Wireless Broadband

[-Matt-]

Im just curious to who out there has wireless broadband and what your experiences have been with it?
I got wireless on the optus network yesterday and it says that it should operate between 512kbps and 3.6Mbps, I have got full network coverage and so far Im yet to see it operate at over 50kbps and mostly hovers around 10-20kbps which is worse than dial up, it also drops out quite often. I will be contacting optus tomorrow to find out what the deal is but this is pathetic for something that isnt cheap.
Anyone had any similar problems?

 

[Tetras]

yeah my mate had the same kind of problem. he lived kind of out in the scrub without much service for his phone, so naturally it was kind of a stress to get wireless. But then he moved into a house with heeps of trees, thick walls and all that shiznit and he still had ****e service. eventually he moved to his mrs place which was in town and he got ace service.

But i spose if you live in the city or somewhere that isnt like a cave then there shouldnt be a problem with it...
Maybe its just optus being nubs

 

[Dave]

I just switched from aapt to a telstra wireless package.. I can't remember what kbps it is but i dled about 200mb of music in 3-4minutes or less.. and its 20gig dl then slowed to dial up

 

[Sel]

Hey, i just got wireless aswell and am dissapointed
Im with Bigpond, ive had wireless about a week now... its slow and drops out ALL THE TIME

I dont know how fast its supposed to be, and i dont know how fast it is, but i reckon im better off with dial up =/

 

[CountryTriton]

Coverage and speed a certain Telco with a T in it is the way to go.

Although to sell it to people without any understanding of how radio frequencies and line of sight, network cellular load bearing, the differnce between a metro, regional, rural, and remote service, and above average computer skill is a crime.

 

[falconboy]

Working in IT I have come across a few wireless connections and am constantly coming across Telstra with dreadful speed and drop outs. Just the other day I did a speedtest on a customers system, after she complained of drop outs and poor speed and it came back as 800kbps. In comparison my TPG ADSL2+ hardwired regularly gets 13,000kbps. I redid her test a second time and it came back at a whopping 96kbps. Thats less than useless.

You can be lucky or unlucky, but unlucky seems to be more common.

 

[baxtor]

Im just curious to who out there has wireless broadband and what your experiences have been with it?
I got wireless on the optus network yesterday and it says that it should operate between 512kbps and 3.6Mbps, I have got full network coverage and so far Im yet to see it operate at over 50kbps and mostly hovers around 10-20kbps which is worse than dial up, it also drops out quite often. I will be contacting optus tomorrow to find out what the deal is but this is pathetic for something that isnt cheap.
Anyone had any similar problems?

most plans are sold @ a certain kiloBITS per second yet the speed checks and download rates shown on your computer will rate it @ kiloBYTES per second. I think there is 8 bits in a byte so 50 Kbps is the same as 400kbps, I think!!!

 

[Chris89]

We have wireless, don't seem to have many issues with it - sometimes it will drop out but that only seems to happen if its raining, apart from that there isn't many complaints at all. We have adsl2+ and going by the speed test it says we're connected to 13,000kbps. Our ISP is through Chariot and we get 150gb to use a month for $69.95.

We were connected to telstra, however they're a total rip off compared to some of the other providers - it's amazing that the charge people $60+ a month and they only 10gb in usage, I would never go back to bigpond ever again, I'd rather go without internet than deal with them!

 

[-Matt-]

Well I live right in the middle of Port Macquarie which is a city and its telling me that I have great coverage yet the internet speed is so slow its painful! It takes a long time to just open one of these threads and drops out every couple of minutes.

 

[falconboy]

We have wireless, don't seem to have many issues with it - sometimes it will drop out but that only seems to happen if its raining, apart from that there isn't many complaints at all. We have adsl2+ and going by the speed test it says we're connected to 13,000kbps. Our ISP is through Chariot and we get 150gb to use a month for $69.95.

So you have 2 broadband connections? You either have wireless or ADSL2+.

Or you may be getting confused - having a computer that connects to your ADSL2+ router wirelessly does not give you wireless broadband. Wireless broadband is using a modem that connects to the internet wirelessly (ie, disconnect your phone line and ADSL2+ will stop working, Wireless internet won't).

 

[first_time_owner]

yeh i got optus, i get around 200-300kbps
its SOOOO SLOWWW and constantly drops out, but so good at dads we got ADSL throo the old foxtel cable so get around 10 000kbps so goin bak to the optus after that is pretty bad

 

[-Matt-]

yeh i got optus, i get around 200-300kbps
its SOOOO SLOWWW and constantly drops out, but so good at dads we got ADSL throo the old foxtel cable so get around 10 000kbps so goin bak to the optus after that is pretty bad

Mate Im lucky to be getting 20-30kbps at the moment

 

[falconboy]

ADSL/ADSL2+ = Uses phone line
Cable = Uses the thick cable in the street, usually underneath the power lines
Wireless = Uses towers (like mobile phones), no phone line required.

 

[Chris89]

So you have 2 broadband connections? You either have wireless or ADSL2+.

Or you may be getting confused - having a computer that connects to your ADSL2+ router wirelessly does not give you wireless broadband. Wireless broadband is using a modem that connects to the internet wirelessly (ie, disconnect your phone line and ADSL2+ will stop working, Wireless internet won't).

My bad . . Lack of sleep! We have adsl2+ but have a wireless modem

 

[Bax155]

Im with ya Mattsnake I live in the middle of Newcastle and Im lucky to get 20-30kbps to some time it flares up to 300 but thats still crap, I only got it as Im between houses at the moment but its so expensive, its costing me 50 bucks for 3gig which lasts about 3 weeks and I dont even download stuff and I always drop out, I believe they are made for major cbd ares like sydney, brisbane, melbourne and so forth!!
Oh Im with Virgin if anyone was wondering...

 

[falconboy]

My bad . . Lack of sleep! We have adsl2+ but have a wireless modem

No worries. If I had $1 for every customer that say they want me to setup 'wireless' internet, only for us to have a 10 minute conversation with me explaining the differences, I'd be a millionare. Needless to say 99% want ADSL2+ with a wireless router.

Easy way to explain it - if you want to use your laptop for the internet up at the local shops or further away, not in the vicinity of your home, you need true wireless internet. If you want to use it upstairs away from the router, you need ADSL with a wireless router.

 

[Chris89]

No worries. If I had $1 for every customer that say they want me to setup 'wireless' internet, only for us to have a 10 minute conversation with me explaining the differences, I'd be a millionare. Needless to say 99% want ADSL2+ with a wireless router.

Just like the amount of people who ask me if my pythons are poisonous, or if they're in a cage or just roam around the house - I wouldn't need to work, either would my grand children. . Ever LOL

 

[jase75]

Im with bigpond, its the only company that uses the Next G network, it not only covers major cities but country towns as well, i get pretty good speeds most of the time and i travel a bit both on the coast and inland. I think you will find all the other providers use the 3G network which is usually pretty good in the major cities, but if u are outside the cities its quite slow and unreliable. I know Bigpond is quite a bit more expensive but if your in a country area i think its worth the extra money. Iv tried a few others out this way and you might as well get DialUp.

 

[Kitah]

Just got wireless (as of Friday) with dodo; 6gig a month for $45. it is so darn SLOW! It'll quite often just cruise along at 1kb/s, we're lucky if we even get to 20-30kb/sec! is there something wrong with this? dialup is faster! this is purely and simply downright rediculous. so much for "high speed wireless broadband"! I can get 95-100% signal and it does this!

Is there something wrong? what on early is up with this?

 

[Noongato]

I recently upgraded to the wireless Next G thing with Telstra, as you dont need a phone line for it and i was planning on cancelling the phone cos i have a rediculously high bill.... Well lovely Telstra and bigpond as usual cut me off 3 days later... So no internet for me till the bill is paid.
Right now im running through my mobile phone plugged into the pc, burning my credit away..