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| Thread ID: 21694 | 2002-07-01 16:42:00 | State of ISP service | Broosee (793) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 59012 | 2002-07-04 07:40:00 | i've had e3 for several months now . the price is right, 12 . 50/mo unlimited (if you pay for a year up front), the online sign-up is a breeze, and when it works it's very good . i did say "when" it works . there are definitely times of the day when it's a bit hard getting on . i experience what i call "stalled" connections, you seem to get connected but go nowhere . there are also times when a password logon screen appears after you've been connected and won't let you sign in with your correct user info . the staff apparently are working on these problems . as for service, the people i've dealt with have been friendly . but twice when i couldn't get connected i've left messages with tech support and received a call back . . . . . . . five days later . i'm hopping they'll get these things fixed . they have the potential of being a great service . |
glenn (177) | ||
| 59013 | 2002-07-04 10:49:00 | Hi Broosee, Or you could have a look at consumers.org.nz They have a good comparison chart to help you select for your area, price, time required etc. Cheers. |
*Sparky* (311) | ||
| 59014 | 2002-07-04 11:33:00 | My experience with Xtra helpstaff is that they rope in people off the street, give them some standard problem fixing A,B,C, instruction sheets ,hide them behind a four level telephone menu choice then release them to the waiting hordes. Their advice seems to be basic - try this, change that and when it doesn't work, the next one tells you the exact opposite. If their easy fixes don't work, you get fobbed off with get your line checked or get a new modem. However they do have one or two boffins you can book an appointment for. :O And they always finish with "Thankyou for calling Xtra" to leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling. |
Waldorf (471) | ||
| 59015 | 2002-07-04 19:08:00 | Ah yes, those 'stalled connections', not confined to E3 I'm afraid, just a feature of a generally overloaded network choking due to 'one more byte on a full stomach'! I did go for a look at 't consumers comparo, my my how the content of that list has changed in a couple of years . . . . . looks like my best choices are Actrix, Orcon & Maxnet but so far no comment from anyone who has had experience withem, could be good news OR bad eh! Not that I have any techincal expertise or 'proof' but i have a sneaking suspicion that my issues with Paradise are just as likely to be features of how the net system is working (or not) in the countries wires, & they're well overloaded but Telecom arent going to put any more capital into fixing it unless they get paid . . . . Bruce |
Broosee (793) | ||
| 59016 | 2002-07-04 22:38:00 | Broosie, The issues with poor line speed, electric fences causing connection failure, general unreliability and the like can to some extent, in some cases be blamed on the sad state of the copper pairs telecon have around the country between exchange and customer . However this is on a one by one basis, and not too be blamed for a collective overload of the system . Yet the back bone IS strong . Telecon were bragging about a year ago about the launch of a new cable linking the mainland with your country . This fibre optic cable runs from some wee bay in the nelson region to somewhere around Wanganui . It's capacity is "enough to do a separate live video feed to everyone in the South Island, and more" (telecon love that precise technical talk) This doesn't take into account clears fibre links, nor Telstar fibre links between our islands . Telstar-Clears fibre interisland links can move even more than telecon "video for all" . I did take note of the specs at the time, but cant remember them in exact terms, so i wont quote them . I also took note of the way New Plymouth was covered on this map . (my mother lives there, so i take note of things in the area) Theres one of them major back bone cables running both through NP, AND just behind the mountain, basically linking Wanganui with AK via 2 main feeds . Also links to Wellington . If New Plymouth has a shitty, overloaded, dial up connection speed, in such a small town, with such a huge backbone running right through and around it, the problem is not really a technical one . I'll say this till i'm blue in the face, but much of the current situation is political . Telecon could sort it with relative ease, but why should the encourage people to stay with a good dial up connection? If you want speed, you will go to DSL wont you? $$$$$kaching!!!$$$ Even taking the rapid growth of the net populous into account, NP would have less users online at any given time, than CHCH did 3 or for years ago . 2 years ago i was happily hogging an IHUG dial up connection in CHCH 24/7 The problems we are seeing now were largely unheard of, and we are still having better reliability than you . This may have something to do with CHCH's option of getting service from Telstar-clear, an opt-out option that you don't have . In short it is not in telecon interests to provide this service well . When the "0867" thing was being introduced IHUG was fighting tooth and nail to stop it, and predicting this exact scenario . Technically this country is capable of lightning fast internet for all, But someone doesn't wish to give away what they want to sell us instead . |
Chris Wilson (431) | ||
| 59017 | 2002-07-04 22:54:00 | OK Broosee, I'll save you some possible grief since you appear to be considering going with Actrix . I used them for a couple of years and until around 9-12 months ago they were great . Not so anymore, unfortunately . My connection deteriorated badly at most times of the day but particularly during the busy times . It was nearly impossible to get on in the evenings and quite often after connecting my modem would stall and I'd have to reboot the whole machine to free the line (yes, winmodem but it very rarely did that when I was with zFree during the same period) . Two other people in different parts of the country had the same problems as me so I know it wasn't my machine . Very sad to say it but I can't recommend Actrix any more . I'm now with E3 and endorse what the other person said about them regarding some difficulty logging on and the stalled connections . It's also a lot slower than what I had with zFree . They are not fantastic but certainly better than Actrix . Their price also went from $14 . 95 to $17 . 95 per month as from 1 July . Good luck with your quest . :-) |
Susan B (19) | ||
| 59018 | 2002-07-05 02:43:00 | Yeah Actrix are crap IMHO. and E3's "stalled" connections are really annoying. |
-=JM=- (16) | ||
| 59019 | 2002-07-05 03:35:00 | I find my ping batch file is good at kicking it up the ar*e if I use it as soon as the connection is made . Not all the time, but quite often . Not sure if it's coincidence or not, but if it seems to work I'll do it! :D |
Susan B (19) | ||
| 59020 | 2002-07-05 05:54:00 | That is known as the "rubber chicken" technique. Very common in computer repair, it is exceptionally useful for fixing faults which happen randomly. It even works on network slowdowns and dropouts. | Graham L (2) | ||
| 59021 | 2002-07-05 06:01:00 | Ta for the reply on Actrix Susan & others . . . I get the impression that I may as well just put up with my present status quo from Paradise until there is some quantum leap in the overall situation V Telecon etc . . . Now, how to adjust this rubber chicken ping packare thing, do I just add boiling water or is there some rocket science entailed? ;-)) |
Broosee (793) | ||
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