NZFF

A few months ago we shifted house. I was told by the vendors that the internet was good....it's not. ADSL is abysmal and mankind will have inhabited Mars before we get fibre here.
I took the Vodafone RBI (Rural Broadband Initiative) option which is 3G/4G (recommended). On a good hour/day I can get 5 MBs download but normally around 2 MBs.
Downloading something like P3DV4 takes over 24 hours and nothing else can be done online whilst that is happening. Youtube videos are a joke and 480 is the max with lots of buffering. I now have anything that rotates in a circle.

Recently a mate let me use his Spark 4G stick which was connected to a MIMO (Multiple in, multiple out antenna).
WOW just holding the antenna up by the window gave me 85 MBs down and 12 MBs up on the first go. I trialed it for a week at various times and the slowest I got was 35 MBs. I even managed to watch one of Robs Dunedin videos at 1080P res with no buffering at all and very smooth.

Here is the issue.

Do I stick with what I have and maybe try fitting MIMO permanent antenna (a basic trial connecting the antenna to my VF modem basically doubled the speeds)? Worth about $380.

OR

Break the VF contract ($380) and spend $1220 (quoted) on going with Spark and installing a MIMO antenna? Total: $1600

I have no idea, but I have learnt a few things lately about t'internet....

There's a definite line between good and bad net. If you think that you can change bad net to good by spending $380, then by all means do so. But if you think that you could go from bad to less bad, and still be annoyed by it constantly, (assuming this is a permanent state of affairs), then by all means go for the expensive option.

I've recently gone from average ADSL to full-on VDSL, where you don't ever wait for Netflix/YouTube, and the difference is really the difference between constant annoyance, and what I think the net should be like. What would I pay for that? If I had the money, I'd pay a lot. If I didn't, then I'd stay annoyed....

Not sure where you've moved to... have a look at this startup:
"This will provide 2 options of wireless broadband – 1 at 100Mbs guaranteed upload and download, and 1 at (I think) 30Mbs upload/download. You can contact blue door directly to see if you will be in their coverage zone. https://bluedoor.nz/wireless-broadband/ "

My contract with Talk-talk:

£27 per Mumf. Unlimited Broadband Internet by copper Phone Line....

...including free Evenings and Weekends Land Line Phone calls (I don't use Mobile Phone stuff!).

Download Speed: 9.7 Mb/s

Upload Speed: 0.81 Mb/s

Downloading stuff is OK.

Uploading my Motorcycle rides stuff to You-Tube is rather slow...(a bit like my bike rides)....but I'm in no particular hurry, either way!.... ....!

I don't think Fibre Optic is available on my street, but it costs a lot more anyway!

...I just keep polishing the copper wires to make data stuff move faster!.... ...!

Paul..... ...!

Just occurred to me, the link the guy sent me was wrong, and takes you to a furniture store
I've updated the link for the wireless broadband crowd.

Why not just leave for a bit and wait for contract term to expire. Soon be summer and you may not be using the internet as much.I would put my concerns in writing to vodaphone and put some pressure on them to get your speed up to a more acceptable level.I also heard that the government is putting more investment into rural broadband initatives.If you really want something done write or talk to your local MP, he will all ears with elections just round the corner.

I have decided to go with Bluedoor. At least when their Kumeu tower is operational that is (supposed to be next month).
When they first started in business I wrote them off as they were way too expensive and the network coverage patchy.
They have unlimited data plans going from 30 MB/s up to 100 MB/s and even more by special arrangement.
These speeds are a guaranteed minimum unlike the other thieving bunch.
$195 install with no contract or termination fees and the ability to change plan whenever at no cost.

Hopefully no more of this:

Good luck with it. May your ping be low and your speeds ever high.

Well I finally bit the bullet and severed ties with Vodafone.
In the end I went with Bluedoor rural wireless.
This system uses digital microwave transmission. The tower I connect to was brought online in the second week of November.
They offer packages from 30 to 50 Mbs with no data cap or throttling. Higher speeds available by negotiation. I opted for the 30 Mbs plan and it is outstanding. A rock solid 30 with a ping of around 6 or 7. Only 10 mbs up but that is fine for me. $100 month with VOIP phone set up.
The antenna is unusual and glows a cool blue at night.
Excellent company to deal with.
It should make that next P3D update more bearable.

Wow glows In the dark.I want one
Glad you got sorted
Kinda glad I'm not with them. Vodaphone that is

Bodes well for the next tower to be built, that will serve us a little to the east...

What was the deal with voice?
The guy I spoke to said it all goes VOIP.
Do you retain your mobile No.?
Landline? (We have a landline No.)

VOIP Voice over Internet Protocol
It dosen't affect your mobile just your landline if you are on fibre or cable it will go to VOIP.

The only difference you will notice is if you loose your power or internet connection you also loose your phone.

I have been on it now for approx 2 years and only lost the phone once with the Kaikoura earthquake we lost power for about half an hour.

Turns out, even when you have a completely "dumb" phone on a landline, odds are it is powered.
So no reason not to go VOIP really.
My concern was whether you could inherit the old mobile and landline numbers to the new handset.
I've had the same phone numbers for 20+ years and although I'd love to be shot of Vodafone, I don't want to lose my numbers.
As I recall the conversation, you could assign various ringtones to signify say, a home call or office call.