[jtchal]

Hey guys,

Just wanting to know if you guys are with ISP that offer similar down/upload speeds that of telecom (when it works properly).
I'm getting fed up of getting disconnected/slow internet. For the past 6 months or so we've been having connection issues regularly every 6 weeks. I've tried calling them and they said that they would diagnose our connection for the next 24hrs. We've never had a phone call from them though, since the connection seemed to be in working order after talking to them.

The issues varied from:
- modem internet light appearing red every 2 mins after connecting.
- the internet connection timing out ( Well that's what BF3 has been saying to me, or couldn't connect to server)
- and it would work normally then get interrupted by a time out every 30 secs also.

For that last one, I've noticed when using the internet. It wouldn't load the page, then chrome would tell me to try and reload the page. It would then load up properly but do the same thing again if I opened a new page ~30 seconds later.

I hope I've managed to describe the issues we're getting with our connection. I don't know much about networks and connections unfortunately. So if anyone has any suggestions or have been in similar situations, feel free to let me know what happened in your case.

Cheers

Jchal

[jjknz]

Wow, I've never had Telecom disconnect with me that often.
Try Woosh for similar prices and speeds. But I still recommend staying with Telecom and getting your connection diagnosed.

[LinuxUser]

jjknz, on 08 March 2012 - 11:03 PM, said:

Wow, I've never had Telecom disconnect with me that often.
Try Woosh for similar prices and speeds. But I still recommend staying with Telecom and getting your connection diagnosed.

Just to clarify, it is Woosh ADSL being referred to here – Woosh Wireless is far slower, significantly cheaper, and I'm yet to hear it recommended by anyone (supposedly there are reliability issues, and while I know they definitely could be much better, they aren't too bad normally).

But I agree, there is something wrong with your connection, and there is a good chance than any other ISP using the same lines would have the same issues – except they might sort out the issue better.

[HybridTheory]

Telecom is SHIT.. period.

[TomSahz]

Im with telecom and dont get any issues. When BF3 irst came out there were "could not connect to server" issues for me but it wasnt related to my network. Are you using the white Thompson router they provide?

[krishant007]

i would say go with slingshot. a couple of my mates tried to get signed up to them, but they had some issues regarding transfer of account from telecom or something, but then again, a couple of my other mates had seamless connection. I myself have been with slingshot for a few years now (since 2007).

i recently closed my account with them in december, only to reopen it in feb (closed since i was in overseas), but reopened since i decided to come back to nzl. they did have a 10 day waiting period before they could connect me up (i think becuase there are a number of people wanting to sign up).

I have the unlimited account, so $101 for unlimited internet and home phone. i am in the city so the speeds are quite decent. i am able to download steam games from 1.4MB/s. I have seen speeds up to 1.7MB/s with my connection (adsl2).

My mate in Manukau claims he gets 3MB/s on Telecom, but his download cap is 20gb, so not much use right. (whats the use of a F1 racing car if you are driving in the surburbs)

slingshot offers 50gb connection for 80 bux, i think that was quite decent of them.

the only other ISP i can recommend is Orcon, they have decent deals and very good service, but slingshot is still cheaper by far (hence why im still with them). and orcon have started to roll out packages on fiber, so awesome speeds, but at a cost..

I have a software engineering background and have done some work on networks so I do know what im talking about.

[HybridTheory]

I get 30MB/s... lol

[jtchal]

HybridTheory, on 09 March 2012 - 01:00 PM, said:

I get 30MB/s... lol

Download speed?! Who are you with?! What are you using?

TomSahz, on 09 March 2012 - 11:09 AM, said:

Im with telecom and dont get any issues. When BF3 irst came out there were "could not connect to server" issues for me but it wasnt related to my network. Are you using the white Thompson router they provide?

Yeah that's the one, the TG585 v7.

I will call telecom once again to report my issue. Those disconnections are honestly getting out of hand and every 15 seconds , I'm not kidding!

What a perfect example:
To select the "angry" smiley above, I clicked "Show all" in the smiley options, a window popped up.
Patiently waited to get a nice selection of smileys, instead I got this.

[HybridTheory]

World xchange. lol. Its Fibre, and guaranteed 30Mb down and 6mb up.

At any given time, I get between 29-30mb down, and 6.00mb up. My bf3 ping times are around 3-5ms.

[LinuxUser]

HybridTheory, on 09 March 2012 - 01:33 PM, said:

World xchange. lol. Its Fibre, and guaranteed 30Mb down and 6mb up.

At any given time, I get between 29-30mb down, and 6.00mb up. My bf3 ping times are around 3-5ms.

I knew it had to be fibre with those speeds! Just a suggestion, maybe edit the appropriate post so that your units agree – the first says 30 MB/s (MegaBytes per second), this says 30 Mb/s (Megabits per second). Might save some confusion!

[jigos]

I'm with telstraclear, and they're fantastic. I've got their cable: 15Mbps down, 2Mbps up, with 40gb for $105.88/month with phoneline ($65.95 without phone). But the kicker (for me) is that they have their own Steam server... and it's *unmetered* (doesn't get counted towards your monthly usage). In my experience, they've also had great customer service, and a very stable connection.

They've got some crazy ass deals going on right now for their non cable (adsl/adsl2+) broadband: $75/mo for phoneline and broadband, with a free wireless modem, and a free block of 40gb usage every month for a year.

If one wanted a cable plan, i'd bet you could call them up and ask them to throw something in for you, and they'd probably do it (they're awesome like that).

[HybridTheory]

Sound like you work for TC, lol

[krishant007]

ADSL 2, adsl and all those speeds given are theoretical maximums, they are never reached. I gave my speeds as what i get when i am downloading. in theory, my ISP should also be able to give 24Mb/s (well, any ISP with adsl 2+ should be saying that).

BUT this is never the case, the max i have seen download is 2MB/s which is about 16Mb/s i think. I havent really heard bad things about Telstra clear (doesnt mean that they are good, means either no one i have come in contact with has Telstra clear, or they just not complaining about it).

In reality, there is a certain structure to the ISP chain. So all companies are, in one way or another connected to each other. For example, Slingshot gets its Internet service frm CallPlus i think, TelstraClear gets it direct from an Aussie supplier i think (cant remember exactly, but i did a research project on ISPs a couple of years back so this is from memory).

Try any one of Slingshot, Orcon, Telstra or Vodafone. I have not really researched World Xchange so cant say much about them. Look at the deals offered by these companies and select the one that gives u the best deal. Dont sign a 12 month contract if you dont want to be stuck in it for an year. I think Slingshot and Orcon dont have contracts.

[rav349]

i am with tc and love it. i get unmetered steam downloads and i am yet to have any online bf3 count towards my monthly usage (i almost exclusively play on the ON3 servers who are partnered with tc). the bf3 problems you were talking about are most likely caused by the game itself. its like a beautiful bug filled fps

[scuzzy2099]

Check out customer reviews of some of the major ISPs here -> http://www.broadbandme.co.nz/reviews/

Incidently TC rates one of the lowest (but above Slingshot and Kiwilink), so the guys praising TC above either work for them or must be one of the very, very few customers who get great service from them

[Cammeo]

My flat is with Slingshot (Unlimited for around $60), it has been great. They rank gaming the second highest below VOIP for speeds. We are in Christchurch and get about 1mb/s on average and can get up to 2. No issues yet even though we have used about 500gb in the month that we have been here.

[TomSahz]

Do you mean 1MB/s?

[LinuxUser]

As in 8 Mb/s?

[MrPedantic]

Go with Vodafone. Their customer service is horrible, but in the 2 years we've been with them we've only ever had to call them once. The rest of the time, the internet works perfectly, and most of the time I can get 15-16mbps down. Upload's a bit dicier, ~1mbps, but that's not a big deal for me. We pay $90 a month for phone and 60GB. When we got the plan it was actually for 10GB a month, 8mbps down.

We were thinking of changing to Slingshot, but we've heard some stories about really slow broadband. Though as always, I guess it depends on personal experience and where you live as well.

[AceDeAce]

Cammeo, on 14 March 2012 - 05:10 PM, said:

we have used about 500gb in the month that we have been here.

how?

[psymon100]

I'm with Slingshot. They have been awesome for a very long time.
'Unlimited' speeds (limited by the technology of ADSL2+, distance from exchange etc)
'Unlimited' monthly data allowance (There may be a fair use policy. I wasn't approached when I downloaded every Top Gear ever in one month so they're lenient)
Great customer service. Each time I've moved flat the internet has been hooked up on the day I've moved into the new place.

Always fast, my girlfriend almost always is at the top of the table with Battlefield 3 (Xbox 360, Live) so surely latency isn't an issue. Downloading I often see 1.8 megabytes per second, sometimes sustained for hours.

[HybridTheory]

cough3.3mb/sconstatcough

[psymon100]

HybridTheory, on 19 March 2012 - 02:34 PM, said:

cough3.3mb/sconstatcough

What do you pay for this 30megabit/s fibre connection? I can't see any pricing on world xchange's website. Also for the record, I focus on value.
Part of the reason I guess that I'll pay $127/month for phone/internet, but won't pay for Sky TV at all.

[HybridTheory]

xnet. My area has fttp.. I pay $100/month + $1.28/gig, which includes voip as well. Not tooo bad actually. My gaming latency is realtime(around 5-10ms)

I personally have found xnet very friendly and helpful to date.. MUCH MUCH MUCH better then fkn telescum - Only downside is their Helpdesk has limited hours.

[psymon100]

Fiber-To-The-Premises eh? I would pay for such a connection, however I'd want unlimited data throughput. Those extra gigs at $1.28ea, do you find the cost ramps up? It does sound like a better connection than xDSL. Thanks for sharing Mr Theory.

[TomSahz]

HybridTheory, on 20 March 2012 - 06:59 AM, said:

xnet. My area has fttp.. I pay $100/month + $1.28/gig, which includes voip as well. Not tooo bad actually. My gaming latency is realtime(around 5-10ms)

I personally have found xnet very friendly and helpful to date.. MUCH MUCH MUCH better then fkn telescum - Only downside is their Helpdesk has limited hours.

So does that mean you pay $100/month including a data allowance (and pay extra per GB if you go over) or do you pay $100/month plus extra for any data used @ $1.28/gig?

Edited by TomSahz, 20 March 2012 - 11:36 AM.

[jtchal]

My connection seems to be alright now, I didn't get to call the customer service in the end.
I suppose I'll hold off until it starts playing up again in about 6 weeks or so.
Great to see such an active thread though

[HybridTheory]

TomSahz, on 20 March 2012 - 11:36 AM, said:

So does that mean you pay $100/month including a data allowance (and pay extra per GB if you go over) or do you pay $100/month plus extra for any data used @ $1.28/gig?

Yes, so flatrate of $99 which includes 30mb/6mb and voip phone circuit.. the voice traffic is free.. but only the data traffic is charged @ 1.28/gig. Avg cost is around $120/130/month, so not toooo bad really.

[jtchal]

Oh yay I'm getting those time out problems once again... It was alright for a month.

[LinuxUser]

I suggest contacting Telecom as soon as you notice it has occurred. And if it seems to always come right after calling them, try calling someone else and seeing if it comes right after using the phone!

How long do the problems occur for – as in, how long from when they first start, till when they come right?