My Ar*se needs kicking

We're still getting dedicated broadband fibre optic cable laid. It's been a monumental clusterfuffle of political and private company mismanagement, and overall logistical ineptitude. It was wielded as a WMD for pollies to bash each other with in the run up to the elections but since that day I haven't heard a single word about it.

Some small parts of the country have access to it, most of us will wait for as long as 2020 for it if we get it at all. Better Wireless technology may overtake it before it's even finished and it will be a total waste of billions but hey, life's too short for me to research details on it.

We don't have the population to make it profitably viable nation wide and those who do have it will pay dearly to cover the massive costs of it.

There are only very few users who legitimately need the far higher download speeds cable offer, most of us will only use it to download porn and movies and it's a very high price to pay to accommodate those few. It was proposed and launched as a monument to an egotistical PM who fancied himself as the messiah of the Twitter generation and he saw no problem in draining the coffers with a bribe to cater to them for votes.
 
Diwundrin said:
... There are only very few users who legitimately need the far higher download speeds cable offer, most of us will only use it to download porn and movies ...
Click to expand...

I always thought of those as being "legitimate needs", but perhaps that's just me ... :playful:

Yeah, we've been waiting for fiber optics for years here also. One day a local service rep showed up, gave me one of these and told me it was my new fiber optic Internet connection ...

fiber-optic-toy.jpg
 

RedRibbons said:
Wow, DIW, I had no idea. I take my internet connection for granted, and never realized what it must be like in other countries.
Click to expand...
Me neither, never heard of such a thing.

I've got wireless now, they put some little gizmo antenna thingy on our roof, for free. And I pay $29.00 a month for the wireless service. I could "bundle" with several different companies, but I like to spread my business around, why makes things easier on myself! Besides if I did it with the cable TV company, their service is always acting up and I don't want that happening with my phone and computer too.

I already have enough aggravation in my life.
 
...its not only other countries, if you live in the boonies, you cannot get cable, its either dial-up or satellite, I pay $75 per month for satellite and run out of data in about three weeks, service slows way down, I hope we get fiber optic sometime before I die...:rolleyes:
 
I don't know what the fuss is about, this ADSL connection is as 'instant' as I can discern or need. I don't have problems with it so don't need cable. It's not exactly smoke signal level here Redribbons.
 
It is expensive in Australia if you go with the only company that guarantees mobile (cellular) comms just about everywhere. We have landline, two mobiles (cell phones), ADSL 500Gb/month and it averages just over $190.00 a month.

We won't be changing anytime soon because, when we travel, we need the ability to stay in touch with family and friends. We also have a mobile broadband modem when travelling and can get remarkable (for Oz) speeds from it, depending on location. I've seen > 40Mbps download and > 30Mbps upload speeds in a few places wirelessly.

Advances in wireless technology will astound us in the near future.
 
Diwundrin said:
I don't know what the fuss is about, this ADSL connection is as 'instant' as I can discern or need. I don't have problems with it so don't need cable. It's not exactly smoke signal level here Redribbons.
Click to expand...

No, it isn't, but only because they've outlawed smoke as a deadly weapon ... :playful:
 
I'm on the fibre in Coffs Harbour Australia. At the moment, I'm on a free trial mode. A couple of hundred gig per month, plus free voip phone. A couple of days ago it fell over a bit - couldn't connect to the internet at all. It rectified itself after a couple of hours. This morning, it fell over badly - no internet, no phone for over 8 hours. I still had the satellite service available, so scrambled around re-connecting that. I do still have my landline phone available too. I'll stick with the fibre after the trial has finished because it is so much cheaper than the satellite service. I'll be saving about $30 per month. Just keeping my fingers crossed that when I cancel the satellite service, and the landline phone, the fibre will well and truly be able to cope.
 
That was a strange little political exercise making it available in Coffs GJo, when it's not connected directly to anywhere else yet.
A little island of technology as it were. It can only be as good as what it's feeding info from can't it? (dinosaur here.)

Interesting to hear it fell on it's face though, supposed to be foolproof wasn't it? But then if Telstra's running it..... siiiigh. Interesting it's cheaper than satellite too, any info of actual monthly fee and data allowance?
 
After the trial, I will be paying $44.95 per month, for 20 Gig peak time/ 20 Gig off peak time at 25/12 speed, plus $10 per month for the VOIP phone. (Less the discount my provider gives me for being a faithful and good customer - I get $5 per month off for that.) The phone calls will cost me 10 cents per call anywhere in Australia, un-timed. I have been paying $39.95 per month for satellite, 3 Gig Peak, 13 Gig off peak. Another $30 per month for the phone, plus the calls are $2.50 for anywhere in Australia for 3 hours. And yes, you're right - if I'm downloading from a site in America, the speed is restricted to what the traffic will bear. Having said that though, it has been much faster to download a game via the fibre than it was via the satellite service. The fibre is still in it's early stages yet, but now it's here, we have to embrace it - the Telstra copper lines will be pulled in about 12 months.
 
RedRibbons said:
I get unlimited access to the internet for one money a month.:D
Click to expand...

I have Time Warner Cable for everything, for those of you familiar with the company. I have a package deal...unlimited high speed computer access, land line phone with no charge for long distance, and cable TV. TV being the only way to control your charge, just however many premium stations you prefer. I have none. I would love to have HBO again, but it's too darned expensive no more than I was watching it. But I'm forced into far more channels than I want or need. Not being a big TV fan, but tape something(s) daily and LOVE my DVR. In order to keep it, you must take the hundreds of additional channels that I never use.:notfair:I won't give that taping feature up 'til I'm in the poor house. It's way more than I should be paying, but at my age so few things are entertaining. So I bite a big bullet each month and cut back in other ways. It's easy to justify because my SIL has me on the family plan for my cell phone, unlimited and long distance, and he picks up the tab, always has. I love that man!
 
Bit late in answering Di. Yep the copper will be pulled in my area in about 12 months - the fibre was installed along all the streets here about June. Once the fibre goes past your house, you are no longer permitted to apply for ADSL or even for a new phone - you have to go via the fibre. The new Federal Government plan will put boxes on street corners with fibre in them, the node, then the copper wires you have running to your house will take over from there. Coffs isn't an isolated area - there's quite a few places around the country that have the fibre to the premises already connected - just that they seem to have been randomly picked out of the hat for some reason. You will still have the choice of wireless if you can get it.
 
Thanks Jo, but I still wont pretend to know how it all works. What I have is good enough for my needs and I'll settle for that as long as I can.
I just had the thought that I'd better check the set-up where I'm moving to, no idea what internet options they have there, didn't think of it.
 
You just have to check with the NBN rollout plan. Not real sure where you're intending to move to. There's so many places that are now on the fibre - all up and down the coastal region here in NSW. Apart from the couple of glitches I had during the week, I still think it's a good idea, and certainly cheaper for me.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top