Christchurch internet

[AlisterC]

Ok, sorry if this has been posted before. I'm sure you see on the tv news how rubbish the internet service is from Xtra. I'm one of those unfortunate customers and I just can't take it any more!! So, I want some advice. Basically, I don't want to change providers only to find the same level of internet service from them due to them buying their internet from xtra anyway. My biggest problem is the net constantly timing out:

The connection has timed out

The server at z11.invisionfree.com is taking too long to respond.

* The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few
moments

It's EXTREMELY frustrating. My parent's dial up works better than this! I flew for two hours on IVAO last night, and was disconnected 10 times! I'm not getting what I'm paying for and am thinking of changing.
Firstly some questions for users of other ISPs.

Does anyone NOT have this problem?
Telstra/ Paradise users on fibreoptic cable please don't respond, I don't live near an access point, and I've used their service in the past, so I know it's good. I'm thinking of moving to a suburb that has it, just to fix this internet mess once and for all.
Anyone else though with good reliable service? Super duper speed isn't the key, but reliability is!

For anyone who knows about internet, will changing providers even help? Do they only buy service from Xtra and sell it on? Is it just my phone exchange causing the problem and other providers will have the same problem?

Look forward to your replies,

One frustrated Albatross.......

(PS I have to cut and paste evey post I make, just in case the net dies when I hit send.. how much faith does that show I have in this Xtra rubbish....)

[Timmo]

I cant help you with the BB issue, but from my experiences with Dialup, ClearNet (Telstra Clear) have been great. Faster than Xtra and Slingshot, waaaaaaaaaaaaay better customer service (only had to wait about 5 rings before i was talking to someone...unlike Slingshot where i was waiting for 20 minutes)

I think Telstra uses their own hardware/exchanges whereas most others just by it wholesale off Telecom?

[firefly]

I've been with X-tra for about two months now out here in Rangiora and have had no problems and found the download speeds great! I'm using it for work so use it from 8am ish through till after mid-night and have had no issues with time-outs or disconnections.

Having said all that, I know I am just around the corner from the exchange which could explain the speed and perhaps the reliability? I do notice a speed drop at night when more people come on, but no disconnecting issues.

Even if you were to switch to another ISP, since its still going over the same lines you may have the same problems. Have you considered someone wireless like woosh?

Also, I gather if your broadband is not going as fast as dial-up, you can use that to get out of your xtra contract with no penatly clause.

Hope that helps.

[AlisterC]

Thanks guys for your input.
When it works, my download speeds I am very happy with. The problem is definately that it's either going, or not working at all. It took about 5 minutes just to get into the nzff page this morning after all the time outs, and I wouldn't think 7am a peak time of day? I'm going to get Telstraclear to give me a call and we'll discuss networks and whether or not they have their own. Hopefully as Timmo said they'll have their own network and I might get my problem sorted.
Woosh don't seem to advertise any speeds? The 10gb plan looks good value though

(lol.. now my work internet is timing out) Let's try my reply again..

[toprob]

I'd certainly go back to Telstra cable if I could. If you are in a cabled area then this is the way to go. I remember just turning the modem on and leaving it -- it almost never went down.
At the moment I'm on IHUG DSL, which has had its ups and downs but very stable lately, unlike Xtra. Probably a week since I had to reboot the router.
I'm pretty anti-Telecom -- I'd be happy if I never had to give a dollar to them ever again, mainly because they push the boundaries of acceptable business practices.
My old work uses Slingshot, and although it is pretty steady, the speed is very dialup-like at times.

[Chris Donaldson]

Alister your not alone buddy, I'm on Telstra Clear here in Dunedin, and unfortunately they have to use Telecom's rubbish lines, and I have the same problem with the NZFFS Forum at times.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but from my understanding if you don't live in an area that has the Telstra Cable network & your on Telstra your really going through the Telecom network, which means it's s**t!

I refused to pay for the internet last month because I had so many issues with it & when your supposed to get a 3.5mbps connection and it's 9pm at night and your getting 800kb! I'm not paying for that.

Let us know how you get on Alister, would be interesting to see what Telstra clear has to say.

[Jimmy]

That not good.. broadband ae

We are on telstra clear dial up, 150 hours per mounth, and an extra phone line jsut for the net, total cost per mounth is about $25, thats if we manage to keep with in the useage limit.. thats prety damn expensive, I am looking at broadband plans myself.. Telstra clear seems to be quite expensive, but from what I know with the dial up it is prety darn good. No rubish on my parants email, never had any trouble with virisus, as far as I know.. and disconections are quite rare (usualy just occur when someone tries to dial up on the other computer) failed conection attempts are also quite rare.. So, if you can keep with 150 hours a mounth (goodluck lol) then dial up could be a good reliable option haha.. perhaps.

hope you get it sorted soon

James

[firefly]

I was with Telstra for my dailup, and like James said, found them to be fantastic! Alas their broadband plans seemed to be a bit expensive compared to others so I went elsewhere for the broadband.

I do hope you get sorted though.

[ardypilot]

Orcon broadband here in Auckland, 256k download and 128k upload. Works fine for me, have only had to reboot the router twice since installing it last summer!

[tasnvs]

I'm with Paradise.net ADSL in Papakura and it is getting hopeless.
Loosing connection every day 3pm - 5pm intermittent
After 7pm can loose connection 5 - 10 times. sometimes only for a minute or so. Other times up to 10 min

The problem in all placed is because all connections have to come through the local exchange and there are just NOT enough capacity in the local exchanges yet Xtra is still trying to promote their high speed service.
This should be illegal until they upgrade all the exchanges to handle the load

[Charl]

My broadband north of Auckland behaves like a beserk yoyo..but that is completely beside the point as far as Albatross' woes are concerned.
Broadband woes are as bad as the next thing you are connected to, so if you are on the same distribution box as Albatross you might be able to help him.
NZ has a serious issue with internet connectivity and I hope very much it gets sorted. It's one of the few areas (like transport, power, sewage and water), where I do believe the gummint can earn its keep and steer the ship.

[AlisterC]

Thanks for your experiences everyone. So now I'm having doubts that even a change will help. Other than moving across town to the 'telstra cable zone', I'm guessing no matter who I am with I will have the same problem due to the exchange being overloaded..
Maybe I should go back to dial up for flying online!
And then plug back into the broadband when I'm surfing or downloading..
Decisions decisions.... I guess there is no golden sword answer to this problem. I find it hilariously ironic that the Government were pushing Telecom to push more users to broadband, and now they've gone and done that their network can't handle it and we are now all back to dial up anyway. I've had broadband since it's been available, now all the mums and dads and youtube are killing it for us long term addicts

[Zöltuger]

It's a pity you're not in the Telstra Cable area, apparantly it's extremely fast all the time, low latency...
Meanwhile I'm stuck here in a central Auckland suburb with internet that's supposed to be full speed, but would barely register 2mbit within NZ and maybe 400k to overseas. Very frustrating because it used to be really reliable 2mbit last year before they 'unleashed' it.
Mind you I can't complain about this internet at uni that I'm using. Instant page loads and lighning downloads, but at 7c per MB it's not cheap.

[AlisterC]

I spent a dreamy two years at the end of the Telstra cable, and yeah Zöltuger it's very fast. It's such an attractive thing, when I next move flats, I will moving into the area where the cable is available. I'm unfortunately where I am now simply due to previous employer location for my wife.

[h290master]

I have been with Xtra for a 3 years and all i can say is they are rubbish the customer service is useless and they create more problems than they fix and the internet is so slooooow and we are currently stuck with Telecon's Xtra broadband until Orcon moves their service to my area.

[ZK-MAT]

Alister, are you currently on the full up and down plan, or capped upload?

I was with Xtra, it turned rubbish after they unleashed it (both gaming ping and web browsing), and I was told that was my lot as it was a line problem. They apparently tested my line and disagreed with me that I used to get 6 - 8 megs down on the old Jetstream Realm (back in the day).

I changed to Xtra's full up and full down plan and like magic my connection was better, but not as good as it was.

TelstraClear offered a full speed plan at a cheaper rate so I changed. I then asked for interleaving to be switched off (basically this is error checking, at the expense of latency - Xtra won't switch it off). I got a solid connection, 6 - 7 megs down and up to a meg up. I also ditched Telecom and switched my phone to TelstraClear. Once again saving money.

We are currently living with the in laws, on the outskirts of Tauranga. They are with Xtra, it seems to disconnect about 10pm and re-connect around 1pm most days. The most I have seen the line connect at is 384 Kbps, it's supposed to be 3 Mbps.

In summary I recommend TelstraClear, even if they are using the existing lines the connection to the exchange and Telstra's switching equipment seem to produce a better result. Their cust service people aren't too bad either.

[flynz]

Their cust service people aren't too bad either.

I have to disagree with you here Matt. I find their customer service to be appauling and have never spent less than 15 mins waiting to get through and regularly wait half an hour while they play their crappy music at me. To add to this they have also cut us off in the past due to thinking we hadnt payed the bill when we had. I do however agree that their internet is far superior to that of telecon.

[ZK-MAT]

I would choose the ring back option if I had to wait a long time, but in all honesty I have only rung them a few times (one was to get interleaving turned off) and I got through in a few mins. The people I spoke to knew what I wanted, and were polite. That impressed me

[AlisterC]

A fast responding help desk isn't all that important to me really. My wife and I are thinking now we will join Telstra, and then in a couple of months move across town to the telstra cable area.

[Zöltuger]

I was with Xtra, it turned rubbish after they unleashed it (both gaming ping and web browsing), and I was told that was my lot as it was a line problem. They apparently tested my line and disagreed with me that I used to get 6 - 8 megs down on the old Jetstream Realm (back in the day).

I changed to Xtra's full up and full down plan and like magic my connection was better, but not as good as it was.

interesting, I'd probably do the same, except my family have a penchant for downloading massive amounts, so even 15GB wouldn't be sufficient (and it's pricey too, at least $30pm more than GO LARGE)