Month: June 2015

Telstra ends free Wi-Fi trial, launching Telstra Air

Kenneth Tsang 1 Comment

This coming Tuesday, Telstra will end its free nationwide Wi-Fi trial and launch of their new nationwide Wi-Fi offering “Telstra Air”.  The network, which claims to be “Australia’s largest Wi-Fi network”, will allow Telstra broadband customers to use their broadband allowance where there is a Telstra Air hotspot available.

The company has also signed a deal with international Wi-Fi provider Fon to allow Telstra customers to continue using their fixed-line data allowance in overseas destinations including UK, Spain, Brazil, Japan, France and Germany.

Telstra Air will be delivered over three hotspot types:

  • More than 4,000 hotspots located at Telstra payphone sites
  • Over 15 million hotspots overseas, via Fon’s network
  • Secured hotspot over other Telstra Air customers’ home broadband gateway

In order to join Telstra Air, Telstra home broadband customers must be willing to share part of their broadband connection as a Telstra Air hotspot too using a compatible Telstra gateway.  Telstra claims that over “a million home broadband customers already have a Telstra Air-ready gateway”.  These gateways include the Telstra Gateway Max™, T-Gateway®, and the ADSL Premium Gateway.  Once enabled online, activated gateways will also transmit the Telstra Air hotspot signal for use by other Telstra customers.

Telstra has also confirmed that customers who have a slower broadband connection will find that their network performance will be protected: “We know that Wi-Fi speeds are important to our customers so [network settings] are in place to ensure their home network performance is protected. This includes limiting the number of guests per hotspot and switching off hotspot sharing when the line speed into a home drops below a certain level.”

Opinion

This seems pretty cool.  At a local level, imagine rocking up to your friend’s place, and you’re both Telstra broadband customers.  Firstly – you won’t need to ask for the Wi-Fi password.  Secondly, you won’t have to worry about your friend using up all your data allowance, or them hacking into your network.

Also quite awesome is that by enabling Telstra Air, it unlocks the millions of Fon hotspots around the world.  Essentially, Fon’s network works exactly the same as Telstra Air – on a Worldwide scale.  Customers purchase Fon-compatible routers from Fon or a partner carrier, and once connected, can have access to other Fon hotspots worldwide.  That said, the bad news is that the Fon network is now locked out for all non-Telstra broadband customers in Australia.

To be honest though, I’d be really interested to see how the technology (at the gateway level) works behind the scenes.

The whole TUSMA and payphone situation

One final piece of food for thought – Telstra’s payphones are partially funded by a levy paid for by the Telecommunications Industry as part of a contract deal between TUSMA (now part of the Department of Communications) and Telstra.  $44.0 million was paid to Telstra during the 2012-13 financial year for these services.

We know that similar rollouts have been seen worldwide, where telcos take advantage of their existing payphone infrastructure to deliver hotspots.  I know that the TUSMA contract does not directly subsidise the rollout of the hotspots for the payphones – but on the surface, there does look like there may be conflict.  Is it fair on the wider industry who pays the levy, given that Telstra now gains a competitive advantage on them by rolling out Wi-Fi hotspots on infrastructure they partially funded?

Telstra’s network rules rural Australia

Kenneth Tsang 2 Comments

Telstra’s 3G/4G outperforms Optus along NSW’s regional railway route.

Regional train trips used to be occupied by staring out into the vast NSW country side and marveling at the single-rail track first built over a century before.  But in this day and age, I try to make good use of the 6 hours I spend on the XPT between Sydney and Taree.  After spending a solid week and plus a train ride with the trusty Telstra 4G USB+Wi-Fi Plus dongle and my OnePlus One with a Vaya Mobile sim card running on the Optus network last week, I thought I’d share a few thoughts about my experience on both the Telstra and Optus network.

Inside the Telstra 4G USB+Wi-Fi Plus box: the dongle itself along with some documentation
Inside the Telstra 4G USB+Wi-Fi Plus box: the dongle itself along with some documentation

The train trip

Perhaps unsurprisingly, both Optus and Telstra have solid 4G coverage in metropolitan Sydney.  In the first half hour as I travelled north through Central, Strathfield, Epping and Hornsby, both networks allowed me to do basic work – access my Google Documents and some development work without issues.  But as the train journeyed past Hornsby, towards the Central Coast – the networks began to differentiate themselves.

Optus’ signal began to drop in and out frequently, while for the most part, the network connection on the Telstra network was relatively stable.  My phone struggled to get reception until we approached built-up areas along the Central Coast and Newcastle stretch, often defaulting to “Emergency Phone Calls Only”.

Meanwhile, on the Telstra network, things continue to run smoothly.  I even received an SMS saying I was passing one of Telstra’s new “4G only areas” where there is data only, and no voice services.

Passing through one of Telstra's new 4G-only areas
Passing through one of Telstra’s new 4G-only areas
Map showing (roughly) parts of TrainLink's North Coast Line (orange).
Map showing (roughly) parts of TrainLink’s North Coast Line (orange).

However, once we passed Maitland and headed north-west towards Dungog, both network started to struggle.  To put some of this into context, for those unfamiliar with the train journey from Sydney to Taree, the train travels inland a fair bit.  It’s no surprise that coverage struggled in some of these areas – not only was there very low population density in some of these areas… but the train tracks were often installed in trenches that were dug out of the rocky and hilly terrain.  For a lot of the journey, we would have been below the line of sight of most towers even if there were any.

However, I was not dismayed – I continued my experiment!  I found that the Telstra dongle managed to pick up the occasional 3G and even 4G signal as we approached nearby towns or passed a tall mountain in the distance with a reception tower… while the Optus phone: well, let’s just say there wasn’t much to report on.  Even as the train was approaching the major settlements of Wingham and Taree, my Optus phone got a bar of “E” at best – just enough to send an SMS.  I suspect the trees and foliage had a major factor in dampening the Optus network signals which has relatively lower transmission signal compared with Telstra’s NextG.

But the pleasant surprise awaited me at the station…

4G in Taree, 4GX in Forster-Tuncurry!

Unlike Optus who still hasn’t upgraded their mobile networks around Taree, Telstra has 4G coverage in the majority of the built-up area around Taree.  Their 4G coverage even extended further east than what their coverage website indicates.  Whereas I’d sometimes struggle to load my emails or even load Google News on my Optus phone in surrounding towns of Taree, I found that I was able to consistently load pages without an issue.  It was really nice to see!

Telstra's coverage map around Taree. From my experience, 4G coverage extended out to Cundletown (where the pin is)
Telstra’s coverage map around Taree. From my experience, 4G coverage extended out to Cundletown (where the pin is)

The neighbouring towns of Forster and Tuncurry were fortunate enough to have received the 4GX upgrade, and so as you can imagine – a speed test was in order:

Solid speeds of 57/30Mbps over Telstra 4GX in Forster, NSW
Solid speeds of 57/30Mbps over Telstra 4GX in Forster, NSW

Conclusion

Overall, I’m thoroughly impressed with Telstra’s coverage and network speed in and around Taree.  If I still lived there, I would be seriously contemplating a switch from Optus to Telstra’s network right about now.  It’s something I’m going to consider when I finally decide to get a new phone, for the convenience when I’m back home.

While both Optus and Telstra’s network struggled in parts of the train trip from Sydney to Taree, Telstra’s network was clearly in front in terms of coverage.  It had solid coverage between the Central to Newcastle segment, and an admirable effort in the really sparsely populated areas between the settlements of Maitland, Dungog, Gloucester and Wingham.  But where I thought Telstra’s network really shone was the coverage as we approached rural towns.  Approaching Wingham and Taree, Telstra’s network “just worked” while Optus’ required quite a bit of arm flailing even to get “one bar” of 2G signal.

Optus still has a fair bit to catch up in regional Australia – and with no successful bids in the first iteration of the Federal Government’s Regional Blackspots Program, I see that it will be hard for them to catch up with Telstra.

As for Vodafone?  I didn’t get to test them this time around, but I’m definitely planning a future comparison between Telstra and Vodafone for my next train trip.

Also, a review of the Telstra 4G USB+Wi-Fi Plus dongle is coming soon 🙂


Note: I am part of Telstra’s Influentials Program. The Telstra 4G USB+Wi-Fi Plus dongle was provided by Telstra, however, it is important to note that Telstra has no control over my editorial content. The experience above is based on my personal experience using the following devices for the respective networks:

  • Telstra 3G/4G/4GX: Telstra 4G USB+Wi-Fi Plus, using Wi-Fi to my laptop
  • Optus 3G/4G: OnePlus One, tethering from my phone to my laptop

 

nbn™ logo (large)

nbn™’s blog struggles with balance

Kenneth Tsang 2 Comments

Bias or truth? nbn™’s official blog just can’t stop attacking the former Government’s Fibre to the Premises policy. Does this fall foul of the GBE guidelines?

Along with last year’s flashy redesign of the then “NBN Co” website, the company introduced a “blog” section to their revamped site.  Whether you liked it or not, at that point the NBN rollout had transitioned to the Multi-Technology Mix strategy. However, it became evident quite quickly that this site is being used to trash the former Labor Government’s NBN policy while parading the current Government’s policy of the “Multi-Technology Mix” rollout.

I’ve completed an analysis of all 127 blog articles posted on the nbn™ blog, as at the morning of 24th June 2015.  The results are not surprising (see the table at the bottom for my full results):

Clear evidence of bias

Not an FTTN party pooper

For example, nbn™’s blog is all too happy to spruik British Telecom’s (BT) headline up-to speed of 76Mbps download.  The figure pops up numerous times in nbn™ blog posts, including here and here.  But when it was revealed that 74% of households could not reach the headline 76Mbps speed at all, nbn™ was silent.  One might say, it’s bad to push a negative impression of its rollout own rollout strategy to the community.  But then, why would nbn™ be more than happy to trash the Fibre to the Premises technology on its blog, given it accounts for almost a quarter of the MTM rollout.

FTTP? Neverrr!

Likewise, even when there’s positive news about a particular FTTP rollout, the company blog always takes a negative spin about the topic on hand.  For example, when Singapore announced nationwide 1Gbps speeds over FTTP – nbn™ immediately went on the negative focusing on the issues of the aggressive competition in Singapore.  Keep in mind, these issues will never affect Australia as no incumbent telco has the money to roll out such a network across such a vast landmass… which is why the NBN existed in the first place.

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Save on NSW regional trains using Opal

Kenneth Tsang Leave a comment

How I can potentially save $30 off a single one-way trip using an Opal card

If you live in or travel frequently to regional NSW, one way to travel to and from Sydney is to ride on one of NSW TrainLink’s regional train or coach services.  Services may be sparse and are still rarely packed.  North Coast services are a bit lengthy compared with a road trip on the Pacific Highway, but fares are generally cheaper than fuel for one person.

This week, I travelled home to Taree on the Grafton XPT NSW TrainLink service from Sydney (Central) – the trip took 5.5 hours and cost $46.80 – one way.  But on the way up to Taree, stopping by Broadmeadow and Dungog, I realised that there is potential to save even more!

If I swapped out part of my journey to use regular Intercity TrainLink services (the ones within the Opal network), I can potentially save around 70% of a regular one-way ticket.  A single one-way trip from Sydney to Taree costs $46.80, where as a single one-way trip from Broadmeadow to Taree costs $25.02.  Further shortening the trip from Dungog to Taree only costs $18.56.  Compare that cost difference with the maximum train fare on an Opal card which is $8.30 (peak) or $5.81 (off-peak).

This could mean your $46.80 fare could be reduced almost by half to $24.37 (Sydney to Dungog on Intercity services, Dungog to Taree on Regional services).  The deal is even better if you’ve reached your weekly travel reward cap of 8 journeys or travel on a Sunday when Opal fares are capped at $2.50 – where the minimum cost would be $18.56 and $21.06 respectively.

TrainLink Intercity Intercity Cost TrainLink Regional Regional Cost Total cost
– – Central to Taree $46.80 $46.80
Central to Broadmeadow
(off-peak)		 $5.81 Broadmeadow to Taree $25.02 $30.83
Central to Broadmeadow
(peak)		 $8.30 Broadmeadow to Taree $25.02 $33.32
Central to Dungog
(off-peak)		 $5.81 Dungog to Taree $18.56 $24.37
Central to Dungog
(peak)		 $8.30 Dungog to Taree $18.56 $26.86
Central to Dungog
(travelling Sunday)		 $2.50 Dungog to Taree $18.56 $21.06
Central to Dungog
(weekly travel cap)		 $0 Dungog to Taree $18.56 $18.56

So, if you don’t mind waiting at a station to change trains, you could save over half of your transport costs travelling to regional NSW.

NBN Fibre to the Node Trial at Umina Beach

It’s official: MTM takes over

Kenneth Tsang 1 Comment

Today, nbn™ updated their rollout map to include new areas where build preparation commenced last month.  As predicted on jxeeno blog last month, this month marks a milestone in the company’s implementation of the Multi-Technology Mix rollout methodology with all 152 of the new Serving Area Modules added set to MTM.

None of the areas added this month will use purely Fibre to the Premises – however, it is expected parts of some Serving Area Modules may use FTTP where economically feasible as part of the company’s established MTM deployment principles.  The majority of premises in the listed areas are expected to get a Fibre to the Node or Fibre to the Basement connection.  A further breakdown of technology-by-area or premises is not available on the company’s public website.

This comes as the company revealed that customers in the FTTN footprint will only be guaranteed 12/1 mbps during the transition period while ADSL services still exist on the copper network.

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Incorrect documentation: FTTN speeds will *not* be 12/1 during transition

Kenneth Tsang 3 Comments

Conflicting definitions and redundant tautology leads to confusion. Co-existence period Peak Information Rates are a “guarantee to RSPs… not a cap on speeds”.

It’s been a good four days since I published my piece about how the latest draft Wholesale Broadband Agreement says that Fibre to the Node speeds will be limited to 12/1 Mbps during the transition period.  To put it frankly, I was hoping it was wrong because technically:

  • Use of Downstream Power Back-off (DPBO) will reduce interference
  • Capping the speed will have no significant effect (if any) on reducing interference
  • Would be unnecessarily limiting speeds of end users who are very close to the node

The good news is it a spokesperson for NBN Co (probably not “officially”) has said the original post I wrote is wrong.  That gives a glimmer of hope that NBN Co will not be limiting speeds to 12/1 Mbps during the transition period.  But given past experience with spokespeople at NBN Co denying things that actually exist, I’d still take it with a grain of salt.

Assuming that the spokesperson is correct though:

How did it come to this?

Well, in short: incorrect documentation.

Part 1: What’s a Peak Information Rate?

Noting it is a draft document, it seems evident that the person who wrote the section about the co-existence period didn’t know what the definition of PIR (Peak Information Rate) is.

Firstly, we have the section about co-existence period (Page 9 of the NEBS Product Description, for those playing along at home) that clearly says: “during the Co-existence Period, the PIR (and the lower end of any PIR range) at the UNI for each AVC TC-4 bandwidth profile will be… [12/1 in the NBN Co FTTN Network]”:

Table showing the speed limitations for FTTN/FTTB during Co-existence Period
Table showing the speed limitations for FTTN/FTTB during Co-existence Period

So, it seems pretty clear that the Peak Information Rate and the lower end of any Peak Information Rate range will be 12/1 Mbps on Fibre to the Node… right?

Your natural instinct would be to lookup what the Peak Information Rate is… and to my delight, there’s a whole section on it! (my bold)

NBN Co outlines its speed performance criteria for Peak Information Rate (PIR)
NBN Co outlines its speed performance criteria for Peak Information Rate (PIR)

References to download and upload speeds (PIR and CIR) in this Product Description, including where expressed as a range, are to the maximum data throughput that the NBN Co Network is designed to make available to Customer at the UNI used to serve the relevant Premises, and not the minimum data throughput.

Now, given “during the Co-existence Period, the PIR (and the lower end of any PIR range) at the UNI for each AVC TC-4 bandwidth profile will be… [12/1 in the NBN Co FTTN Network]”… it seems pretty clear that the 12/1 mbps is a “maximum data throughput that the NBN Co Network is designed to make available… and not the maximum data throughput” (to quote the document word-for-word). And that makes it effectively a cap and a limit… right?

“Wrong.”

“Wrong? What do you mean wrong?”

So, there you go! If we’re trusting what NBN is saying: Peak Information Rate is now both “not the maximum data throughput” and also is the “minimum guaranteed speed” at the same time. #notconfusing

Part 2: The Fibre to the Basement scenario

The company also included a row for the Fibre to the Basement conditions during the co-existence period.  They state that the Peak Information Rate will be 25/5 except for 12/1 which obviously will have 12/1 mbps.

But if the co-existence period doesn’t “limit” or “cap” the speeds, why is there a row for FTTB there in the first place?  All speeds delivered over copper using the NBN Co FTTB network, by default, can only guarantee 25/5 mbps – as shown in the table of speeds below:

Table showing the FTTN/FTTB AVC speed ranges in the draft of WBA 2.2
Table showing the FTTN/FTTB AVC speed ranges in the draft of WBA 2.2

So:

  1. if during the co-existence period, 25/5 is going to be the guaranteed rate, having the FTTB row in the first table is redundant tautology and means nothing.
  2. therefore, it would imply that during the co-existence period, the speed will not exceeded 25/5 Mbps, hence having the requirement to say so in the WBA.

“No.”

“No. What do you mean no?”

NBN Co must like redundant tautology.

How would I phrase it?

Like this:

during the Co-existence Period, the NBN Co FTTB Network will be unaffected. The following PIR (and PIR ranges) on the NBN Co FTTN Network will become:

Original Co-existence Period
AVC TC-4 downstream Mbps (PIR) AVC TC-4 upstream Mbps AVC TC-4 downstream Mbps (PIR) AVC TC-4 upstream Mbps
25 5 12-25 1-5
25 5-10 12-25 1-10
25-50 5-20 12-50 1-20
25-100 5-40 12-100 1-40

See?  All fixed!  No confusion at all.