Can these DH's just turn up unannounced when youre not home and just install a box wherever they want?
They sure can - and they do. The initial connection is just to the outside of the house - nobody needs to be home (other than maybe gates/dogs etc)
According to the NBN website, my place is "ready to connect to an NBN powered plan". This is despite our property being rural and no sign of any infrastructure works within 20km of our area. Well, that's not entirely true; I do see a NBN ute parked outside a house when I drive through Ocean Grove.
Our current internet connection is dodgy at best, but without improved infrastructure, be it fibre to the node or Malcolm's 100mbps connection on the hybrid fibre coaxial network, there's no benefit in signing up to an imaginary NBN.
I'm certainly in no hurry to go NBN as our current service is OK for my needs. NBN will be available to us next year if you can believe the blurb and as I understand it the move is pretty much forced upon you? Anyway, another box to be added to the current collection on the outside wall of my study I guess. More boxes than Visy.
I've only ever had one problem, after about a year the fibre failed because of a kink somewhere out in the street side, they fixed it within 48hrs.
Other than that NBN wise I've had no problems, I have the full setup, backup battery, fibre phone, and 100Mbps. So other than the one incident we never lose an internet connection because of the NBN, if there are problems it's always related to one of the ISPs having a problem.
I notice our NBN modem has the Telstra Air Hotspot enabled, people with Telstra accounts can use a direct WiFi connection to the NBN modem without using our bandwidth. Apparently this is now standard practice for all FTTP connections that have Fibre Phone enabled. Our mobiles are mostly Telstra, so if our ISP has a problem our mobiles hotspot to the Telstra Air connection which runs off the backup battery.
By the way, if you get FTTP then pay the upfront free to be uncontracted, you can mix and match phone and internet providers to get the best deal. It doesn't all have to be with the one provider, it was a big saving for me because we have multiple phone lines.
One thing, the bandwidth is variable, in the evening when everyone is streaming you will find the connection speed drops but it's rarely below 45mbps and usually sits around 70Mbps which is still at least six times faster than my old connection. At low demand time it averages up around 90Mbps.
Congrats on getting in when the going was as it was intended. I currently have cable and get about 35mbs 24/7. Our NBN connection will be through HFC, which has already been stuffed up, so we are no longer NBN ready.
The other HFC joke is that current plans show a slower (and not guaranteed) speed for what we are paying now or even a bit more. I will be changing over at the last possible second.
Ever since it was changed from fttp to fttn it has and will continue to be a joke, farce and detriment to our country.
Technically there is no reason why HFC cannot be gigabit rates, the reason is the very short cable runs from the fibre node. The limits placed on it are artificial, more to do with ISP provisioning than anything else.
While fibre could be multi-gigbit rates, it's unlikely anyone really sees a benefit as the server side will never have the bandwidth to deliver gigabit rates to many users.
The thing that I cannot understand, is why is 4G and 5G wireless so expensive here? It rubbish, it's the cheapest roll-out option for the telcos and yet they charge the most!
According to the NBN website, my place is "ready to connect to an NBN powered plan". This is despite our property being rural and no sign of any infrastructure works within 20km of our area. Well, that's not entirely true; I do see a NBN ute parked outside a house when I drive through Ocean Grove.
Our current internet connection is dodgy at best, but without improved infrastructure, be it fibre to the node or Malcolm's 100mbps connection on the hybrid fibre coaxial network, there's no benefit in signing up to an imaginary NBN.
You live near Geelong?
I'm with iiNet with their "Rocketfast Cable". Because that's fast broadband I don't have to get the NBN.
Our old telstra ADSL 2 speedtested at 3 mb/s.
Our new TPG NBN is usually 95mb/s +
My Optus cable is always in the 80s and 90s
Our old telstra ADSL 2 speedtested at 3 mb/s.
Our new TPG NBN is usually 95mb/s +
That's normal for NBN FTTP connections, the media outrage is mostly sponsored by Telstra wanting to defend it's copper monopoly and justify Malcolm's backflip!
What the NBN is genuinely piss-weak at doing is getting the real message out!
The other stupid fact, fibre has so much potential if it isn't choked by the ISP lack of provisioning, the main problem the NBN has is that ISPs refuse to purchase enough CVC(connectivity virtual circuit). The ISP wants to pay as little as possible for bandwidth, and CVC purchase determines the ISP's capability during peak periods. It's all about minimising expenses and maximising income, buy the bare minimum acceptable and sell it for as much as possible!
Our government is gutless, most countries have rules about the minimum levels of service and provisioning an ISP can provide, but not Australia or the USA, it's all about shareholder profit here and there!
You live near Geelong?
I'm with iiNet with their "Rocketfast Cable". Because that's fast broadband I don't have to get the NBN.
Are you familiar with Curlewis Winery Jim? Well, that’s not us but we’re very close :)
NBN has just advised that Fixed Wireless access is now available in our area. The brochure provided is non-committal on internet speeds and does point out that we may have to look at alternatives if we can’t receive a good quality signal. Why am I not surprised?
Are you familiar with Curlewis Winery Jim? Well, that’s not us but we’re very close :)
NBN has just advised that Fixed Wireless access is now available in our area. The brochure provided is non-committal on internet speeds and does point out that we may have to look at alternatives if we can’t receive a good quality signal. Why am I not surprised?
In general, unless you are very close to the exchange tor transmission tower, there won't be much difference between fixed wireless and ADSL2/2+ performance. Typical 4G broadband pegs at about 10Mbs/1Mbs for the average user, which is about the same as ADSL2/2+ at an average distance from the exchange.
NBN Fixed Wireless is based on LTE / 4G and can exceed 20Mbs but is still sensitive to distance and weather. If you are close enough to the transmission tower you could get 50Mbs/5Mbs, but most likely you should get about 20Mbs/5Mbs, both these figures are likely to exceed ADSL2/2+.
The advantage of wireless is that it's not affected by the condition of the copper, the disadvantage is that it's affected by obstacles like buildings, large trees, tin roofs and weather, in particular large line of sight trees when it's windy and wet, because the wet shimmering leaves cause reflections that create multiple pathways between the antennas, called jitter. To overcome that jitter the rate of data transmission has to be reduced so bandwidth fails dramatically.
If you are interested in learning more take a look at this thread on Whirlpool, some of it is obsolete but it's a good general outline.
http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/highlights_from_the__fixed_wireless_discussion__nbn___thread
Just tested my broadband earlier and clocked it at 18mbs. It seems fine for everything I want to do including streaming video (Netflix, AFL Live app etc.). Is this comparable to what others are getting? I'm not on NBN, just a normal cable broadband bundle.
Just tested my broadband earlier and clocked it at 18mbs. It seems fine for everything I want to do including streaming video (Netflix, AFL Live app etc.). Is this comparable to what others are getting? I'm not on NBN, just a normal cable broadband bundle.
NBN Fibre or HFC(Hybrid Fibre Coaxial)?
Regardless, for both the rate is controlled by the deal from your ISP.
Typically a 25Mbps plan is the minimum speed plan, and that will give you about the speeds you report. As I understand it they will be forced to upgrade you to 50Mbps without increasing your contract fees in the near future, some legislative change by the Feds. At that time you should find a speed boost to around 33Mbps which is typical.
The main difference from speed variations is noticed during live broadcasts, as live broadcasts are not normally compressed to the same level as replays or movies. Usually after broadcast the servers archive and compress the broadcast, they will then stream more reliably, that happens about 24hrs after an event. I believe one problem we have in Melbourne is that both Ch.7 and Ch.9 have chosen to anchor their servers in Sydney, which is why we are affected by bandwidth issues in Victoria.
Check the www.whirlpool.net site out, it will have a forum thread specific to your own provider and you can get better more specific advice there.
If you want to you can use www.speedtest.net to examine your speed, and at the end of the test fill in the details to get results relative to other users in your area, and also relative to those using the same ISP.
@LP Yes, as I said its non-NBN cable atm, I think it was the cable previously installed a few years ago by Telstra. The speed reading I quoted was measured via speedtest.
Food for thought.
We have come a very long way in 15 years.
I understand change can seem glacial, but in that time we have gone from token "broadband" adsl connections, which delivered not quick speeds and needed to be lucky to get it, to broadband in almost every home.
Food for thought.
We have come a very long way in 15 years.
I understand change can seem glacial, but in that time we have gone from token "broadband" adsl connections, which delivered not quick speeds and needed to be lucky to get it, to broadband in almost every home.
I think South Korea may have come a bit further, along with some other Asian countries.
@LP Yes, as I said its non-NBN cable atm, I think it was the cable previously installed a few years ago by Telstra. The speed reading I quoted was measured via speedtest.
Yes, broadband over cable TV Telstra/Foxtel or Optus can be fibre or HFC, technically there is no difference between this and NBN equivalents, it's the actual equipment attached at either end that matters and how they manage the service. NBN HFC is really the new version of the Foxtel cable, in some regions I believe NBN take over the old Foxtel cable connections if they previously existed, but I'm not 100% sure about this as I believe they are scheduled for replacement.
Actually, I'd think 18Mbps is a little slow if you are on Cable(TV), but they do also throttle that service subject to system load. So you might find no problem streaming yet get a larger slowing of file download speed during streaming, they can pick and choose speeds for different protocols using ACLs or proxy delay pools. On your home Router this would be QoS, which is a variant of traffic control for voice and data.
I believe the Foxtel / Optus type connections give priority to streaming content over other downloads. If you wanted to learn about that search for Squid Delay Pools, but I wouldn't do it to yourself voluntarily! ;D
Yes, broadband over cable TV Telstra/Foxtel or Optus can be fibre or HFC, technically there is no difference between this and NBN equivalents, it's the actual equipment attached at either end that matters and how they manage the service. NBN HFC is really the new version of the Foxtel cable, in some regions I believe NBN take over the old Foxtel cable connections if they previously existed, but I'm not 100% sure about this as I believe they are scheduled for replacement.
Actually, I'd think 18Mbps is a little slow if you are on Cable(TV), but they do also throttle that service subject to system load. So you might find no problem streaming yet get a larger slowing of file download speed during streaming, they can pick and choose speeds for different protocols using ACLs or proxy delay pools. On your home Router this would be QoS, which is a variant of traffic control for voice and data.
I believe the Foxtel / Optus type connections give priority to streaming content over other downloads. If you wanted to learn about that search for Squid Delay Pools, but I wouldn't do it to yourself voluntarily! ;D
Thanks for all of that. I get good enough performance most of the time, so bottom line I guess is that the service is adequate. And suffice to know that line speed/performance is only a part of the full picture as far as overall performance is concerned.
Cookie, 18mbps for cable is pretty slow, however, depending what you use internet for you may not notice speed differences.
My brother and I live in opposite sides of Glen Waverley - he has Optus cable, I have Telstra cable. Optus speeds are much slower as they don't buy the bandwidth and let it "get full". He gets 18 mbps regularly and is affected at peak times. I do speed tests and don't drop below 33mbps.
There are other factors that affect speed as well, including what junk is sitting on your machine chewing up memory and CPU space.
Equipment does make a difference - my brother has a new modem and top end cable through his house, so it doesn't slow things down too much. It is fine for him and he is downloading films a lot.
Cookie, 18mbps for cable is pretty slow, however, depending what you use internet for you may not notice speed differences.
My brother and I live in opposite sides of Glen Waverley - he has Optus cable, I have Telstra cable. Optus speeds are much slower as they don't buy the bandwidth and let it "get full". He gets 18 mbps regularly and is affected at peak times. I do speed tests and don't drop below 33mbps.
There are other factors that affect speed as well, including what junk is sitting on your machine chewing up memory and CPU space.
Equipment does make a difference - my brother has a new modem and top end cable through his house, so it doesn't slow things down too much. It is fine for him and he is downloading films a lot.
Thanks D. That statement made me think about it a bit. The first test I did (18mbps) was on my Android tablet via my wifi range extender. I then tried on my Android phone and got 5Mbps via the range extender. Tried that again direct to the modem and got 22Mbps! Then tried on my W10 laptop direct to modem and got 37Mbps! Finally tried the Android tablet again direct tp modem and got 36 mbps. So I guess the lesson is clear! This is on Telstra cable broadband (non-NBN) btw.
I think South Korea may have come a bit further, along with some other Asian countries.
Are any of them firstly on their own continent, secondly even half the size with similar population density, and thirdly coming from as far back as we were where dial up was still a thing in the year 2000?
Thanks D. That statement made me think about it a bit. The first test I did (18mbps) was on my Android tablet via my wifi range extender. I then tried on my Android phone and got 5Mbps via the range extender. Tried that again direct to the modem and got 22Mbps! Then tried on my W10 laptop direct to modem and got 37Mbps! Finally tried the Android tablet again direct tp modem and got 36 mbps. So I guess the lesson is clear! This is on Telstra cable broadband (non-NBN) btw.
Your WiFi has the same constraints as Wireless NBN, it's affected by reflections, line of sight obstructions, etc., etc..
Generally in a house having the WiFi router antenna as high as possible is a good idea. On some modem routers the antenna are detachable and you can purchase after market antenna that has extension cables. Keep in mind, you might have foil lagging/insulation, metal stud walls, fridges, TV's ovens or microwaves in your line of sight which cause interference and reflections. Newer modems and hardware switch to 5GHz band from the 2.4GHz wireless band, many do both to maintain support for older devices, to eliminate some of these interference effects 5GHz is excellent. Newer phones, tablets and PCs will support 5GHz by default.
Another issue is how many devices you have connected at once, even if they are not all being used they influence the WiFi router stability. The Telstra TV and other similar boxes are good for about 8 to 16 devices maximum, this is because the routers use a version of those ACLs I discussed earlier but they do so on very low powered CPU hardware. If you have many devices and want better performance you can plug a more commercial grade AP into an wired port and support many more devices. It's amazing when you start adding up phones, tablets, laptops, TVs, game consoles, PVRs, eReaders, etc., etc, how many smart devices you can have, people often underestimate the count.
That reminds me, game consoles have a huge impact on performance, they want low latency connections so they aggressively keep live connections, and if they are running off WiFi they hog the WiFi with thousands of requests even though they are not using that much WAN bandwidth on average. If possible put game consoles on a wired connection, it's a cheap and easy way to try and improve performance.
Depending how old your WiFi router is you could look at an upgrade to 802.11ac, but it's only worth doing so if your devices also support the same level of protocol. I think if you are only using the Telstra TV Box they are doing upgrades anyway as part of renewing the subscriptions, you should ask your local Telstra shop about this because I know the old Telstra TV boxes are not going to be compatible with many new Apps. I think they re doing this deliberately to force people to upgrade.
If the Range Extender you talk about is a Wireless Extender / Booster, they always diminish overall performance because they open a dedicated connection to the main router and consume a lot of the available bandwidth. Think of it as adding extra hoses to a single tap. If you can you it will always be better to connect a Wireless AP (Access Point) to a wired port and place the Wireless AP in a more central location.
Finally, do not bother spending too much money trying to get your WiFi working at the same speed as your wired Ethernet connections. It is possible but hardware to do so it usually outside of domestic budgets and it requires a lot of tuning to make it happen reliably, you have to know about things like aggregation and edge routing.
@LP
Thanks LP. I'm reasonably happy with the service I get for what I need. I don't think it would be worth any major investment to try for improvements atm. I was just curious as to what is actually going on.
@LP
Thanks LP. I'm reasonably happy with ExpressVPN (https://www.timesunion.com/marketplace/article/expressvpn-review-17408299.php) and the service I get for what I need. I don't think it would be worth any major investment to try for improvements atm. I was just curious as to what is actually going on.
Seems about right to me too. That's what I'm getting as well with the basic plan. It's enough for most users imo. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have better Internet.