I hate Telecom

[swanman]

Long time not been on this site. Helloooo everybody!

Anyway. I have been trying to cut as many costs as possible in my monthly budget, so I can afford to pay some monthly payments on an another bike, and have come accross my telecom bill.

I pay 100 odd bucks a month for basic of 20gb download and half of that is for line rental.

Now we all know the line rental is a total rip off, so how can I get round this? Is it VOIP or something similar. Is there a better provider (I am sure there is). How do I avoid this line rental but still have a phone to call people on, and keep a decent amount of broadband to download stuff on?

Any ideas (nothing too geeky, mind) please lemme know.

Swannie

[sil3nt]

Naked DSL is what you want. Will do a search for some info.

[sil3nt]

Ok so from a quick search your best options are:

http://www.snap.net.nz/home/naked-dsl/
http://www.kiwilink.co.nz/broadband/naked-dsl.php
http://www.slingshot.co.nz/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=999&tabid=30&subnav=1
http://www.xnet.co.nz/fusion/

You will need to spend a couple of hundred on a new router and possibly new phone. I would personally go with xnet as you can choose how much data you use or you can just pay for what you use (good if you dont use much).

I don't know a lot about how it all works and the charges associated with phone calls but if you don't use your phone that much and don't use too much data each month then you could save quite a bit of money.

[dipshit]

Rats. They don't look that much cheaper than what i am paying for phone/broadband with telecom. Maybe save $10 or $15 a month. (unless i will count as rural)

Then as i have experienced before... you end up getting the runaround between your provider and telecom if you have any problems. The new provider will tell you it is a telecom line problem... and telecom will tell you that is your provider's problem. Things can become a right royal pain in the arse if anything goes wrong.

Hardly worth it to only save only $10

[swanman]

Cheers for your thoughts. I reckon if i can save $50 a month that'd be good news for a replacement bike.

[YellowDog]

I thought VooDooFone did such a deal, but it is way too pricey.

[BuFfY]

Orcon do an unbundled deal, so you don't need a phone line. I think they start at $80 for like 20 g or something? Have a look on their website

[scracha]

Orcon do an unbundled deal, so you don't need a phone line. I think they start at $80 for like 20 g or something? Have a look on their website

$80 for 20gig...hardly a deal. They're government owned anyhoo.

20gig...what is this...1998 or something?

[Gremlin]

If you want to be able to call people on the line, and have broadband, then line rental is required.

If you don't need to call people, then yes, you can get naked DSL, subject to being within certain areas, and if you have moved since I last saw ya, you probably won't be.

Remember one thing tho. There is still a phone line for naked DSL, it just doesn't have a phone number assigned to it and since the phone side isn't hooked up, it can't be used for calling.

Naked DSL will be more expensive than normal broadband (for plan) but when you put line rental on normal broadband, naked DSL is a little cheaper.

[Forest]

If you want to be able to call people on the line, and have broadband, then line rental is required.

If you don't need to call people, then yes, you can get naked DSL, subject to being within certain areas, and if you have moved since I last saw ya, you probably won't be.

Remember one thing tho. There is still a phone line for naked DSL, it just doesn't have a phone number assigned to it and since the phone side isn't hooked up, it can't be used for calling.

Naked DSL will be more expensive than normal broadband (for plan) but when you put line rental on normal broadband, naked DSL is a little cheaper.

If you have naked DSL installed, you can run VOIP over it with no dramas. The VOIP line will have it's own dedicated number and can be used to make or receive calls.

You can even use regular analogue telephones with VOIP if you install an ATA. The phone will behave exactly as though it is a fixed line.

The only downside is that a DSL outage will also take your VOIP service down. This may be an issue if you need a phone for emergency services.

[mynameis]

$80 for 20gig...hardly a deal. They're government owned anyhoo.

20gig...what is this...1998 or something?

Not everyone downloads porn...
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Some just get it off mates

[swanman]

If you have naked DSL installed, you can run VOIP over it with no dramas. The VOIP line will have it's own dedicated number and can be used to make or receive calls.

You can even use regular analogue telephones with VOIP if you install an ATA. The phone will behave exactly as though it is a fixed line.

The only downside is that a DSL outage will also take your VOIP service down. This may be an issue if you need a phone for emergency services.

Yes this is the option I am looking for. I have looked closely at the orcon naked thing and seems the best for GB and for price, but they don't offer any VOIP service. So would I have to get a VOIP service from somewhere else at another cost? Or how about skype is that a real world alternative?

[imne1]

I have Woosh wifi which is $60 a month for 20 gigs, its often quite slow though (ie. struggles to buffer youtube faster than it can play) and then i have a telescum prepay mobile which lives at home to serve as the landline, this costs zero dollars a month, I use my 021 mobile for everything else.

Vodafone 'redzone' is another option, they do some pretty sweet packages of mobile/home/internet (remember they bought and ate iHug) so check that out, sadly for me they dont provide it for welly yet.


..also Skype is a good Voip alternative if you do alot of calling from home.

[geoffm]

Whatever you do - avoid Slingshot = slingshit
Slow, unreliable, and customer "service" that relates more to the agricultural definition of service than anything...
Geoff

[vifferman]

We were with Xtra YEARS ago, and have since been with oodles of different providers, some of which are long since defunct.
Been with ihug (now Vodafone) for yonx. They're possibly not the best, but I couldn't be bothered switching any more.
$100 a month? Ours is around $200+, but very little (about $40-$60) is for phone. Our monthly bandwidth runs to around 60-70 Gb, about 2 or 3 Mb of which is mine...

[swanman]

Have made my decision I am going with Vodafone, home and broadband. It is the same as what I had with Telecom but $20 cheaper a month.

The VOIP thing is a great idea but the broadband suppliers need to get some better plans around this in order for people like me to be able to take advantage. Whatever, we all know that paying 40-50 bucks a month for line rental is a crime. $600 a year to be able to use a phone, ontop of which you pay for toll calls, a true rip off.

One thing I notice in my research is that all providers of whatever type of plan are keeping a very close eye on each other. What you gain with one hand you loose with the other. More competition and some aggressive market leadership are still needed to get the NZ telecoms market moving in the right direction,.

I am sure it will change, just give it time.

[discotex]

Whatever, we all know that paying 40-50 bucks a month for line rental is a crime. $600 a year to be able to use a phone, ontop of which you pay for toll calls, a true rip off.

Sounds pretty cheap to me given what's involved in providing a phone service.

I'd say Sky is the bigger rip off by a long shot. All that money just to watch shit TV!!

[Deviant]

Have made my decision I am going with Vodafone, home and broadband. It is the same as what I had with Telecom but $20 cheaper a month.

The VOIP thing is a great idea but the broadband suppliers need to get some better plans around this in order for people like me to be able to take advantage. Whatever, we all know that paying 40-50 bucks a month for line rental is a crime. $600 a year to be able to use a phone, ontop of which you pay for toll calls, a true rip off.

One thing I notice in my research is that all providers of whatever type of plan are keeping a very close eye on each other. What you gain with one hand you loose with the other. More competition and some aggressive market leadership are still needed to get the NZ telecoms market moving in the right direction,.

I am sure it will change, just give it time.


Vodafone have crap service.
Orcon has no contracts, so if you don't like it you can leave with no penalties. If you need a modem you can get a free rental- they lend you one as long as you're a customer. If it breaks, they replace it, you just pay shipping. They have won ISP of the year from PC Guide, NZ Herald's customer service survey, TUANZ Telco of the year, the Epitiro report's fastest DSL provider, and loads of other awards.

People give them shit for being a state owned enterprise. The reason they were chosen for purchase is because they are the best in the market, and all the awards above are since the purchase 2 years ago.

[malfunconz]

i was with ihug way back in the begining just supported the brothers but they sold out and ihug not so huggy anymore .

[Laxi]

Not everyone downloads porn...
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Some just get it off mates

or make their own:laugh:

[scracha]

Vodafone have crap service.
Orcon has no contracts, so if you don't like it you can leave with no penalties. If you need a modem you can get a free rental- they lend you one as long as you're a customer. If it breaks, they replace it, you just pay shipping. They have won ISP of the year from PC Guide,
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Well that must have changed as the fuckers charged me a $hitload when I left them 2 months early. I deal with most of the ISP's on a daily basis and Orcon's service has seriously went downhill over the past couple of years (as have Farmside's). Their latest stupid voice prompt call waiting system seems particularly insulting. Another example of a nice little company getting too big and losing their customer focus. Unless you're tied up with mobile phones etc then I'd normally recommend Xnet or Actrix to most peeps.

[Gremlin]

alright alright, I'll wade into bat for Orcon (not that I work for them, I just use them A LOT)

They did indeed suffer growing pains, demand for service was in excess of their predictions etc. Also had issues with the first of the new LLU exchanges.

Currently they do not have contracts on their normal broadband services, and ultimately, the quality of the connection they provide is generally pretty good (line notwithstanding) and contention rates are low. Latency to the exchange is also normally well above (technically below) other providers, with low downtime, and an excellent support team, who, when you get deep into the backend, really know what they are doing.

Vodafone... yes, very missable, don't hear good things about the broadband, often down etc (not using them myself, I can't tell you specifics). Xtra, they just make it too complicated, with too many restrictions re port forwarding etc, and domains not on their network etc. Support team is basic, who will argue on something they know nothing about... :bash:

Slingshot... hahhahahaha

Granted, I am biased, I only deal with Orcon Corporate Support, but a good bunch :yes: