NBN who's happy with theirs?

People who had good ADSL could see no reason for the NBN. This was maybe as much as 50% of active fixed line internet users. The other 50% were unhappy with speed, reliability, choice of providers, or all of the above. And ignores the fact that ADSL (of any kind) was probably only available to 50-60% of the population.

The remainder was made up of those that were unserviced and uninterested, plus a significant number who were unhappy and becoming more and more unhappy as broadband became more and more necessary as well as desirable.

I am happy now since March when speed went from down to 2MBPS to 11.2 at all times of the day.
at 11.2 no dropouts on TV at all.
Only have one TV and 2 computers linked at any time so its quite adequate for me.

Regards Philip A

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PhilipA

I am happy now since March when speed went from down to 2MBPS to 11.2 at all times of the day.
at 11.2 no dropouts on TV at all.
Only have one TV and 2 computers linked at any time so its quite adequate for me.

Regards Philip A

---

I'm getting 9.7 down and 2.7 up through my 4s iPnone on 3G right now....... the only net connection I have.

I'm just a peasant that doesn't like things that don't work as they should.

DL

Satellite NBN - who is best provider? Fastest speed?

There are several suppliers of Satellite NBN - don't call Skymuster, they are useless. Maybe try iinet - who still use the Skymuster Satellites but are easier to deal with. It's not cheap at around $70 per month for 60GB I think. Speeds are pretty **** compared to any other form - around 5MBPS (some claim 20 odd but I've never heard of anyone getting close to this) and it isn't available everywhere either, so you'll need to call them and see if it works for what you need. You can't use it as a roaming service, it is shaped to work at one address only from what I've been told.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Zeros

Satellite NBN - who is best provider? Fastest speed?

---

Satellite NBN is available from about a dozen companies - none of the really big names. Prices are pretty similar for all suppliers, as NBN closely controls how much data is allowed per customer and the conditions.

Because the principal bottleneck on the service is the satellite link, slowdowns and outages are usually beyond the control of the provider. Choices mostly come down to things like plan lock-in time, support etc.

Active8 is the largest, followed, I think, by Skymesh, although I have not checked the numbers lately.

Speeds available (all providers) are 25/5 or 12/2 (nominal maximum.

The points to keep in mind about the Skymuster service:-

1. Like all satellite services using geostationary satellites it has a minimum latency of about 550ms (varies slightly according to your location).

2. NBN mandates that off peak = midnight to 0700, so the large offpeak data allowances usually offered are useless for most people, the only figure that matters is 'anytime' data.

3. Because of NBN restrictions on data quantity per customer (per 28 day period, not per month!) the prices for data quantities (anytime) skyrocket above about 80GB and have a maximum of about 120GB. Some providerss seem to be gaming the NBN restrictions and are offering more, but these are likely to have strings attached or may change without notice if you actually use it.

4. Skymuster has a large number of spot beams covering specific areas of the country, and a very few of these have too many customers for the bandwidth and can get congested at times.

5. The equipment you have at home comprises a dish (usually on the roof and mostly 0.8m diameter although this depends on where you are) and an NTD (Network Termination Device) that sits on the wall and has a power pack that needs a powerpoint. This takes around 30w, which does not sound a lot, but is significant for something that is 'always on'. If switched off, connection time varies from a few minutes to several hours for no obvious reasons.

6. After a rocky start, the system is reasonably reliable, although probably not as reliable as other fixed line services. Some people report regular interruptions due to rain, although in my case these are very rare. Your service can be interrupted by rain (or a fault) at the ground station that provides the other end of your service, which will be nowhere near you - I am in Central West NSW and my ground station is Carnarvon in WA. All Skymuster services connect to your RSP at Eastern Creek in Sydney, and faults have occurred here.

7. While Skymuster can be used for VOIP, and most providers support this, the latency will be disconcerting, and if calling someone also on a satellite service, a significant issue. NBN does not recommend you rely on using this as your only voice connection, but say you should retain your landline (or mobile if available). At least in part this is to provide support - if there is an issue with the connection, and you have no other communication, a site visit will be needed, and if it turns out to be one of the kids turned off the powerpoint or similar, you could get charged for an expensive visit!

8. Installation will be by a subcontractor, hopefully local, and, if straightforward, should take only a few hours. Problems could include your roof type and condition, tall trees or close hills in the wrong place.

I selected Skymesh for my satellite service well before NBN mainly because when I phoned them they were able to support their service with someone who spoke Australian English, and seemed to know what they were talking about. At the time, several of the listed satellite providers either had phone numbers that did not work or failed to return calls. Skymesh has since been sold, but it is to a specialist satellite company. Most of the issues with Skymesh customers relate to non-satellite services, which it got into as a way of growing given the limited number of satellite customers, but does not have the customer base to adequately support, especially as for a lot of places it uses a connection bought from an aggregator.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by garrycol

Got the NBN today, with TPG as the internet provider as they were my old provider and it was just simpler to stay with them.

Went for the 50 plan where they claim typical peak evening speeds are 46Mbps but in the 10 hours I have had the service I have tested it regularly and it is only averaging about 38Mbps irrespective of the time of the day and whether peak or not. Worst has been 27Mbps and the best has been 42Mbps. If they claim 46 at peak times then it should be approaching 50 in non peak but no where near it.
Garry

---

Ok a week later - not getting anywhere near the advertised speed but I guess is a fact of life these days.

Now my landline is not used to make calls and is used just to receive calls from mum etc who do not like ringing my mobile. Previously I had an old telstra analogue phone in the kitchen next to the ADSL2+ for use if the power was out and the rest of the house had telephone extensions through out the house but I had a cordless phone setup with the master as my beside phone/radio and alarm clock.

Today I received my first incoming call on the landline and only the old telstra sounded which is now connected direct to the modem and not the cordless phones - then the :idea: came on - of course with the NBN all functions need to go through my TPG NBN modem that also acts as an NBN box as the raw phone line no longer supports anything.

Immediate thought was that I will need to buy a new cordless phone system with the master in to the modem as my current master is a bedside phone. After thinking about it, I realised I no longer need the emergency telstra phone as the NBN does not work in power outages unless you have an expensive UPS - how the authorities allowed a system in place that you cannot ring 000 in power outages is a bit odd. Also I moved the modem from its normal position in the kitchen to my bedroom and plugged the cordless master into it.

Now I was able to sort through all these issues and set up the system to work and I have my mobile phone for emergencies but what are people like my old mum supposed to do - she does not have a mobile phone - as with all of these things they are not simple plug and play.

And of course the NBN/ISP does not deliver the speed that is expected.

Garry

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by garrycol

After thinking about it, I realised I no longer need the emergency telstra phone as the NBN does not work in power outages unless you have an expensive UPS - how the authorities allowed a system in place that you cannot ring 000 in power outages is a bit odd.

---

Not odd at all. You use your mobile for emergencies, well, that is what I was told.

I have a NBN supplied UPS. Most people didn't want one. Those that do have them, most are not replacing the battery. So, why install one?

Rollout in our area has been pushed back 2 years despite the fact that it is operative within 100m of my house ?
On a side note our ADSL2+ has gradually got worse over the last few months as well, it was never great at about 3.75mbps max but now we struggle to 3 and some days 2.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

Not odd at all. You use your mobile for emergencies, well, that is what I was told.

---

And what do people who do not have a mobile so, like my 90 year mother.

Sorry - with the introduction of the NBN it should have been legislated that the "NBN box" must be able to be self powered for a set period of time and not having a UPS as an expensive option. Sorry not good enough - you should be able to access 000 from landlines in power blackouts.

Oh in addition to lower than advertised speeds, my NBN drops out all the time for a minute or so then comes back on.