[LINK] Fwd: Some peace of mind about the NBN

[Carl Makin]

HI Roger,

> On 1 Nov 2017, at 2:59 pm, Roger Clarke <Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au> wrote:
> 
> I received an (unsolicited) assurance about my (TransACT) VDSL2 connection.

As did I.  I was wondering if they targeted me as I’m in the process of installing a NBN FTTN connection on a month-by-month trial to see if it’s any better.   Obviously it was a general marketing email then.

> When I've checked in the past, it was usually running about 15-20Mbps.
> 
> So I ran three speedtests, one immediately after the other, and repeated that three times at 10-15 minute intervals:
> -   iinet said        67/12         72/16        72/12
> -   oszpeedtest       26            21           23
> -   speedtest.net     72/18         69/ 8        72/19
> 
> None of the three sites provide any explanation of their method, or any indications of assumptions made.

I’ve found all the speed test sites extremely variable.  I don’t bother with them much these days.  My VDSL2 modem connects at 33/2.8 and I usually get around that for downloads, depending on where they come from.  The poor rate is due to my connection having to go through two intermediate nodes before ending up at a supernode. 

For the non-Canberrans here, the Transact/iiNet (now owned by TPG) VDSL2 network is based off the old Transact VDSL network that was installed around 15 years ago with new cable installed (back then) on above ground power poles.  It’s basically FTTN, where the nodes are no more than 300m from a customer’s house, then multiple nodes are linked via fibre back to “SuperNodes” and then back to the main data centre.

However, apparently the VDSL2 DSLAM cards were too big for the node cabinets so were only installed into the supernodes.  Along with the fibre runs between supernodes and nodes there are apparently a number of copper pair runs as well so if you aren’t near a supernode, they jumper the copper pair from your house, to one of the link pairs, and so on until you get connectivity to a supernode.  In my case that’s something like 900m in total distance through two intermediate nodes.

iiNet announced last year that they were rolling out micro-dslams into the nodes to fix this, but I’m still waiting.  They have fallen completely silent about it, and I’ve not heard of anyone getting upgraded in the past 12 months.

> 
> From: "iiNet" <support at iinet.net.au>
> Date: 1 Nov 2017 10:58:12 +0800
>> You don't need to switch to NBN because you're already on our ultrafast VDSL2 broadband network.
>> You've probably been hearing a lot about the NBN lately, so we thought we'd help clear a few thing up.
>> -   The NBN will not be replacing the network which powers your
>>   current VDSL2 broadband service.
>> -   That's because our VDSL2 network is already delivering reliable,
>>  high-speed internet with download speeds between 20Mbps & 80Mbps*.
>> This means that you can keep your current VDSL2 broadband for as long as you'd like. You don't have to switch to the NBN.
>> * VDSL2 Speeds: Actual throughput speeds may be slower and could vary due to various factors including interference, customer cabling and equipment, download source, and line length. VDSL2 2 has an upload connection speed of up to 20Mbps.

Yes I get 33Mbps down, but only 2.8Mbps up and the reliability recently has plummeted again.  I’m getting increasing packet loss and ping spikes.  Last time this happened it took months and multiple technician visits to get it working again.  It doesn’t help that the call centre is in South Africa, and the local technical support is contracted out as well, each with their own job tracking systems that don’t appear to talk.  iiNet also don’t seem to be answering emails anymore.  I’ve sent in a number with no response.

NBN FTTN was made available here in the past couple of months so rather than keep flogging the iiNet dead horse I’m going to get it installed and see if it’s any better.


Carl.