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Thread ID: 52397 2004-12-18 01:42:00 Kiwi Online ISP Bazman (6587) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
305013 2005-01-26 12:32:00 Late last night I saw an advertisement on TV that Kiwi Online, or KOL, was offering unlimited dial-up internet access for only $9.95 per month.
That's the cheapest Iv'e come across so far. But are there catches?
Is anyone here already signed up with them? what are your experiences so far?

Cheers,


I am at the end of my first month with KOL. If you want a lesson in patience then sign up, otherwise I would flag it away. Its far too slow and it hangs ... also they don't do newsgroups. I wrote and complained regarding getting a busy signal and they assured me that they were putting in more servers to speed things up (yeah right). Sadly I have closed my Xtra account and refuse to pay $14.00 to reconnect although as I speak I still have 2 days with Xtra before they cut me loose... Strange you have to pay to connect to something you haven't been disconnected from. Just another money grabbing scam. They assure me that they "closed" my account. Well raspberries to them. I am now on the look out for a better ISP now that is as good as Xtra but not the price... I would imagine that KOL will be good one day if it lasts, I can remember Xtra being crappy like this when I first signed up a few years back now. I believe KOL would do better to give a great service to their existing customers then get the servers, then advertise ... Common sense to me. 		ollieogg (6593)
305014 2005-01-26 17:47:00 Try orcon or dreamnet lightfoot (39)
305015 2005-01-26 20:22:00 I tried KOL a few months back after seeing the ad in the back of PC World. I found the service to be rubbish, and they didn't take kindly to me cancelling my account - I was emailed and rung several times about billing for a service I never used and had cancelled before I even got to the dial-up stage (as I said, junk service - they wouldn't respond to queries after over a fortnight, so I cancelled).

If you are in the wellington region (they are a local ISP, started 2 years ago), I would strongly recommend using FRESHER - they only offer 150 hours/month for $15, but the service is truly excellent. The help line is $1.99/min, but this is made almost redundant by the email support - most emails are answered within 5 minutes, and I've never had to wait more than 50 mins. Normal connect speed for me is 52 KBits/sec. Service is usually very reliable.

Bletch 		Erayd (23)
305016 2005-01-27 00:39:00 To add my $0.02. I have had accounts with eznet, KoL and am currently with slingshot.

KoL managed to sign us up on a friday afternoon. We were connected for ~2 hours and then when we tried to reconnect later in the evening the connection was refused - saying the user name was invalid. We tried to call them that evening, the next day and sunday. After a weekend with no net connection we managed to get them on the monday. On the first call they advised that their system hadn't added us properly, and that they would now do it - we should be back online. After minor badgering they also agreed to not charge us for the 3 days we had been 'connected' so far! After hanging up the phone I tried it, it failed.

After a further 3 calls I was advised that the problem lay with my computer - it wasn't sending the password through. Yes indeed my linux, WinXP and WinME boxes had all, simultaneously forgotten how to send a password. I was amazed. At that point I told them where to go and to send a refund for the $9.95. After 2 more calls and 3 weeks the refund did arrive - it didn't contain the $0.25 promised for the bank fees of processing the cheque but a peson has to quit dealing with an incompetent company at some point & my time is worth more than that. I had no problem getting on with slingshot - my PCs have all remembered how to send a password, maybe they didn't like the KoL server?

If KoL dropped their price to $0.01 a month I wouldn't use them. I would recommend Slingshot though, I have _never_ had an engaged tone, can stay on for prolonged periods with no problem - overnight downloads are fine - and their customer service actualy is. Having said that I don't use their email, so I can't comment it.

As noted before - most ISPs will let you dial in from anywhere, if you're using an 08** number then you should be fine, otherwise ask them for a number local to where you are going,

HTH

Mir 		Miranda (6594)
305017 2005-01-27 01:19:00 I am now on the look out for a better ISP now that is as good as Xtra but not the price
I was with Snap Net (http://www.snap.net.nz/) prior to ADSL and would thoroughly recommend them. "Virtually" unlimited internet for $20 per 28 days. 		FoxyMX (5)
305018 2005-01-27 03:41:00 I've been with Paradise since day 1 and have found them top-notch.
$15.00 150 hrs, spam/virus, 10mg web page, 5 e-mails, 24/7 help line (longest wait 10mins 2yrs ago), no hangups, download speed 6.2mg, connect speed 53.333(this has more to do with the quality of your phone lines & distance to telephone exchange)
Found them brilliant...so sue me. :) 		KiwiLinc (6595)
305019 2005-01-28 21:44:00 Haven't used them but the budget isp's usually come with the following drawbacks.

1) 0900 ($2+ per minute) technical support
2) Only one e-mail address
3) No webspace
4) TEND to be slower
5) Usually don't offer broadband so you have to change ISP's to migrate to broadband


:badpc: One important aspect they do not cover is after-hours technical suppport which is a must I feel. 		WIZARDRYN (6596)
305020 2005-01-28 22:04:00 I subscribed to kol 2 months ago. The first month went quite well but now is a different story. Allways engaged between 4 pm and 10.30 pm and so is their helpline. Often hangs up when you do finally get online.
I get the feeling this ISP has grown too big too fast and their hardware is now inadequate for the the number of subscribers. Yet they still keep advertising for more subscribers.


Yes, because for each sucker that signs up, that`s another 10 bucks (9.95 to be exact) in their bank account :2cents: whether you stay with them or not.There is no after hours service/technical support :badpc: i.e their service is only Mon-Fri 9am -7pm (as if computers only 'play up'during working hours) :confused: Once they get your sign up fee that is their main goal achieved. Try for example multiplying $10 times 100,000 people-yeah, that`s a nice xmas presie ($1m)so let`s keep advertising our useless deal for as long as we can! :angry 		WIZARDRYN (6596)
305021 2005-01-28 22:09:00 Ash M, its good to get your facts straight befor giving advice to people on how to spend their money.
1) Our 0800 number is free 24/7 aswell as our tech support service.
2) We offer 7 emails per account, 7 emails for $9.95 or $6.95(off-peak)
3) We are offering 20MB homepages with all accounts.
4) We are adding more resources to the system as more users join to keep speeds up.
But as how 56k goes, there is no guaranteed speed.
5) We will start to offer 'Broadband' connections in the near future at competitive rates.

I suggest you learn about something befor you talk about it.

Bazman, we have no policies or contracts for our customers.
The only fee you will ever pay is the flat rate monthly fee of either $6.95 for off-peak or $9.95 for unlimited.

I have a account with KOL and find them very helpful and good.


Hey KOL Henry-you are actually incorrect. Ash is right plus there is no after-hours technical service you are wrong there. Hours are only 9am-7pm. After hours and weekend technical service is NON-EXISTENT!!! 		WIZARDRYN (6596)
305022 2005-01-29 05:15:00 Joined up with KOL two weeks ago after getting years of problem free service from Slingshot.
Went for price.
Only $24.90 if you pay 3 months in advance.
That works out to $8.30 per month.

First week was horrendous.
Always engaged.
Lots of lag. Couldnt even download emails without getting timed out.
No response from help emails.

Second week.
Alls well.
Never engaged anymore.
No lag. Really fast.
But... still no response from help emails.

I guess they've upgraded recently and put on more servers.
They are not too bad now.

Give them a try.
You might like it. 		*Sparky* (311)
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