Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jun 27, 2007 1:04 pm Okay, I'm just going to throw this one in here because I couldn't find a more appropriate section. Unless we have one for technology stuff that I can't seem to see?
We are considering getting wireless internet and then VoIP on that connection thus eliminating the need to have a phone line (and activating it) or having to pay line rental for a phone line we don't ever use. Has anyone else done or considering this? Basically we did some quick calcuations and to setup a wireless internet with a wireless ISP is going to cost us around the $3-400 mark. Where as digging a trench, connecting the line to the house, activating the line, activating the line for ADSL connection will cost us around the $700 mark. We've also thought about the problems not having a trench might create later down the track if/when we sell. But we figured the house will have at least increased in value by then since we don't plan to move for at least another 5yrs so $300 wouldn't be too much to spend later. I guess then it just comes down to spend it now or spend it later? What does everyone think? Does anyone else think wireless and VoIP will be the way of the future? [sneakersss] Re: Phone Trenches, Wireless Internet and VoIP 2Jun 27, 2007 1:40 pm I have been considering the option as well. I'm yet to reach a conclusion, but I think I am leaning towards maintaining a landline/ADSL. VOIP is def the way of the future IMO, but wireless, I'm unsure about. It certainly seems a logical technology to use in our sparce regional country.
Soemt things I've thought of in no particular order: I hate Telstra and would love to be completely independant of them. VOIP on a good connection/setup is as good quality as a standard land line. Much like laptops, wireless links will always lag in features and speed compared to wired. Your wireless goes down through power outage or whatever, you have no means of making a call. At some point in the future the copper pair will have seen its day and fibre to the home will have to take over, requiring a new trench/whatever if you want that. Maybe you could have conduit laid where the connection might have to run underneath soemthing you cant easily dig under later? Re: Phone Trenches, Wireless Internet and VoIP 3Jun 27, 2007 1:55 pm parker Your wireless goes down through power outage or whatever, you have no means of making a call. But if the power goes down then your phone goes down, too, right? As in if your cordless phone or whatever is plugged into the wall then you can't use it if the receiver/base has no power. We did think about bad case scenarios as in you can't call 000 on VoIP. But we both have capped mobile plans which is what we use 100% of the time. I don't even recall the last time I used a land line. Except at work. We're also thinking the option of having the trench dug but not necessarily connecting it. I'm thinking the trench will be going where we don't plan to put anything except dirt. Hehe At least I hope so anyway. [sneakersss] Re: Phone Trenches, Wireless Internet and VoIP 4Jun 27, 2007 2:00 pm YSSIM But if the power goes down then your phone goes down, too, right? As in if your cordless phone or whatever is plugged into the wall then you can't use it if the receiver/base has no power. Standard fixed phones (ie not cordless) draw their power from the phone lines. Re: Phone Trenches, Wireless Internet and VoIP 5Jun 27, 2007 2:01 pm Cookiemonster YSSIM But if the power goes down then your phone goes down, too, right? As in if your cordless phone or whatever is plugged into the wall then you can't use it if the receiver/base has no power. Standard fixed phones (ie not cordless) draw their power from the phone lines. You mean the ones you have to pay phone rental for? [sneakersss] Re: Phone Trenches, Wireless Internet and VoIP 6Jun 27, 2007 2:08 pm YSSIM Cookiemonster YSSIM But if the power goes down then your phone goes down, too, right? As in if your cordless phone or whatever is plugged into the wall then you can't use it if the receiver/base has no power. Standard fixed phones (ie not cordless) draw their power from the phone lines. You mean the ones you have to pay phone rental for? I've got 3 sitting in my garage. Im not paying rent on them. Can't remember where I collected them from. Re: Phone Trenches, Wireless Internet and VoIP 7Jun 27, 2007 2:55 pm Yep do it
I'm very qualified to answer this one. Wireless is what I do for commercial clients every day - Data and VOIP - Hectares of the stuff that runs 24x7x365 days a year - trouble free. Re: Wireless being behind - hmm well we have wireless that is 300MB/sec - but that is not the stuff you see in the shops or we are talking about here. 802.11n is said to deliver 200mb/sec and 100mb/sec through your card so it is not slow by any means but that's a little way off still. So my advice Given the current state of the OZ based broadband debate !!!!! - I'd just go wireless like you are thinking. There is a difference in home grade wireless to commercial wireless - mainly in price, but also stability, dropouts & reboots for no reason, plus the ability to handle interference and VOIP packet prioritisation (That last bits basically a bit like having an express bus lane set of traffic lights) Your wireless will also be a shared bandwidth so as everyone in your neighbourhood jumps onto your ISP, it will be shared amongst you all so you might get some peaks and troughs - and as more demand is required the ISP needs to install more connection hubs or it will be really slow. Same sort of things apply to an ADSL link from the exchange to the ISP to a similar degree but it's normally not as peaky. So if you have a wireless ISP who can do what you want for that price go for it. Post here or email me who they are and I can do a quick review of what they are rolling out - Equipment wise and advise you if it is good or poor quality gear - features etc. And yes - VOIP will definiately be the future. Use the mobile on a capped plan - voip as well and you should be fine. But unless your wireless link is also able to be VOIP optimised - expect it to be scratchy on calls (stutters etc) when someone has sent you a thumping big email or your surfing youtube at the same time. And be careful of data charges and over data charges - there are some really unfriendly costs out there!!!! PLUS I'd also run a trench with some conduit and leave a draw wire in it so you are ready to pull some fibre in the future. Make sure it is a FIBRE friendly conduit run with no sharp bends or kinks, lumps of concrete in it etc. (ie - Get the right people to run it for you then plug both ends and your future proofed. Well as much as anyone can hope for I'd run it now - because if you make a garden there - the last thing you want is a trencher running across the garden in 3 years time. Steve Re: Phone Trenches, Wireless Internet and VoIP 8Jun 27, 2007 4:25 pm Hey Steve,
Thanks for that. All very good points and we are most likely going that direction. Bf thought that that conduit suggestion is a good idea. Anyway this is one plan we are interested at: http://www2.spin.net.au/products/iburst on the 'Intro 2G Shaped' plan. Let us know what you think. [sneakersss] Re: Phone Trenches, Wireless Internet and VoIP 9Jun 27, 2007 5:44 pm Ahh - Now the tough bit - deciding who is best for you, your needs and location.
Not sure if you've seen this tool? It's good to See what options are around http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/bc-plan.cfm Don't limit yourself in your search. Tick wireless and then click the anything costs and see what is available - Sometimes for $10 more per month you will see a much better deal and no excesses. I noticed that spinnet also charge you for UPLOADS - so be careful here. They then drop you to 56k and if you still use lots they might cut you off for the month. Check out if BIGAIR is in your area - maybe not as your a new suburb - but I think they offer a better deal and while the guy in the article below bags it - it still is capable of 4 to 5MB/second of true throughput (If they let you - plus location limits) and as your thinking 512kb would be good - what would getting 1MB, 2MB or 3mb be like etc The I-burst network has been designed for use by on-the-move people Which is harder to do - so you will pay more for this luxury and it is also a proprietary bandwidth - so your locked into the i-burst network unless you buy new kit. But if you travel often - work, holidays etc - it will work in other states too But seriously - get a life if you have to take you're wireless on holiday's with you I don't even take a phone when I go on holidays If you want to get into it more technically - read this as it is a good intro and overview to what was happening in 2004 backend wise and who owns I-Burst Hmm - Didn't he just get married the other day ? http://www.melbpc.org.au/pcupdate/2404/2404article5.htm Currently the # of wireless high speed options are a bit limited - but there are some big moves afoot in this area and many of my high end of town traditional wireless vendors have some pretty fantastic gear out or coming out that offers great new services in the suburban wireless space, so like all of our IT stuff - just after you've bought the best - there will be something else that's better - but if you don;t get on the train....well.......... Edit Forgot to put in some stuff in about 3G networks which are also being rolled out. Telstra was first, but Voda and the other are following suit with new radio installations in prgress etc to make this happen. 3G (NEXT G) is high speed - but can be expensive if your not on the right plan - so watch this space and see the plans come out soon then drop in price. Hope this helps. Steve Re: Phone Trenches, Wireless Internet and VoIP 10Jun 27, 2007 6:14 pm If you want to do any serious broadband work then wireless is going to be very expensive since the /Gb charges are much higher than ADSL.
This is the best broadband info site in Aus with 170,000+ members: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au Re: Phone Trenches, Wireless Internet and VoIP 11Jun 27, 2007 6:39 pm Disagree about serious broadband being more expensive if wireless Cabinfever.
If you have a fixed wireless network such as what bigair and others are doing to serve a set zone residential area then it can be much faster and easier to rollout via wireless - and it does not have to be more expensive than a wired ADSL link as there are no telco line rentals. Mobile wireless - yes that is much more expensive and difficult to do - so more cost. Steve Re: Phone Trenches, Wireless Internet and VoIP 12Jun 27, 2007 8:06 pm Yak_Chat Disagree about serious broadband being more expensive if wireless Cabinfever. If you have a fixed wireless network such as what bigair and others are doing to serve a set zone residential area then it can be much faster and easier to rollout via wireless - and it does not have to be more expensive than a wired ADSL link as there are no telco line rentals. Mobile wireless - yes that is much more expensive and difficult to do - so more cost. Steve I think you are referring to carrier costs here, rather than the hip pocket impact on the end user, where all wireless connections I have seen plans for are dearer. Re: Phone Trenches, Wireless Internet and VoIP 13Jun 28, 2007 9:11 am Hmm - Don't think so
See ADSL and a fixed poit wireless offerings below. Bigair - FIXED POINT WIRELESS 512/512 10,000MB Peak time 10,000MB off peak 20,000MB total $48.88 5 plus a $66 setup fee. Total end user cost of $652.56 for year 1. http://www.bigair.com.au/index.php?group=fixed&content=bigairresidential ADSL with iprimus - Not as fast a link 512/128 kbps 12000MB N/A $59.95 $49.95* Minimum monthly price for Serious 12 bundle is $49.95 for broadband and $27.40 for monthly telephony line rental. Set-up and modem costs extra (if required). http://www.iprimus.com.au/PrimusWeb/HomeSolutions/BroadbandInternet/Broadband+Plans.htm So this is really $77.35 per month including the phone line = $928.20 per year But the difference with a fixed point wireless offering from someone like bigair is they have a limited number of antennas sending/receiving data so you are limited on "IF" you can receive the data as it is line of sight or near line of sight technology. You also want to make sure the providor knows what they are doing and that they are using good equipment or you will experience the issues I was talking about earlier up. As I said if you buy a mobilised offering (I-Burst or similar) you are going to pay more because that is the growth area of the market at present and they will most likely not have voip prioritisation features and it costs lots to put up lots of antennas. So you need to do your sums pretty carefully. Steve Re: Phone Trenches, Wireless Internet and VoIP 14Jun 28, 2007 9:13 am Thanks guys. All very valid points you are making. I guess wireless and all the next g stuff is still pretty much in it's young days that people's opinions are still divided. I remember a few years ago when I was baulking at the prices of ADSL. Now I laugh (no offense intended) at those that are still on dial-up. Hehe
Anyway, we haven't made a definite decision yet. Bf spent the past weekend reading the whirlpool forum so a lot of research has happened and is happening. I'll pass on your replies to him. Thanks again. [sneakersss] Re: Phone Trenches, Wireless Internet and VoIP 15Jun 28, 2007 12:06 pm All I can suggest is that you check what is available in your area before making a decision.................We were on ADSL, moved less then 1km away and are now too far from the exchange so have had to revert to prehistoric dial-up..... so that rules fixed point wireless out too. I am yet to find someone who can provide wireless for this area.......We are not even sure if we will be able to connect to ADSL at the new place.......Tarneit/Point Cook/Werribee have major problems.
The whirlpool forum is fantastic ! Re: Phone Trenches, Wireless Internet and VoIP 16Jun 28, 2007 3:35 pm Steve,
what about VoIP costs? sip numbers etc?? Re: Phone Trenches, Wireless Internet and VoIP 17Jun 28, 2007 3:42 pm The assumption was VOIP was a point to point need ie overseas to friends etc and not a telco connection.
ie a capped mobile plan is used for 99% of the calls and if you want a long chin wag to friends via VOIP - use skype or other PC to PC service via the net - hence a sip provider was not required. But if a telco connection is rqd - then yep sip is an extra cost. Steve Re: Phone Trenches, Wireless Internet and VoIP 18Jun 28, 2007 10:12 pm I know you said that in cases of emergency you both have capped mobile phones but here in Newcastle with the recent flood/storm that hit a few weeks ago, we not only lost power but the high winds hit several of the mobile phone towers too - so not only did people with cordless phones lose their line access but many of the mobile service providers were down as well or due to the high level of phonecalls made on the available lines you just couldn't get through....
Our old fashioned, plug in the wall phone was the only thing that kept on going whilst the water lapped at the doorstep (until the phone lines went underwater and we lost them too but then the mobile system was back up again) .... Just something to consider - I was glad we still had a couple of old plug ins sitting in the garage and we hadn't gotten rid of the landline (we had been considering it) .... now we're keeping both the landline/ADSL/Wireless combo... Fiona Re: Phone Trenches, Wireless Internet and VoIP 19Jun 29, 2007 9:34 am Personally, I feel that the added security that we get fron having a landline is worth the fee. It is not essential but I think it is worth it.
3xb Re: Phone Trenches, Wireless Internet and VoIP 20Jun 30, 2007 10:21 am How about this option:
You can dig your own trench 300mm deep from the pit to your house wall (near the power meter.Install conduit with draw cord and back fill. Organise a new connection with Telstra $299. Take a Telstra plan ( you have to insist to get it) http://www.telstra.com.au/phones/homeservices/plans_homeline_budget.htm Then you can pick any adsl provider providing you are not on a rim (which can be an issue) and any voip provider if needed. Update from me! Couldn't find the trimmer - not sure if there isn't one simply because the eave is so narrow. Went ahead with the spring toggles and it all worked out… 7 5869 I recently went through a similar renovation and move scenario when updating our family home. We also swapped some rooms around and tackled a major… 2 10033 The HIA contract, in the term & conditions section states that "Commencment" is deemed when the drainage is started or the piers are dug or the slab is formed up (incase… 2 6177 |