NBN has arrived!

[Merlin66]

We've just been advised that NBN is available....
They say we have to switch to a new contract with our (or new) provider to use the NBN.
How the devil do you chose????
(Just checked our speeds Upload 0.8Mps, Download 18Mps on a Telstra Broadband connection
http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/speedtest/
Can this/ does this get any faster with NBN????)

[Shano592]

Well Ken, depending on how far from the nearest node you are, you can get up to 100Mbps.

I think the general rule is that for every 100m distant you are, you lose around 7-10% of max. So, if you are 400m away, you would be asked to pay for, in this example, a 100Mbps connection. Because of your distance, you would expect to achieve at best, about 70Mbps.

This is why FTTdP is a much better idea. Taking the fibre to the pit near your house allows for basically maximum speed. FTTN doesn't, unless you have a dirty big green metal node box on your front lawn.

[h0ughy]

well my normal is 6.39Mbps down and 0.88Mbps up.

the NBN for the fibre to the node is suppose to guarantee max 25mbps down and 5mbps up on copper. the fibre direct connection is up to 100mbps download. the standard plans 12mbps are less than what you are getting now.
The good news is that you no longer have a choice as you are now officially in the first 18 months of having to move over - after that they can shut of the ADSL so like it or not you will be forced to move over to the NBN. I have been dealing with the NBN rollout in my local area for the past 5 years

with the rollout in Newcastle the only direct fibre is in new subdivisions or in mayfield. the rest of the area is FTTN. now for those flush with cash you can at some considerable cost get fibre to your home from the green box to get 100MBPS (average cost was over $8k extra installation costs) so like shane said if you have a green box out the front you could save a bit ;).

[doppler]

I have ASDL2 but am lucky to get 1.5mbs down and .2mbs up. The phone doesn't work and the copper wire to the house needs to be replaced. I was putting this of in case I could wrangle fiber to the house but that is seeming very unlikely.

All we have down the road is one of these. Is this where they will put a node?

[PCH]

The node will be a green box as tall as that and will be placed quite close.

We got FTTN just recently and signed up with the 25/5 plan. The best we get
Is 20Mbps up and 4 down. That speed is fine and does everything we need, whereas on the old adsl it used to virtually stop at peak times.

You have to change across sooner or later, and the plans offered by the various companies are pretty much all the same.

I changed across from Telstra to iiNet and seriously wished I had stayed with Telstra. I wouldn't recommend iiNet at all for what it's worth.

Other than that, the new faster service is fantastic!

[Allan_L]

We were getting about 3-4 mbps with ADSL2 (Telstra $69 plan)(phone line rental an extra $49)

I went with DODO 12/1 plan ($29 plus $10 for unlimited free phone calls plan)
on a 24 month contract.
I currently get an average of 11.2 download and 0.9 upload.
and free calls.
A total saving $79 per month with faster speed.:rofl:
It is only FTTN. And the green box is 200m down the road.

[deanm]

Alan: snap!

I'm on NBN via Dodo:11.2 down 0.95 up.

I can see the NBN tower about 1.2 km away.

Dean

[acropolite]

FTTN is good as long as you're close to the node, I have FTTN 450metres from the node and get 25/5' unfortunately as my ISP is iiNet, the download speed drops below 5mb/s at peak times no fault of the FTTN, merely insufficient bandwidth on the carrier side. I ran some tests last saturday and while streaming 4K video to the TV I was still able to run a speed test at 15mb/s. I've seen reports of 100mb/s connections for FTTN closer to the node, I seem to recall seeing a line connect speed on the iiNet provided router of 86mb/s so I guess that's what I could expect if Opting for the fastest service. FTTN is a bit of a mongrel if you want to BYO modem/router, Most of the ISP's have customised routers which aren't available as retail items, if your Modem/Router is configured incorrectly for line protocols, NBN co will block the service, you then have to get the ISP to have it unblocked.

[h0ughy]

ok i have carefully selected some of the information (so i don't get into legal trouble);)

[h0ughy]

within 20metres of one of those - they install the cabinet, twin type 6 pits and type5 for electricity connection. the nodes have a 4 battery backup system to guarantee some service when the power goes off but don't expect that to last more than an hour or so;)

[Exfso]

FTTN is their way of doing it supposedly on the cheap I believe, in actual fact from what I can tell it is costing more to roll out than fibre to the premises, I stand to be corrected on this though.:screwy:

[doppler]

So at the moment Telstra owns the copper to my house and have to repair it free of charge if there are any faults, but what happens after the Nbn is connected with another supplier?
Should I push for my copper to be fixed (replaced) now before the Nbn comes. They are doing the trenching and fixing conduits now.

[Renato1]

After the NBN was installed at our place a month or so ago, I had the strange problem that I could receive emails in Outlook but not send them. Telstra/NBN thought it was strange because the mail settings hadn't changed.

I finally fixed the problem by going into the email account settings, clicking on Advanced options, then clicking on the box that said to make the outgoing server the same as the incoming one. Beats my why that worked, since at the non-advanced initial screen, the ingoing and outgoing were set exactly the same in the first place.

The NBN has been good - I immediately switched Netflix from Standard Definition to High Definition.
Regards,
Renato

[PCH]

How do you switch netflix to HD Renato?

[drylander]

I don't think Tel$tra will upgrade the copper as once NBN is installed the copper network is going to be disconnected after a certain date (not heard yet) Once we were connected to NBN I contacted my isp (internode) and finally got rid of Tel$ta and haven't looked back
Pete

[Shano592]

Also, the scuttlebutt is that as a second round (in the year 5555, if Man is still alive), the fibre will be extended to the Distribution Point, which means that only the last 10-20 metres of copper will exist to the home after that.

That will be the end of the nodes, too.

[strongmanmike]

Our NBN just got switched on last night (Braddon ACT), full optic fibre all the way into my spare room wardrobe :D. My wife only signed us up to a modest 25down/5up plan with Telstra and tests show that's indeed what we are getting. For a little bit extra we can up these speeds of course but given it's just the two of us at home with low to moderate internet use, we will wait and see :)

Have to say, when I was sitting in my lounge room watching the NBN guys wire us up last week, it was incredible to think that real optic fibre was being pulled through my ceiling, kind of like science fiction really...sad that so few Australians will have this now but oh well, can't say that many of us didn't try....:whistle: When the day comes (and it will) that we need much higher speeds, we should be right :D

Mike

[Renato1]

You just go into your Netflix account on your computer, go to your Profile, then to Playback Settings and click on High (and best take off Auto-play, in case you fall asleep watching it and use 3Gbytes an hour).

You have to be the $12 plan to get HD - the one that enables you to access Netflix on two units simultaneously. You can't update to HD on the base plan that only allows you to watch it on one unit.
Regards,
Renato

[acropolite]

The finger has been pointed at Netflix download for making the net so slow (despite the NBN), but I can understand why people are using it, I'll probably be signing up for the 4K streaming option and doing my bit to bring the net to a crawl...... :P

[Shano592]

It all comes down to what your provider spends on backhaul. The less they spend, they more backed-up the data pipe gets, especially at peak times.

This is where the budget providers are generally found to be wanting.

[ChrisV]

Everyone is getting nbn before me.

You'd think i was in a rubbish non -swinging electorate ... oh yes .. i am in a rubbish electorate.

[clive milne]

Swingers have their own electorate...?

[pjphilli]

Hi
Just tested my Optus cable broadband using "testmy.net".
It showed 30.4Mbps download and 1.6Mbps upload.
This is fast enough for me - I don't need NBN.
I also have their optional Fetch box which works great.
Cheers Peter

[Merlin66]

Peter,
Unfortunately that's not an option you have.....it's going to be NBN or Nix.

I now find that the current "wall mounted" phone(s) and extensions won't work with the NBN box - I have to buy a new wireless phone and "slave"
What about the separate FOXTEL broadband service I currently have - Does it work with NBN???
Telstra couldn't tell me - I'm about to contact FOXTEL to find out.

[acropolite]

Not so, most isp supplied routers have ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter) ports inbuilt and will connect to your existing wiring. If no ATA is supplied you can use a Cisco SPA112 to connect your existing phones to the outside world.
If your NBN is FTTP you may be able to have your Telephony connection via one of the two UNI-V ports on the FTTP interface rather than use an ATA port. Not all providers offer porting of telephony to the Uni-V port.

Note that it's crucial to disconnect the incoming street Telstra connection before connecting any ATA device to your existing cabling.

I've lost count of the number of people who have been conned in to buying replacement hardware, usually at highly inflated prices, we've been contacted by businesses have been conned in to spending in excess of $10k for replacement hardware where none was necessary.

IMHO the NBN and associated services are a bit of a minefield, stuffups by service providers are common and can be difficult to resolve.

[Merlin66]

Phil,
I'd love to believe you but according to the young girl on the Telstra "hot line"....I WILL need a wireless phone on the "new" NBN box and a "slave" downstairs in the kitchen.
I tried the FOXTEL site - I'm none the wiser...they seem to be selling (soon) their own NBN "solutions"
I'll try to call them tomorrow to find out what can be done.

[acropolite]

Ken, I work in telephony and data, my days are spent installing and maintaining telephony equipment including installation and troubleshooting of NBN connected routers and associated VOIP infrastructure.

A good proportion if my time is spent fixing stuffups by service providers who should know better, telephony ports ( i.e. transfer of numbers on copper to voip) not programmed correctly, dodgey routers, just plain bad workmanship, sales and support staff with so little knowledge we have to explain to them how their equipment should be programmed.

In our experience, the worst offender is Telstra.

Many of the operators at the end of the service providers hotlines are little better than trained monkeys, mostly overseas and I suspect under pressure to handle problems without referral back to local staff.

Treat anything a sales person says as a throwaway line, the end game is getting your dollars.

I could write a book on the problems, dishonesty and particularly the incompetance I've seen in the industry over the past 12 months.

VOIP telephony had bought fierce competition, with that comes drastic cost cutting to maintain often obscene profits. In many cases that means overseas call centres, staffed by people with reasonable English skills but no logic skills or real world knowledge.

Finally if you are having FTTP installed then insist on having the NTD installed where you want it, not where the installer wants to put it (usually the easiest and quickest spot they can find) and make sure that the workmanship is to a standard that you are happy with.

If Your install is FTTN then you will be using your existing copper and little change is required apart from ensuring the VDSL router is connected directly to the incoming copper and that it's the only device connected.

[pjphilli]

Hi Ken

You are probably right that I will lose my current Optus cable service because the NBN has bought this network and are "upgrading" it.
You are right about the phones. I changed my Telecom copper service
over to the Optus broadband and as a result had to replace my telephones
with wireless type. However, you can get these pretty cheaply on Ebay.
Have the NBN set any prices for their services yet?

Cheers Peter

[Merlin66]

Telstar are offering me a "free" NBN box to replace my router and a phone to connect to the box (Only that one line.. additional extensions will require dumping it and using a wireless pair)
They say I can swap over my current ADSL Broadband/ phone package to an NBN 25/5 deal at no extra monthly cost....
Hmmm, as I'm paying $103.50 per month, that seems high compared with the others...they are around $70 for a similar package.
Then we have the FOXTEL on top of that.....

[The_bluester]

In my experience (We have been on NBN fixed wireless for a couple of years now and I periodically check) Telstra are pretty much the most expensive for NBN plans and typically provide limited flexibility.

I just checked again now and the basic plan with the same data allowance that we have now is $25 per month more than we are paying and that is for half the speed, I could not be bothered drilling through the sales website to see what they charge extra to go to the same speed profile we are on now. I though that incremental fee disclosure was frowned on by the ACCC?

And then for a month to month plan they charge an up front $120 for the privilege (Go get stuffed) and a further $89 for a "Self install" (See the previous) AND it comes forcibly bundled with a home phone and if you cancel that within 3 months they slug you an extra $100 (Same response as above)

Telstra only get my money for my wife's mobile (Mine is work provided) as despite the well publicised network failures this year they pretty well still have undeniably the best network and a cheap plan is no use if you can't make or receive calls.

[Tandum]

Don't Fret Peter.
As you have a cable connection That's all you'll get under this government.
They bought the cable network so it's just a name change to NBN.

Suffer in your jocks mate....

I expect triple that speed when it arrives here.

Use speedtest.net for speed tests.

[pjphilli]

Hi Robin

I read earlier this week in the SMH that NBN will probably leave people like
myself who are already on the previous Optus cable be. Arrangements for others are less certain. It seems that the NBN are updating the cable so that they can provide their "standard" speeds up to 100Mbps. What the eventual charges will be to people such as myself remains to be seen.
There is certainly a lot of mystery surrounding NBN and I suspect even within that organisation in view of the recent problem of "stolen" information.

I think that very few people really understand about net speeds but they have been brainwashed into thinking 100Mbps is really great when many consumers would rather have lower speeds at lower prices. For my case 30Mbps provides lightning fast downloads from a few providers and it
it really exceeds my fairly modest needs.

However, I think that speeds of 100Mbps and higher could provide greater
efficiencies in many businesses which increasingly rely on the net and hopefully improve the nations productivity.

Cheers Peter

[Tandum]

Peter, they only bought the HFC networks, the older ones will just die in the dust. HFC theoretically should run up to 300Mbs but that speed is shared to a cluster. I dunno what the cluster rate is here but overseas it can be 500 to a node. Try your cable speed at 3am and again at 3:10 in the afternoon. That difference is school kids.

If you check out iinet's home page, they flog NBN by speed. Slowest is 12Mbs or I should say up to 12Mbs so who knows.

That's the problem, if everyone had optic fibre the end speed would be known, not a guess. I fixed a 12 year old PC today. Ran fine but took 2.5 hours to copy 150gig between disks. According to the law, all you can use soon will be the NBN. What if it's stuffed, you have no recourse?

My son has fibre in his city apartment. I've been sitting on 4Mbs out here in the suburbs for years. I found out everyone is speed limited here due to congestion to the exchange. I bring this up to them yearly to get a month off the bill.

Businesses I service are being crippled by slow Internet. God damn everything is in the cloud now plus businesses are becoming more mobile and are working in the field with tablets and need dat from the office.

Mobile speed is great. I've seen 95Mbs on my phone (Voda) but that's useless to an office system tied to 0.9Mbs on the uplink with dozens of people connected at that end.

[Nikolas]

When you have a family with teenage kids who watch youtube/ play games/netflix etc. and you are trying to do work on the net then 100Mb/s is a minimum speed. It's not about download speeds it's about bandwidth.