What I've learnt so far...

It's been over a month since I've swapped from Telecom to Snap with UFB.

What I've found so far:

• It's fast.
  When downloading updates for my phones, it's so fast that you don't think it can possibly have done it. 10MB takes a second or two! Similarly, large updates for our laptops (eg 2-300MB) just come down in the time it takes to have a couple of mouthfuls of coffee.
• We don't get the evening slow-down
  With ADSL/ADSL2, we'd drop back to 1-2 Mbit/s (from 10-14 Mbit/s) in the evenings. This was still OK, but the load from other users definitely had an affect on speed.
• The Fritz!Box is amazing
  The Fritz!Box that Snap supply is amazing and has so many features.
  My favourite feature (only discovered today) is the ability to BLOCK incoming callers!
  Can't remember the last time a telemarketer ever called without blocking their number.
  So with the call blocking feature, you can choose to send all with-held number calls directly to voicemail. This means if it's a legitimate call, you can get a message (sent to you via email of course).
• I'm paying a lot less for more
  So far (because of the 2 months free deal that Snap offer with a 24 month contract), I haven't had to pay for anything except tolls. And I've got a better internet and home network.

So if you're still using ADSL/ADSL2, I think it's appropriate to steal a line from Tourism Australia - "So where the bloody hell are you".

Seriously, if you're happy paying MORE for LESS, continue to do so.  But if you're like me and always want the biggest BANG for BUCK, then wander over to the signup page for Snap. You won't regret it.

Install Complete!

It's installation day and I'm pleased to say everything went very smoothly.

Original install time was going to be 1pm, but got a phone call first thing this morning asking if they could do it this morning. Certainly wasn't going to turn down an earlier time!

Step 1 was to identify where everything was to be installed. I'd made their lives relatively easy, so this bit didn't take too long.

Step 2 involved getting a jackpoint (not much bigger than a standard Telecom style jackpoint) installed inside the house.

An optical connector goes from this box into an optical connection on the Huawei router.
Photos of this later.

Step 3 was to install another box on the outside of the house which is where the fibre comes into the house.

Step 4 - getting the fibre to the house - was the bit that took the longest. To do this, they had to wait until the van with the correct equipment was available. They went away to the cabinet and effectively "blew" the fibre from the cabinet all the way back to our house. They connected the fibre in the cabinet and then connected it to the box you can see in the picture above.

Step 5 - Enable networks is notified to activate the circuit.

Step 6 - Gave Snap a call, at which point they checked everything for me and activated the cut-over from Telecom.

So by lunchtime, I was swapped over to a high speed link with my telephone working perfectly with my old "Telecom" phone number.

Some more photos

This is the Huawei router into which the optical link connects.

Optical link is on the far left, LAN1 connection is a standard ethernet (RJ45) link to the Fritz!Box.

Fritz!Box has a USB on the side.

Additional ports at rear of Fritz!Box. 

Left hand cable (black) is an RJ6 that connects to the base station for my cordless phone.

LAN1 on Fritz!Box is connected back into the Huawei router.

Tip: Chances are your ADSL modem will be connected with an RJ6-RJ6 cable, so you can use it to connect your cordless phone to the Fritz!Box versus having to go and buy one 8-).

First Impressions

Internet link is very fast and isn't slowed down by the traffic you normally see in the evenings.

I'm finding that I get somewhere between 29-30Mb/s on www.speedtest.net.

Nice that I appear to be getting a bonus 9Mb/s tonight 8-).

Phone system is awesome.

Got teenagers? Then the phone system alone might be useful!

We can all make phone calls at the same time on our respective smart phones via the Fritz!Box.

Can also program it so only phone calls from people you want to talk to are routed to your respective "phone". I put "phone" in quotes, because while connected to the wireless network at home, my daughters iPod Touch is even a "phone".

Feel free to leave comments or questions.

Phase 2 Complete!

Came home tonight and noticed that part of the footpath (near to where the fiber pair are located at our property boundary) had been dug up.

Maybe they had done the tunneling and fiber pipe/conduit installation already?

They had talked about potentially doing an open-trench installation (ie they had the option of digging a ditch/trench all the way to the house), but there didn't appear to be anything visible.

Going through the gate and to the point near the house where the outside box will be placed confirmed that they had completed the installation of the "pipe" and would now be able to place an optical fiber down it to connect us up next Tuesday.

Congratulation Enable Networks / Downer Engineering (or whomever actually does the installation of this part). A very nice, tidy job totally well done 8-).

Planning Phase Complete

Had Downer engineering out yesterday to plan the installation of the fibre on my property.

This was a relatively simple task, as I had already decided that the best option was to tunnel from the right hand side of my property (versus the left where the existing services are).

Not everyone will have this choice, but luckily for us we've got 2 fibre pairs on either side of the property!

Sounds like it will be a relatively simple install so I'm crossing my fingers that everything will go smoothly next Tuesday.

In the mean time I've been doing more research on my Fritz box.
That thing is one serious device. Will post a summary of the new features that are coming out soon.

Oh - and still haven't heard from Orcon. Never mind.

My swap to UFB

I officially signed up for Snap last Saturday (Sep 22) and eagerly awaited a call yesterday (Monday).

Sure enough, about 4pm I got a call from Enable to explain the process and book in for the install.

Anna (the Customer Services Representative) explained everything to me and it sounds like we'll be all ready for an install around October 9. Look forward to the next call from the team who will plan the install (eg how to tunnel to the house with the cabling etc).

Meanwhile, I did register my interest with Orcon mid last week as well (under no obligation though).

Haven't heard a thing from them - which does back up comments from a friend regarding customer support at Orcon. Not sure why my friend would want to touch them with a barge pole, but he was pretty clear he never would.

So although price is an important factor, customer service + support is what won my business for Snap.

New Orcon Plans

Was reading on Geekzone today that Orcon have launched new data plans.

For $75 per month you can get 30Gb data.
For $89 per month you can get 60Gb data.
And for $99 per month you can get UNLIMITED data.

All 3 plans include unlimited national calling. I haven't looked at the conditions for the "unlimited" calling, but that's an attractive offer for some people.

For me, the unlimited data plan sounds very tempting. Having signed up for Snap at the weekend my initial reaction reading this announcement was "Darn it - should have waited!".

But it's the old story - if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

Turns out that if you are on an unlimited plan, then you'll be put into a different pool of users. They have 2 pools - one for those on data limited/capped plans (eg the 30 / 60Gb plans) and one for those on the unlimited. Orcon have full details on how they are going to manage the unlimited data plans here.

To quote from Orcon's page:
"In short – the unlimited data plan is designed so you can get the most out of the internet – without being worried about a scary bill. But, the nature of how we will build the network [and depending on the number of customers downloading and how much they are downloading at any one time] means that on occasion you might see your speeds slowing".

My ADSL connection with Telecom is currently running at a minimum of 10Mbit/s, so the swap to UFB is to get an even higher speed (with less variation in speeds). Sounds like choosing Snap was the right thing yet again.

Using Android or iPhones with Snap

The Fritz!Box 7390 (that you can get with your UFB/Fibre connection with Snap) has loads of features, but the one that I'm looking most forward to is the ability for the phone system to work with Smartphones (Android OR IOS/iPhone).

What this means is that you can make (and receive) calls on your "landline" number from your mobile phone when you are at home (connected to your home WiFi network supplied by the Fritz!Box).

So my initial "fear" of having to buy new DECT cordless phones to truly utilize the Fritz!Box was completely unfounded - and in fact, completely superseded by being able to use my mobile phone with the system!

Android and iPhone apps

There are 2 main apps for use with Android phones and IOS/iPhone devices.

The first is the basic "FRITZ!App Fon" app which has all the basic phone features.

The second app is the "FRITZ!App Fon Lab" which according to the developers description "provides a technical preview of upcoming features in FRITZ!App Fon for the FRITZ!Box router.".

I've already installed the second app (on my Android phone) in anticipation of getting connected to Snap next week.

Interesting to note that the IOS/iPhone apps are compatible with a wide range of Apple devices - including the iPod Touch and iPad. So effectively the iPod Touch becomes a phone when you are at home 8-).

Links to the apps:
FRITZ!App Fon
Click here for Android
Click here for IOS/iPhone

FRITZ!App Fon Lab

Click here for Android
Click here for IOS/iPhone

Summary

Although the Android and iPhone apps aren't an official feature that Snap talk about, it certainly will be a winning feature for our family. No more "Who used the cordless phone last? Where is it?".

Snaps "modem" - the Fritz!Box 7390

For an extra $50 when signing up for Snap you can choose the 7390 versus the 7340 Fritz!Box.

This is one serious home networking device 8-).

Looking at the specs from an Australia website (see link below specs), it's got everything you could possibly want.

Want to share data? It's got the option of plugging in an external hard drive to share across the network.
Already got DECT cordless phones? Then this can be used as the base station.
Internet link down for some reason? Then you can plug in a USB 3G modem and connect that way.

Very impressive set of features and worth the extra $50 IMHO.


- ADSL2+ modem
- dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi
- 3G modem support
- 4-port Gigabit Ethernet
- 100 Mbps WAN port (making it NBN-ready)
- multi-line VoIP with PSTN fallback
- built-in answering machine and incoming fax
- integrated DECT base station supporting six cordless handsets
- two USB ports for network storage and printing
- built-in storage with DLNA support
- QoS for VoIP and IPTV
- IPv6 support

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/blogs/gadgets-on-the-go/hands-on-fritzbox-7390-internet-gateway-20120825-24tw2.html#ixzz279YD8Kfa 

Signup process - with Snap

After looking at the options I've decided to sign up with Snap on a 24 month contract.

Although the termination fees are quite high in the first 12 months (you have to pay to term - ie pay out the monthly fee for the remainder of the contract), it drops to $150 after 12 months.
Considering they are offering 2 months free as well as the modem for free with a 24 month contract (in addition to 12 months free of 145GB extra data allowance), it's really a reasonable deal.

My logic is that it's unlikely Telecom will
(1) Get themselves sorted anytime soon, nor
(2) Offer a package that would better Snaps

At worst, I'll wait out the first 12 months.

But having talked with Snap several times (asking all sorts of questions), I'd have to say it's likely I'll be with Snap for quite some time.

Signup process is relatively easy (a few issues with their signup form, but nothing major).
I've started the clock on them (taking into account of course that it is the weekend), so lets see how long it takes to get up and running.

Orcon YouTube Channel

When I signed up my interest in Orcon UFB they sent me a confirmation email as well as a link to some YouTube videos.

Interesting one that explains a bit about the install process here.

Orcon Channel is here.

Nice move - I get a bit sick of reading documents, so videos are a good communication method.

+1 for Orcon for this 8-).

Snap versus Orcon

I've started putting together a table which attempts to compare the offerings from Snap and Orcon.

To cut a long story short - they seem about the same when looking at price (are we really surprised??).
Orcon has a great bonus where you don't start paying for the base plan until 2013 (you only pay for the modem rental until January 1 2013).
Snap appears to have some good bonuses (an extra 145GB per month for 6 months if you sign up for a 12 month contract), BUT you need to front up with $345 for the modem.

I still have a few outstanding questions with Orcon which once answered will allow me to update the table, but I thought it might be good to put something up now.

You can see the table as it stands today at the link here.

Below I've put together a summary of Snap Lightspeed 30 (30Mbit/s connection, 25GB month standard data allowance) and the Orcon Fast account (30Mbit/s connection, 30GB month standardard data allowance).

Further down (if you scroll within the window) you'll see the Pros+Cons that I've identified with each offering. Would be keen to hear what others think - so please feel free to post a comment.

Snap, Orcon and Slingshot

The 3 providers that are available today are:

1. Snap
2. Orcon
3. Slingshot

Are they all equal?

Well, here's what I've found so far:

Slingshot don't seem to really be a contender (yet).
If you go to their page (click here), they don't seem to really be up and running yet - the page seems to be very generic with regards to their UFB offering and asks you to sign up your interest in the service.
Oh - and when you click on their plans and pricing page, you get this:

Orcon have a great offer that means you don't pay anything for your service until 2013.
However, they do seem to have a number of Terms and Conditions (T&C's) around this offer which could means some fairly hefty fees if you disconnect early (nothing unusual about this - just something to keep in mind). Also doesn't appear that you own the modem - upside of this is that they probably replace it if there is anything wrong. Downside is that you are paying for it each month (but there are special deals where it's effectively free).

Snap seem to have the most clear-cut offering and are very upfront with early termination fees etc.
Those people that have used Snap before seem to have nothing but positive comments about them - which makes sense considering that they have been "ISP of the year 3 years in a row".

So if you are thinking of making the jump now, it really seems that Orcon and Snap are the only two contenders. Next post will be comparing the two of them for a phone line + data, with varying terms/dates to see how they stack up.

Slingshot - feel free to correct me - I'm just basing this from what I can see 8-).

The first "gotcha" with UFB - monitored alarms

Monitored alarms seem to be the first stumbling block I've come across with switching to UFB.

The problem is that most alarms use a standard telephone line for sending information back to the monitoring centre. While it's technically possible to make some alarms work with a Voice-over-IP (VoIP) line, I'm not hearing "Yes, it always works well".

And even if you can get it working, you then theoretically need an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) on the network router - otherwise if you lose power (as happened frequently in earthquakes), you lose your alarm monitoring.

Seems that getting most alarms modified to work over a VoIP line will cost around $500.

Alternatively, we could swap to a wireless monitoring solutions that transmits up to Sugarloaf and then back down to a monitoring centre. But once again, that's about $500 to install - and then $45+GST (if I recall the conversation correctly) for monitoring each month.

SkyTV is another thing that will cause grief. To be able to order pay-to-view movies, the Sky box/decoder is plugged into a standard line. Would make sense that those requests could be sent over the internet, but that doesn't seem possible yet.

Not that it really worries me too much - last time I tried to use that option with Sky it failed. Tried calling customer services and they were completely useless.
We ended that call with me saying "Well since you don't seem capable of sorting this, I'll buy my movies from iTunes!".

So in reality, maybe it's about time to dump Sky. With high speed internet and the option to watch movies and tv through services such as Netflix it seems crazy to be paying them $46 per month for a very average offering and level of service.

In summary:
It appears you can get around the problems with having your alarm monitored, but you are likely to be up for an extra $500 - or more if you need to swap to a different alarm system.

Retail Service Providers - RSP's

A term that you'll need to know is "RSP" or "Retail Service Provider".

These are the companies that will provide services on top of Enable's network and are the companies that residents of Halswell will be able to buy services from.

The 3 service providers that have been listed on Enable's website are:

1. Snap
   https://myaccount.snap.net.nz/fibre
2. Orcon
   http://www.orcon.net.nz/fibre#fibre-landing
3. Slingshot
   http://www.slingshot.co.nz/homeline-and-broadband/fibre/

I'm currently with Telecom (and have been since Day 1 of them offering internet services in New Zealand - remember when they made us have logins beginning with "xtr...." and stupidly had default passwords that were generated off the username?!?!).

So I did some investigation today, and the official word from Customer Services @ Telecom is that they know nothing. They assume they will be offering services - but have no details.

The unofficial word is that they might have something ready by Xmas. But at this stage, nobody is quite sure.

I also called and spoke with a person on the Snap helpdesk. 

Got pretty much every question answered, so they are definitely the "pick of the bunch" for me at the moment. Probably the only thing that I'm still unclear on is how to have my alarm monitored. I've contacted my monitoring service (ADT) and will hopefully get an answer in the next couple of days.

Anyway, in the next post I'll try and summarise the offerings of the 3 current RSP's.

As always, please feel free to leave comments and/or questions.

Nigel H.

Who's who with the Halswell UFB rollout

So exactly who are all the people involved with the new UltraFast Broadband rollout?

Enable Networks are the group building the new network.
From their website:
"Enable is a partnership between Government agency, Crown Fibre Holdings Limited and Christchurch City owned Enable Services Limited.
It is building an ultra-fast broadband (UFB) network for 180,000 homes and businesses in Christchurch, and Waimakariri and Selwyn Districts. This fibre network will deliver all telephone, broadband and entertainment services to homes and businesses for the next 50 years."

They have contracted a number of different companies to do various tasks/stages, with their main contractor being Transfield.

Now that the infrastructure has been installed in the streets of Halswell, retail service providers (ie people that you and I will signup with) are being appointed and are being listed on Enables website.

UltraFast Broadband in Halswell

It's been promised for quite some time but it's good to see that we might finally be able to connect up to the new UltraFast Broadband (UFB) that the government has been promising us for a while.

The purpose of this blog is to explain in simple terms what the different options are.
There will be a lot of marketing materials coming out (and people standing at supermarkets trying to convince you to sign up), but before you do, it might be worth taking some time to work through the pros + cons of the different offerings.

Through the various posts, I'll try and explain:

- Who's who with the rollout
- What the different companies are offering
- Try and highlight "gotchas" with the various offerings.

At any time, please feel free to ask questions via the comments section.

Nigel H.