Does Spark regularly oversubscribe their BNGs?I am doing a rather large download and was hoping to get more than 50 Mbit/s on my 100/20 service. Mind you 50 Mbit/s isn't all that bad from the US.However I noticed that the Spark BNG has an average RTT of 8s, at 11am!! This isn't even the busy hour of the day.
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Spark BNG seems to be overloaded
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Spark New Zealand outlines 5G network intentions
Just received:Spark New Zealand has published today a briefing paper that outlines how it is on track to start providing 5G services to New Zealand consumers and businesses from 2020.5G is the fifth generation of wireless communications technology, which is starting to be rolled out around the world.The briefing paper aims to inform investors of Spark's 5G intentions, help customers and stakeholders understand more about 5G, and address key considerations for policymakers.Managing Director Simon Moutter said Spark's technical and network planning for 5G is advancing after successfully conducting outdoor and indoor trials earlier this year.'We are undertaking detailed planning to 'map' expected 5G cell site densities in New Zealand and, as a result of this planning (and the learnings we have taken from our 5G testing), we are forming a good understanding of how many new sites we will need for 5G, and where. We have already begun a build programme to increase the number of cell sites in our existing mobile network - which will enable us to meet near-term capacity demand as well as lay the groundwork for network densification required for 5G.' Mr Moutter said 5G will enable Spark to provide additional capacity at a lower incremental unit cost than under 4G and 4.5G: 'This means that once 5G is available to deploy, we will have a strong commercial incentive to rapidly build 5G network capability as the primary means of keeping ahead of growing customer demand for more data at faster speeds.'As Spark's network spend will be diverted from 4G capacity expansion into 5G as soon as the necessary spectrum is available, Spark expects to fund 5G network development (excluding spectrum and any material move towards widespread rollout of new cell sites using high frequency mmWave band spectrum) within its existing capital expenditure envelope of 11%-12% of revenues. By 2020, Spark expects its wireless-network specific capex to be between 25%-35% of Spark's overall capital expenditure envelope, up from 25% in the year ended 30 June 2017.In late 2018, Spark will launch a 5G Innovation Lab in Auckland's Wynyard Quarter Innovation Precinct that will allow partner companies to test and develop applications over a pre-commercial 5G network.Mr Moutter noted Spark is already making decisions that are contingent on securing additional 5G spectrum and is having to make those decisions in the absence of any clear government policy on when that spectrum will be available or in what bands.He said the allocation processes for the two most likely spectrum bands - mid frequency C-band and high frequency mmWave band - should be completed as soon as possible, to ensure 5G services can be delivered in time for the 2020-21 America's Cup in Auckland as an international showcase opportunity.In addition to these bands, low frequency spectrum (below 1000MHz) will be required to deliver 5G services on a pervasive basis into rural areas (outside of small provincial towns). The Government's current work to define 600MHz spectrum as a band for potential 5G use should continue at pace.Mr Moutter said it was important for policymakers to recognise 5G is not a standalone technology or solution. It will operate together with previous generations of wireless technology and will be deployed as an overlay of existing network infrastructure. Therefore, policy settings need to support network operators having control over the evolution of their wireless networks.The current competitive market model, in which multiple wireless network operators compete against one another to grow their customer bases through product and service innovation and pricing, represents a good blueprint for the way 5G can be rolled out in New Zealand and would provide for more investment predictability and certainty over the coming decade, Mr Moutter commented.
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Moving house. How to reduce the pain in moving connection to new address.
Hi All.Have bought a new house and will be moving my fibre connection (Spark) to the new place. Any tips on what I need to do to minimise downtime? The online process itself seems straightforward so I don't envisage any problems.Another question. The power cable/plug for the ONT does not seem to be there anymore. Should I just take the one I have at my current place or get a new one...and where would I get a new one from?Thanks
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Spark Modem (HG659b) intercepting internal HTTPS traffic
I'm sure this is easy to fix. I've just moved over from aDSL to fibre and set the port forwarding (443) to hit the front-side of my reverse proxy. From an outside connecting working fine, from inside the network the modem UI intercepts the requests, how to I either moved it onto the internal address (192.168.1.254) or disable HTTPS all together for the modems web UI?
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2degrees mobiles FW on Spark?
Looking to move from 2degrees to Spark.Any issues using 2degrees mobiles (Samaung Galaxy S8+ and Galaxy A5 2017) running standard 2degrees firmware?Will they be fully compatible and/or is it recommended to flash Spark firmware?Cheers
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Does Spark keep the contents of SMS messages you send and receive?
Hi AllDoes anyone know if spark keep the contents of sms messages and can make them readily available under a privacy waiver to an insurance company? Or do they only store the numbers to the messages sent and the time of each sent?Any help on this would be great
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Restore applications message when signing into spark email
just recently I get a popup window saying "Restore applications. The following applications can be restored . Remove the restore point if you do not want it to be restored". This is followed by "email: 2018 and a trash can symbol", and the "cancel" or "continue"Ive rung Spark and they say they have never seen this message and were no help.Anyone else had such a message and knows the right response?Obviously I don't want to lose all my emails
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Upgrading to Fibre - Why the connection fee?
We're with Spark for our broadband (VDSL) and have a mobile account shared with 2 other phones and 2 tablets. We've been advised that fibre is available in our street now so I went online to place an order. We've go a Ubiquiti network (USG and two UAP's) and I don't need another modem to add to the collection. When choosing the "No contract, no modem" option when placing the fibre order, the $299 connection is added as an upfront cost. I've had an online chat with a Spark representative but all they advised was, "The fees include the install of fibre, includes 3 appts, where the techs need to come out to your address.".According the Chorus, fibre costs are free but when I pointed this out, the response from the CSR was "Its free to our customers who sign up on a contract term". I did point out that the fee did seem excessive compared to other ISPs who offer no-contract plan, from Free to $99. So, why the connection fee and what does the $299 cover?
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Spark Secures 3 Year EPL
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/106238129/spark-secures-nz-rights-to-premier-league-with-more-deals-to-comeThought there may have been a release thread created. If one is, feel free to remove thisStuff comments were funny, from terrible news, to the usual Sky bashing. One person even said he wont pay over $10 per month and he wants all the extras incl 4k. All for the price of one Latte every 14 days
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Spark mobile and broadband down - central NI
Not sure how widespread the outage is but 30 minutes so far, no broadband and mobile says no service in Rotorua - 2d still working fine so seems to be limited to spark services.
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Spark Home Wireless - feedback wanted
So long story short, currently we live in CHCH and have fibre which is great. But looking at going out to the countryside and where we are looking seems ADSL and im guess Home Wireless are only options. Get 3 bars of 4g on phone. So figures reception is fine for wireless broadband. But looking for some feedback of how people like it? Would have to use Spark 240gb plan as thats already way less data than we use on fibre. But think ADSL unlimited will be way to slow to stream Youtube etc. and cant find any plans more than 240gb on wireless. Can you stream video ok on Home Wireless, seems they say speeds are up to 36Mbps max. But does weather effect it at all. Would mean a lot less watching Netflix for me (hopefully they do bigger plan in future) but with two girls approaching teenage years. Would need decent internet for them, for facetime with friends, online school work etc.
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Vodafone to Spark Mobile - Advice/experiences
After 22+ years with Vodafone (Since Bell South) I am seriously considering dropping them for my business to head to Spark. Vodafone won't let me pre-order the Note 9 through them and I am tired of the difficult time I have getting simple things like this just handled. Digital Mobile are a train wreck.I'd like to know how coverage is anecdotally from others that have switched, how you find support/accounts. Roaming looks much worse, no $5 a day option. Best I can find is $20 for 7 days, but you only get 500MB during that time and that wouldn't cover me, esp when I am roaming. I get Spotify and Lightbox with Spark. I am in Auckland.
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Port forward Hikvision camera through Huawei B618
After advising a mate to get a Wireless BB connection it appears I am now his tech support :(He has a Hikvision camera and a Huawei B618. He wants to be able to view the camera remotely.I got the camera going on the weekend over the LAN, set up a dynamic DNS for the modem.Camera is set to 192.168.8.199 port 8000 (modem gateway 192.168.8.1)Googling the subject it appears I need to open the firewall to allow the virtual server to work? Can anyone tell me if this is the case, and what the virtual server settings should look like with the above settings.Also can he view the camera without using the awful Hikvsion software or app?Problem is made more difficult in that he lives an hour from me so I am limited to helping on the weekend when I can get up there.
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Thank You Spark For the Extra 6 Months of Netflix
Just taken advantage of this offer, so thank you Spark. "Netflix offer is valid for any Spark customer already on a 24 mth unlimited home broadband plan. Netflix '2 Screen' plan only. Valid for 6mths of Netflix service (total value $89.94). BYO Netflix compatible device. Netflix offer ends 23/02/19"
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Issues with name resolution for 1drv.ms on Spark DNS server
Has anyone noticed issues with resolving the 1drv.ms domain using the Spark [Xtra] DNS servers 122.56.237.1 and 210.55.111.1? External DNS servers resolve the name without an issue. As a test I've tried three different Spark-connected Xtra-DNS using connections and all had the same issue.
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What's the current state of 0900 numbers?
I'm considering 0900 for an upcoming project and interested to know what the current state of the service is?Is usage increasing / decreasing and by how much?Is availability to 0900 still good (unrestricted) with increasing mobile usage and VoIP plans or do most businesses / services simply block it?Spark seems to have the exclusive monopoly on the service or are there any viable alternatives? International premium numbers?I enquired a few weeks ago directly to Spark and haven't heard anything back.The online 0900 order forms have been dead for at least that long.Is this their way of quietly beginning to kill off the service or are there developments on the roadmap?
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Spark server settings for Outlook
Hi all,Helping a colleague re-set up their Xtra email address in Outlook 2010 on Windows 7.It was working 4 days ago, then they were having issues and their neighbour helped them out. Apparently the Windows account was corrupt so he created a new one. Not sure on details there.Anyway, setting up a new account in Outlook, as per the server settings here. But is not working - cannot connect to either incoming or outgoing servers.Anyone have any experience with this? Been a long time since I used xtra mail, and have only helped people migrate to non-isp webmail over the changeover last year.
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Asus RT-AC66U VLAN tagging setup for Spark UFB
When I joined Spark a while ago, the trusty RT-AC66U running Merlin would not work, although it had been fine on Bigpipe. I searched here and on Google but either found instructions that didn't work or threads with contradictory information.Anyway, in the hope that others won't have the same issue, use the PBTech instructions for the RT-AC5300, etc. These do work for the AC66U as well.https://www.pbtech.co.nz/ASUSISPSettings#SparkRTACI did change back to the Asus firmware as Merlin no longer supports the AC66U.
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Not receiving texts from some services after number port
Hi team, a bit confused by this one. Today I had my vodafone prepay ported to Spark (work phone) and everything seems okay except I can't receive texts from some companies. Have been trying to authenticate with ASB, BNZ, Uber, Google (new phone so have to sign into apps again) but I don't receive their SMS messages. I seem to receive my families txts okay - they are all on 2degrees. Any advice? It's been about four hours since number port.
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Xtra.co.nz domain Blacklisted so email not received in Yahoo Small Business email account
I've been told that the Xtra.co.nz domain is currently Blacklisted for emails so I am unable to receive emails from any senders from that domain to my Yahoo Small Business Email account. This seems the case for receiving into other Yahoo.com email addresses from Xtra emails also. Here is the link that Yahoo Small Business email gave me to show xtra.co.nz Blacklisted for emails - https://mxtoolbox.com/SuperTool.aspx?action=blacklist%3axtra.co.nz&run=toolpage Yahoo Small Biz told me to contact the domain provider (Spark) but as a an hour plus wait time for customer service not possible right now. This email delivery issue from xtra.co.nz emails has been an on and off issue but now a big problem as both personal and work emails form xtra.co.nz domain not being received for much of the last two weeks. Emails from xtra.co.nz to Gmail and Outlook.com seem to work fine so somewhat isolated to receiving into Yahoo based emails and their related Yahoo small Business domains (me). I'm aware of issues with xtra.co.nz emails but many people still using so need to be able to get their emails.What does Spark need to do to get this fixed? Any advice appreciated.
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