bioneural.net

If you're thinking of signing up for broadband from Xtra.co.nz, here's a little rant so that as an informed consumer you can properly consider your alternatives. We have the Go Large plan, which advertises a downstream connection speed "as fast as your phone line allows" and a monthly allowance of "unlimited data". To be frank, this advertising is misleading.

Maxinimal

I am situated in Wellington's CBD, and I just can't believe that my phone line "allows" up to just 1.5 Mbps during typical usage. I've seen the speed test go up to 3.5 Mbps on rare occasions. When I complained, Xtra sent me the following automated explanation:

There are several factors that can affect the maximum speed you can receive:

• Where you live or work - The distance you are from your local phone exchange will affect your maximum connection speed. For example, if your home or office is within 1km of the phone exchange it is more likely you will get a faster maximum speed than someone who is, say, 4km away.
• The wiring in your house or office - Both the length and quality of any wiring in your house or office can affect maximum connection speeds.
• Your computer - Your computer and modem or router will also affect the maximum speed of your broadband connection.
• Your modem setup - How you connect your modem to your computer will affect your connection speed. For example, an Ethernet or Wireless connection is generally faster than a USB connection.

As is the case with most broadband connections worldwide, yours will not always reach its maximum speed and the speed will also vary over time.

More generally, the day-to-day speed of your broadband connection can also be affected by the following:

• The time of day - If you log on during busy periods when lots of people are using the Internet at the same time (usually between 4pm and midnight) speeds are likely to be slower.
• The websites you visit - Some websites limit the speed at which they send out information and sites that are further away (i.e. international sites) can be slower to download than sites hosted in New Zealand.
• Sharing your connection - More than one person using the same connection in your home or office can slow speeds.
• The application(s) you are using - Some applications may use all of the spare bandwidth or memory on your computer. You can check if this is the case by turning off each application that you might be using and then checking your speed again. Make sure you turn off any anti-virus software before you do this.
• Viruses and spyware on your computer - Your computer may have been infected by viruses or other unwelcome programs like spyware. If you have anti-virus or anti-spyware software, make sure this software is up-to-date and that you run regular scans of your computer. Alternatively, you can perform a free scan of your computer at http://xtra.co.nz/security/
• Your upload speed - If you are trying to upload files while downloading or surfing the web, this may use all your upload capacity and cause slower download speeds which can also effect web browsing. Downloading always utilises a certain amount of upload capacity/bandwidth at the same time.

Having had 2 Mbps broadband in the UK, living several kilometers from the local exchange and using similar equipment, I really don't buy that any of these reasons is primarily responsible for the slow connectivity I experience. I can't stream previews from the iTunes Music Store without re-buffering, I get time-outs when checking my e-mail, my FTP sessions stall, and watching QuickTime movie trailers or YouTube videos is an exercise in patience.

I think Telecom/Xtra have a major problem with network capacity; there just isn't enough broadband to go around. I couldn't find any details about their contention ratio on the Xtra site, but we can reasonably assume it is unfavourable.

Off-peak "maximum" speed broadband with Xtra.co.nz

Unlimited you say?

How can you be allowed "unlimited" data when the Fair Use Policy specifies a limit of 700 MB during an 8 hour period? Granted, I don't download Ubuntu disk images every day, but that's a very curious interpretation of the meaning of unlimited.

Support second to sales

Support fairs no better. There was no connection at all earlier today, so I tried using the phone to get some sort of status report, but the automated menu options initially led nowhere. I then tried to speak to someone in Support, but gave up after 20 minutes of terrible music. So I rang Sales, and got through almost instantly (typical!); he didn't know if there was a network problem or even if there was a status message number to ring, but gave me another number that returned just a busy signal. Eventually connectivity was restored.

I posted a follow-up e-mail to Xtra about my slow speed over a month ago, but they didn't bother to reply.

Recommendation

Xtra should add the following qualifying statement to the Go Large Plan:

Real-world download speeds are typically much slower than the word "maximum" leads you to believe. You data usage will be "unlimited" providing that you don't use your connection very much.

The final word goes to Xtra:

We hope this helps to clarify what you can expect from your Xtra Broadband connection.

Update 22.01.07: We gave up on Xtra. Orcon are so much better. Our telephone line/ distance from the exchange hasn't changed—but our experience has been transformed. We now have broadband.

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