Baz

Ladies & Gents,

We have just moved to Varsity Lakes, and it would seem Telstra have run out of landlines or something so we can't use them for Internet. We tried Optus but it was painfully slow for streaming.

Can anyone recommend an internet provider to use?

Cheers

astera

Seems like your only option is to look towards mobile broadband. Speeds should be great so your only concern should be the data allowance, especially if you will be using streaming services.

Back in the day there were cheap ways to knock-up lots of data, but those loopholes have now been closed so you're looking at whatever top-tier offers are available in terms of data allowance.

GarryP

Have you checked the NBN for your particular address?

Think you would come under the Burleigh Heads area.

Looking at the area, it seems to have quite a bit of 'Hybrid Fibre-Coax' by OPENetworks, which will then become NBN when they get their finger out - H2 2016 to 2018

https://www.finder.com.au/nbn-tracker/map

Might be worth seeing if you can connect to that.

Otherwise you are stuck with mobile services, or continually reapplying to Telstra to nab a connection when one of the ports becomes free.

This spreadsheet might help https://www.telstrawholesale.com.au/...e_Capacity.xls

neil248

My ex wife had exactly the same problem in Varsity. Telstra may be your only option, she joined the queue until a port was available. Once you have that you may find the internet is still extremely slow. The mobile broadband option did not work that well with a teenage daughter chewing up data.

Baz

Thanks for the replies, i think we are in a due waiting for a port, who knows how long that will take.

Cheers

astera

Baz, I know this is a long-shot but do you have a Telstra phone booth anywhere close?

Baz

Thanks for the reply, unfortunately not, i looked into the Telstra Air option but there is nothing close enough � ����

ABCD......

Did you find anything suitable. Looking at a move to Varsity Lakes, and have just been told that Telstra don't have anything, and NBN may be available by October or December.

Looking for a decent ADSL to tide over until then.

Baz

Afraid not, tried a wireless modem with Optus but the download speed was terrible, so cancelled the contract.

INet told us they could give us internet, but it turns out they can't, as there are no internet portals available, like we already knew.

Basically i'm afraid there is no way around it, until a portal becomes available.

How does the NBN work? Do you just need a phone line?

ABCD......

That does not sound good.

NBN and Phone lines are an interesting issue, and maybe a little scary based on some things I have read.

Basically NBN does not run on the old copper phone lines, they are laying new fibre etc, and once NBN is fully in, the old phone line service will be disconnected.

This appears to say that there will be no phone lines unless you have NBN.

Also, if there is a power cut, there will be no phone service, as the phone will operate via your modem.

NBN say: "You should consider keeping a charged mobile phone in case there is a power outage. "

While going through the NBN set up with one provider, I came across this statement: "If you or a member of your household has a life threatening medical condition which requires Priority Assistance, this service [NBN] may not be suitable for you." Not sure what that means, but priority assistance customers need to double check their NBN provider can provide this government guaranteed service.

GarryP

Everyone wishes this were still the case. However Trunbull got his hands on it, and loused it up totally.

What they are now installing is fibre to the node, and then reusing that old, poor quality, copper to your house - just with VDSL rather than ADSL.

Upshot is if you have poor signal on ADSL signal, you'll probably have worse on NBN (since it's that same copper, and VDSL falls off faster). The only time you will see 100Mbit is if you are living on top of the node.

Your bog standard telephone line has power going down it, so if your power goes out, the phone can still work. With the newer standards, unless they put in a battery backup, your phone is powered from your power. Hence if you have some automated reporting etc. - it'll stop.

In short, not really an issue, everyone has mobiles.

ABCD......

And if they are paying for it of course, but most people are choosing the 12Mb or 25Mb service. Not being prepared to pay the extra for the faster speed.

Not everyone though, and those that haven't are being ignored on that point.
They are now beginning to talk about people needing battery backup for the modems.

The house in question at Varsity Lakes for us, is set for the Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) NBN link up, but not till Oct-Dec.

The existing one locally is Fibre to the node (FTTN).

GarryP

Not really. Faster speeds tend not to cost much more than slower (shouldn't cost anything more in my book). The point however is if you can only get a max of 3Mbit from your Trunbull NBN in the evening, there's not much point paying for faster - is there?

And that hurts the NBN business plan, because they hoped to be able to upsell people to what would be pure profit tiers.

ABCD......

Not really when you get 12Mb on ADSL already, and that's on Dodo !
Actually that's the same on Dodo NBN in Upper Coomera.

So actually there isn't much point in NBN at all... if the majority don't want to pay for the 100 speed.

But the problem is, nothing in Varsity Lakes... Probably don't want to expand existing copper as it will be discontinued in 2019 anyway, so the NBN is actually causing the situation of nothing available for now.

Any mobile services giving about 12mb speed with about 300Gb per month data allowance in Varsity Lakes area?

GarryP

My point was that if they could actually get 100/40 in the evening, I'd guess at least 50% would go for it for an extra $10. However, the implementation has been a dogs breakfast and it can't practically deliver the speeds claimed.

Any fixed wireless providers in the area?