HFC NBN - Any Experience?

Hey so I finally got connected, but just wondering if anyone here is using a Time Capsule as a WiFi router? Prior I had the NTD connected to the Telstra Gateway modem provided which was then connected to the Time Capsule. Didn’t make sense to have so much connected so I removed the Telstra Gateway and plugged the Ethernet cable to the WAN port on the Time Capsule.

I’m so impressed with how everything just works. Although I am curious if there’s any settings I should set up on the Time Capsule just in case? Got no VOIP phone or anything at home.

Update: Okay, so it appears that two devices were fighting over who was connected on the network. I had to change the Bridge Mode to DHCP and that appears to be working fine now, so there’s a tip for any of you who are using the Time Capsule or Airport Extreme instead of the Telstra Gateway modem.

The inherent issue though is that its still a token ring network, and if you’re on the ring it wont really matter how much speed they add, it will still lead to the same problem. This is why I am a happy VDSL user with my own piece of copper going to the street cabinet.

It’s not ideal, but if they put more people on the same cable that wont be ideal either.

Don’t know if we need a more general NBN thread but I’ll put this here and leave it up to the moderators.

So it’s time to switch to a third ISP since switching on the NBN here. SkyMesh you’re dead to me, but there’s no one left caring over there since the acquisition, funnily enough as usual that’s the same time everything went downhill and the shit hit the fan.

Anyone on here with Aussie Broadband https://www.aussiebroadband.com.au/ if so I’d be interested in your referral code.

Going to take them up on their current Whirlpool Offer, One month free and double data for six months offer ends 26 November.

The downside with VDSL is that the nodes are hobbled with 1gigabit bandwidth to share with up to 400 customers…

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So who were you with before SkyMesh? And who took them over? I signed up recently to Telstra, as I’ve had the most reliable ADSL for a couple of years with them. Telstra are offering twice the quota now, and are going to be offering unlimited quota on the $99/month or higher plans.

Matreya, Do you have the same username on Whirlpool?

They are now owned by Satellite Solutions Australia Pty Ltd a wholly owned subsidiary of Satellite Solutions Worldwide which is a UK based company.

My guess is the purchase of SkyMesh was because they was the leader in satellite offerings on the NBN. And before the NBN SkyMesh was quite a heavy hitter in the satellite market.

I gave them a chance but they were too overpriced then month-to-month pricing is ridiculous plus they charge a signup fee on top. The bundles include so much junk that I will never use or want and they lock you in with them for 24 months. and to go on the faster speeds cost more than what it should as well.

https://www.aussiebroadband.com.au/referafriend/

Not my referral code, its Decryption’s so other details are

Anthony Agius - [email protected]

Yes, that’s me. :slight_smile:

I’m with Telstra also but I am rather concerned that offering unlimited on their plans is going to cause congestion during peak periods.

There are already a few reports popping up on Whirlpool from Telstra NBN VDSL customers complaining of peak hour congestion.

I’m in contract so I’m keeping a close eye on the situation rather than actively seeking another ISP at the moment.

Anyone else I’m not using his.

I think we cross pass on there quite often or we used to anyway haven’t posted on there and quite awhile.

Yeah, it worries me too, because in all honesty, 2TB of quota would be more than enough to serve my needs. The only consolation is that Telstra is not competing on price with the likes of TPG/iiNET, who have congestion problems.

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The price will tend to keep the ‘cheap leechers’ away I admit but with the new Apple TV, the new Telstra TV2 and other streaming services now offering ultra HD video streaming (and easy availability of 4K TVs) I can see lots of ‘family internet users’ (Telstra’s primary demographic) consuming a lot more data than in the past.

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Our date is commencing Q4 2018, we are in a HFC area so how quick it is from that date is anyones guess. Our internet is pretty good, very stable, limited congestion (as in if I test I can see it drop off sometimes, but in practice I don’t know that I have ever really noticed anything (and we are pretty heavy users in our house).

I’ve got friends a couple of suburbs over who have been on the same Optus cable connection for many many years and other than a dead modem at one time it’s been a very similar experience, always just worked… They have recently migrated to HFC NBN and all of a sudden they have lots of issues with dropouts. Will be interesting if they ever find out the cause…

This is exactly what I have. Telstra Velocity (FTTP) was I believe Telstra’s NBN prototype. It’s so good. Such a pity now the phone is via VoIP in therapy ISP modem. :thinking: I love using just an AirPort as my router plugged into the Ethernet port from the ONT (NTD).

An update.

I called my ISP yesterday to check on progress and it turns out the hardware order was cancelled. I’d stupidly mentioned a thunder storm, so of course that is not covered under warranty. The support person I got though was very good and found a way around all that and a new router is being shipped. We both agreed that it was strange, because the Huawei that is supplied is not a retail model that can be easily purchased.

Next up will be trying to convince NBN that the Arris cable modem is also failed and see how long it takes that to be replaced.

They are also going to fix up my account so the time I’ve been offline gets credited.

Nodes are easily upgradable to add more data at the node. The downside of HFC is that your hobbled by having to share the same piece of cable with your entire neighborhood.

Yes but are there any known instances where that has actually happened?

OTOH There are many known instances of peak time congestion on certain nodes (even with ISPs that purchase adequate CVC).

What is NBN’s procedure for these types of upgrades?

What are the odds that an already beleaguered NBNCo is going to upgrade nodes? After 2020? I doubt it. NBNCo will be written down and then sold off to some chinese buyer most likely, who will milk the network for the next 30 years after that, and avoid as much as possible doing any upgrades.

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We just switched to NBN on Telstra a few weeks back.

There have been some slow periods but my main issue was the 5Ghz network was very patchy and particularly on iOS devices just wouldn’t connect and report a wrong password.

Little bit of Dr Google and moved the band to 40hz and bingo been rock solid since then.

Regularly see over 90Mpbps but would suspect we are pretty early sign-on for the street, a guide to that is I am not seeing any other new Wifi names.

Phone seems to be going ok so far and we haven’t had any sound issue with it.

Have found the Telstra home App actually pretty handy, particularly as it has a link to to take you to the Router admin page.

Its hard to say in this instance with the NBN being so new whether any provider has asked for further upgrades yet. Under the old system some of the more popular ISPs such as Internode/iiNet/TPG etc were consistently asking Telstra/Optus for more space in the DSLAM. Sometimes this was forthcoming and other times not. Often its decided based on whether there was any financial incentive for those upgrades to be completed.

One could assume given that NBN Co. at this moment is government owned, there would be less of a need for a “business proposal” surrounding the need for further upgrades (this is practically the reason why the NBN exists as it does today anyway). The priority is and was underserviced regional areas because there was no way Telstra would make any money off further upgrades.

Now whether this model continues to occur under NBN Co. once the rollout phase finishes is a little hard to tell considering the relative “youth” of the NBN Co. But I would assume there would at least be “provisions” for further upgrades at a later date.

With fibre to the node, it’s quite simple, in some cases you don’t even need to replace the cable to enable more speed. This was one of the core reasons for going with fibre (its upgrade potential). Copper on the other hand? They’re still struggling with getting around a gigabit line speed over more than a couple hundred meters. That’s the bigger issue.