signals up to suit its lousy infrastructure.

I'm not discussing "speed" (it isn't actually speed, but volume measured as chunks of bandwidth. Us humans perceive it as speed). I'm commenting on the inability of our infrastructure to meet the requirements of the definition of Broadband. I was installing "Broadband" in 1986, that included multiple addressing protocols, data streams both analogue and digital, CATV, proprietary building management protocols, lift controls, and security systems. Within the bounds of a single building of course. I kinda know how it should work. It doesn't work that way in NZ, It shouldn't be sold as "Broadband". TelstraSaturn cable is the only service that comes close.

James Deuce

18th October 2006, 08:08

Squeak the Rat

18th October 2006, 08:16

I've got an album by the Dixie Chicks. That's a real Broad Band.

Actually I don't I just wanted to be a smart arse

Where is the option for "I don't even have a computer at home"? Or "I use a wireless device when not at work"?

sAsLEX

18th October 2006, 08:28

I find the ten gigs on my present connection limiting.

Need to find one with either unlimited or free National traffic, which is funny since I joined this wireless company at greater expense due to the unlimited plan i joined on, but they changed that out fuckers.....

Lil_Byte

18th October 2006, 08:40

No one on DSL in New Zealand has broad band, just faster than dial up. The crock of s*** that Telecom calls broadband belongs somewhere in a 3rd world country. Actually I think the 3rd world countrys do better.

Just a thought for the day

if a dukedom is ruled by a Duke
a Kingdom by a king
a pricipality by a prince

why are we called a cuntry :Punk:

bobsmith

18th October 2006, 08:45

All plans currently offered in NZ sucks.. All of them within a reasonable price range (ie less than $100 a month) has their upload capped to 128kbps which very much limits what you can use your connection for. I has to be the most frustrating thing on the earth for "power users"

Sure you have a lot of bandwitch for download but the 128kbps upload soon gets congested with any upload you maybe doing and if you're connecting multiple servers at a time it soon gets congested with overheads etc...

For me, the major issue with the broadband has been the very very low cap on upload speed and the small data cap. I'm currently on ihug 2mbit plan with 10Gb peak and 10Gb off peak. Since I use up my 10Gb usually within a couple of weeks having that off peak data before it gets capped is fairly important though I would not go for any less peak data. you can't get this plan any more though, instead for the same price now you're getting the 5Gb/10Gb plan with 3.5mbps download speed... They used to advertise that as "fast as" just don't see how they got away with it. The download line can usually take more speed in inner city areas and the upload is still capped at 128kbps...

And your computer is as secure as YOU make it. your ISP has nothing to do with it. (except for isps like telecom who might offer their customers false deception of security and make them complacent about security) I would boycott telecom for as much as I can without losing money due to my issues with their business practice (ie monopoly) and their supposed "ownership" of the copper lines which should never have been "theirs" to start with. Half the reason why new zealand telecommunication system is so third world is due to the telecom monopoly in the past.. let's hope the unbundling will solve "some" problems. (well it's still only a partial unbundling so I don't see much happening yet.... :( )

The Tazman

18th October 2006, 09:06

Thank you all for your comments, information on how it is over hear and taking the time to vote.

I never had BB in the UK but some of my friends did and I was sure back then (a few years ago) that things were better there then they are here now.

I think I'll wait and see what happens on the 26th and hope that they start moving into the 21st century :D

Cheers

Taz

Transalper

18th October 2006, 09:25

I don't think you'll find what happens on the 26th will make sweet f.all difference to the home user. My plan with the 5gig data cap will still cost the same, just my download speed is supposed to be raised to max available for my line, but even now it never seems to get to the 3.5mb download i payed for. (Xtra Explorer Plan (http://jetstream.xtra.co.nz/chm/0,8763,204548-203090,00.html))
Although if i take a drop to 2gig cap then it looks like i could get max 'upload' and 'download' speed for my line for the same $50 per month

Paul in NZ

18th October 2006, 09:45

I tried to get BB....

The nice man at telstra rang me and since I have cable TV already made me a great offer. I explained that I have an older PC with no either net card and the house has a concrete floor foundation and all the problems that their installers have had in the past - he appologised and admitted that in the past, some of the sub contractors they had used were not quite up to snuff but that he would send around a superior a grade technical type dude and all would be good...

hmmmm...

Well the guy rang to confirm the appointment and arrived on time.

Him... 'Oh you have a concrete pad foundation'

me (sigh)

Him.. No worries, I can run the cable down the outside of the house and finish it off with a nice piece of T cap....

me - no, thats not acceptable and showed him how the other guy had done it.

Him.. Oh - you have an old PC

me - yeees.... It runs windows 98 version 2

Him - oh - that could be a problem...

me - I know, I did ask...

Him - yeah we have a real problem with the sales guys eh...

In short - wasted a day shagging about and if i want broadband I need to run my own cables down the wall or replace my PC with a laptop and put in a wireless router. Frankly I wondered why I bothered with the useless pricks. Everything is outsourced and paid at a bit rate. They won't go the extra mile to help you out because they will loose money. I even offered to help run the cable or pay extra but nah - not interested.

screw them - they are ALL useless leeches.

Jantar

18th October 2006, 10:12

not true any more..

Just with Telecom over 95% of the population can access DSL based BB and there is wireless for a bunch more see http://www.telecom.co.nz/chm/0,5123,203313-202469,00.html

...and other providers like woops (Woosh) have been paid millions from the gubbermint to provide coverage too

I know that's what Telecom claim, and I am in the area they claim has full coverage, yet because I live more than 6km away from the exchange They can't provide. Nor can they provide any of the hundred or so subscribers who live between Clyde and Omakau, yet they still count us as being in the 95% of the population who are covered. As for wireless? Yes it is available at a price, but my neighbour who tried it quickly went back to dial up. Wireless out here is just so much slower than dial-up that it can hardly be called broadband.

Pixie

18th October 2006, 11:16

Broadband. Isn't everyone?:dodge: My telephone is still dial-up tho.:innocent:

Well no, genius,24% aren't

MSTRS

18th October 2006, 11:28

Well no, genius,24% aren't

... [*CHOMP*] ...

Flyingpony

18th October 2006, 11:30

Still on dialup.

Disco Dan

18th October 2006, 11:43

Broadband, Woosh.

Very impressed with their service!

And you can use the modem within 50km of your house (basically most of auckland) - so i just grab the modem and plug it into the laptop and sit at the beach, coffee shop wherever i like :)

Plus the whole wireless thing is great, just find the best spot in your house to get the best signal and connect it to wireless router, bobs your uncle, fannys your aunt and you got wireless broadband network throughout your whole house! ...luvly :sunny:

speights_bud

18th October 2006, 12:56

I know that's what Telecom claim, and I am in the area they claim has full coverage, yet because I live more than 6km away from the exchange They can't provide. Nor can they provide any of the hundred or so subscribers who live between Clyde and Omakau, yet they still count us as being in the 95% of the population who are covered. As for wireless? Yes it is available at a price, but my neighbour who tried it quickly went back to dial up. Wireless out here is just so much slower than dial-up that it can hardly be called broadband.

Ditto, only costs us about $90 a month if we want broadband here, satellite is the only option and that just download, uploading is still dial up speed.

Lias

18th October 2006, 15:55

Have been on broadband for about 6-7 years now.. I think I'd cry if I had to go back to dialup.

Started off with saturn cable when I was livign in wellington (Chello was the shizzle! 512down, 128 up and no data caps!) then Chello pulled out of NZ because we leeched them to death, and we had to move to parasite.net cable which was slower, crappier, and had data caps. Ever since I moved to hamilton I've lived on the various forms of DSL.

Beemer

18th October 2006, 15:59

I was on dialup for almost five years and coped okay, although it was a pain how long the pages took to load and receiving emails with photos in them was a nightmare. Tying up the phone line was also annoying.

We live in the country and couldn't get broadband until earlier this year. I am on the basic Xtra plan - $39.95 for 1GB per month. I have never gone over the 1GB but others say that is hardly anything so not worth having! It is only 12 times the speed of dialup due to our crappy connection and cabling, but it is like the speed of light as far as I'm concerned. One site I used to visit took 11 minutes to open (and it's just the Photographic Society of NZ!) and on BB it took 11 seconds!

I went with Xtra because they were offering a free modem and free connection but I can't wait until the year is up (fixed term contract too) when I can go back to Paradise. I have dumped all but my main Xtra email address because I was getting upwards of 30 spam emails a day! And most of it was to addresses I had never used!

I had to revert to dialup (have kept the Paradise dialup on at the lowest $10 for 10 hours plan to keep my email addresses) last weekend when the BB connection went down and it was SOOOOO slow I gave up in the end! It takes me about five minutes tops to check my webmail with BB but it was taking about half an hour on dialup.

terbang

18th October 2006, 16:10

Out here in the sticks we are lucky to get dial up..

Beemer

18th October 2006, 16:15

Out here in the sticks we are lucky to get dial up..

Don't worry, we used to get a massive speed of 24kbps if we were lucky! And every time it rains we lose the phone line anyway...

paturoa

18th October 2006, 17:54

I know that's what Telecom claim, and I am in the area they claim has full coverage, yet because I live more than 6km away from the exchange They can't provide. Nor can they provide any of the hundred or so subscribers who live between Clyde and Omakau, yet they still count us as being in the 95% of the population who are covered.

ahem - I'll come out of the "telecom closet"

Mate, with all respect that is a load of bollocks - if you can show me anywhere on offical Telecom stuff where your house is in the 95%, I'll give you $100.

First up go here http://www.telecom.co.nz/chm/0,8763,204576-202570,00.html?nv=sd and have a read.

paturoa

18th October 2006, 17:57

What a load of cock.

Ever used a DSL connection on a pair shared (at the Exchange end) connection over what used to be a party line? Which happens to be the norm for practically every rural exchange/subscriber setup.

Dial-Up is faster.

Mate, x2 for the what a load of....

SPman

18th October 2006, 18:05

Out here in the sticks we are lucky to get dial up..
Dial Up !
Luxury!
We get a dyslexic kangaroo with a slate and no chalk.....

paturoa

18th October 2006, 18:07

Dial Up !
Luxury!
We get a dyslexic kangaroo with a slate and no chalk.....

and then you run the bloody thing over!

Jantar

18th October 2006, 20:55

ahem - I'll come out of the "telecom closet"

Mate, with all respect that is a load of bollocks - if you can show me anywhere on offical Telecom stuff where your house is in the 95%, I'll give you $100.

First up go here http://www.telecom.co.nz/chm/0,8763,204576-202570,00.html?nv=sd and have a read.
Yep, been there done that and it tells me that my phone line is inconclusive and to ring Telecom for a more comlete test. The Telecom techs call back and tell me that No, Broadband is not available for my location. yet the pamplet that Telecom sent around a couple of months ago shows that my area is covered. I can't show you the pamplet because I've tossed it.

The Telecom call center tells me that Broadband is available for my location, but again the telecom tech says it isn't.

Satch

18th October 2006, 21:01

Ihug Broadband!!, what a pain in the arse!! so many problems so little up time!! At least there giving me refunds for all there fukups

paturoa

18th October 2006, 21:19

..And there is a large proportion of the country who can't get BB.

where are you now on that one?

....and I am in the area they claim has full coverage...

Availability. It's important to know that Xtra Broadband is not available on all phone lines. So, while broadband might be available in your area, we can't guarantee that it's available on your phone line or what your connection speed will be when you sign-up.

I'm missing something here...

...I can't show you the pamplet because I've tossed it

Thats cool, I'll leave my $100 offer on the table. Maybe some other KBer can send you the pamphlet that claims full coverage, so you can collect. Wake me up when that happens:zzzz:

You may well have been put crook from a conversation from a call centre rep, that does happen, no-one is perfect. If you want to have a rant about poor service then I wont even reach for my keyboard, but, mate you're wrong.

NighthawkNZ

18th October 2006, 22:29

They still have dial up?????? :gob:

Ruralman

19th October 2006, 15:21

+1

And there is a large proportion of the country who can't get BB.

I exhausted all available avenues to get broadband and in the end had to go for the satellite service - same issues as others in many rural locations. Too far from exchange without major cabinet upgrade, can't get wireless because we don't have line of sight to the BCL transmitter, cell phone reception poor..........
OUr dial up speed used to be between 19-26bps.
My satellite connection gives me 256Kbps download and 128Kbps upload. Cost is basically $100/month for a 3 year contract which includes the dish and all the stuff inside the house.
Unfortunately the upload isn't fast enough to run a Skype phone without a delay of about 2.5 seconds - this is a real bugger as the potential savings in toll calls was a potential attraction. Have a mate nearby who has upgraded to the 256 upload which runs skype just fine, he gets massive download but it costs $180/month. They make a lot of international calls so it is worth it for them

SPman

19th October 2006, 16:50

In Auckland I was on Slingshots 3G plan and it was fine - extra 3G for $5 if you went over your cap and downloads were always around 1.9 - 2.05!

Then I moved to the bush......

hXc

19th October 2006, 17:11

No one in NZ has broadband Internet connectivity. Just some people who will argue long and loud that they do.

Not entirely true, my friend. A computer nerd fella at school has 100mbit internet from this datacentre in Auckland. It's 12.5mb/s but...it's $150 a month.

James Deuce

19th October 2006, 17:57

Not entirely true, my friend. A computer nerd fella at school has 100mbit internet from this datacentre in Auckland. It's 12.5mb/s but...it's $150 a month.

I rest my case. It's entirely true. If he was using a service that required 20Mb/s of bandwidth, he's automatically failed.

hXc

19th October 2006, 17:58

I rest my case. It's entirely true. If he was using a service that required 20Mb/s of bandwidth, he's automatically failed.
Me no speak computer language.

MSTRS

19th October 2006, 18:12

Me no speak computer language.

Simple maths - 12.5mB does not equal 20mB does not equal 100mB

Mooch

19th October 2006, 20:13

Grantasaurus

19th October 2006, 20:36

Got the same XTRA plan... But Telecom pays for me.

Hooray for perks.....

The Tazman

19th October 2006, 22:40

Have the xtra 3.5 meg down / 128 k up 10 gig plan with 10 meg mail storage
Cost $60

When I was in london ealier this year had

BT 2 meg download / 512k upload 20 gig plan with 2 gig mail storage
Cost $67 nz , however , if you downloaded from overseas you could actually get 2meg downloads unlike xtra which will often drops down to 512k or lower.

I'd love to know the NZ oversubscription ratio for international traffic.

So they had a capped rate of 20GB per month over there? I was sure that some of the people I knew over there just used to leave there comps running all night down loading movies, music etc!!!

I see the upload is 4x faster than here, which is what a few have said in this thread that sucks here. Lets hope we get some improvements later in the month.

Once again thanks to all of you that have replied. I have found it quite interesting seeing what people have to say and the fact that so many of you are on BB. (although that is debateable after what was said in a couple of posts :D)

Thanks again for taking the time.

Taz