NBN and faxing are somewhat of a misnomer because NBN does not do faxing nor intend to in the future. So what do you do when the NBN comes to town and you still need a fax service?

Who needs a fax

Who still needs a fax and it is worth the cost?

Unfortunately, a lot of work is still done on the humble fax machine in medical, building, government and of course marketing.

It is my belief that having a fax number also shows an element of caring for your customers by offering a choice of communications medium.

I am being specific to the Australian market because in the USA as in many other countries the fax is still a supreme and legal medium.

NBN does not provide a fax service nor will they in the future. It is interesting that a lot of carriers that are trading the NBN have also stayed away from a fax service.

What does this mean to you?

Well, first up you will lose the fax number you have had for years and is probably printed on every bit of literature you own.
They can’t do that you might say, well yes they can and yes they will.

All normal telephone services disappear about 18 months after NBN appears in your area. No telephone line, no fax number and no way to recover, all over red rover.

I have reviewed several business telephone bills recently that have moved to the NBN. They have all shown a PSTN fax line and number that is set to expire. Were they told? NO, they were not because the carrier did not have an option to supply to them.No NBN and faxing.

How does Fax to email work?

Somewhere in a back office ( ok the cloud)  is a machine that captures your incoming fax and converts it to email and sends it to your email address with any attachments.
It is the same going the other way you address an email to fax number@abc cloud.com and it goes to the same machine that changes your email to a fax and sends it to the right number.

Like any service, there are good ones and not so good but the principle remains the same.

It will save you a bundle of money.

First up a fax service from a tier one grade supplier is cheaper than your fax line probably by at least $6 a month.

Next is the cost of the machine with, power, maintenance, drums and extras to keep it working.

We also must consider peripherals like paper, ink, toner etc that really add to the cost line.
Finally, and most importantly is labour. Standing around a machine fixing paper jams, waiting on an incoming fax, feeding countless pages into the beast, copying to electronic files cost you money.

With a fax to email, it is Save, forward or delete, pretty damn simple.

The email to fax advantage.

Every desk can be a fax service to send an email to fax and attach pages of details. You just register the user and agree to pay the outgoing fax rates and away you go.

A local or national fax with 8 pages of attachment will cost you from around $ 0.10 fax, probably a lot less than you are paying now. so more savings.

Good for the Environment

Because there is no need for chemicals or waste of any kind you are doing your small part to save the world.

One service I recommend is Vonex, tier 1 grade service that works at a very reasonable price. You can’t buy from Vonex because they are the wholesaler but you can get the service through me.

You can have a new fax number in your state range, a 1300 number or churn your number to them at a small fee.

Contact me link

Call me on 1800116116

Peter Hanley

NBN and speed issues

In this short article, we discuss the NBN and speed issues problems so that you have an idea on how to improve your problem or what can be done about it. Speed test.

First questions first, is the problem with the NBN or with your chosen service provider?

It’s a long subject and depends on several inputs. Basically, NBN is responsible for the type of service they supply, for example, Fibre to the premises or the curb or in most cases the Node. If you are in the bush you have little option when wireless and Satellite are used.

The principle factor seems to be a distance if you are close to the source you get better speed.
As about 80% of us opt for 25Mbps speed on FTTN lets discuss that in more depth.
If you are more than about 600 meters from a node you will not achieve much more than 50 Mbps at best. Nothing that you can do about it it is a compromise the NBN made for faster delivery of high-speed internet.
Can you measure the distance to your local node? You can by pacing it out but that won’t work as the copper wires may go anywhere underground. Read more.
Most carriers will now advise you what is available when you sign with them, you then have an option of changing services to what is available.

Now for the carrier piece of the pie.

Basically, they, the Service providers buy from NBN a download quantity and how they split that up depends on the speeds you will achieve.
In many cases, you can pay extra for what they term a guaranteed evening speed. When the kids get home from school and plunder the network and it slows down.

When I signed to NBN at home it was almost a perfect services actually peaking at 25Mbps on one day, generally though about 23.5 or so.
Now NBN did a measure and I can’t achieve 20Mbps at any time of the day as the carrier controls the network.
Nothing I can do other than drop to a basic 12 Mbps, and like that is going to happen, not now I am used to a reasonable performance, 20 will do thanks very much.
Interestingly another carrier in the same area continues to deliver the 23+ speed, perhaps a bad choice based on price.

Modems and connections

Another consideration is a direct connection to the modem or WiFi. Sometimes the WiFi can be compromised on NBN and speed issues.
My server did not have an inbuilt modem so I bought an off the shelf Netcom USB plugin.

The result was ordinary as I am away from the NBN connection and downstairs through a concrete floor.
What to do? Re-cable the house at great expense. As fortune would have it I had a USB extender that I could add to the computer moving the USB about 6 inches made a 100% increase in signal, equal in fact to direct plugin.  A lesson here for those that are in the same boat.

Some devices are inherently slow like my old Apple tablet. Runs at about 12Mbps at best.

So lets recap:

Connection type is NBN controlled and you are told what you get.Most have FTTN
Distance is NBN controlled and you get what they have and can’t work it out yourself.

You choose an available speed that suits you. (remember about 80% chose 25Mbps) This is still considered high speed.

The carrier chooses how many to load into a channel unless you want to pay the extra and have higher peak speed at a cost.
Consider modems and connections where there is a problem.

In conclusion, I say lay the blame where the problem lays, The federal government and choice of Network, the NBN and distance or the carriers for all the other bits.

Finally, consider the size and scope of what is being achieved in a timely and cost-effective manner. This to provide fast internet and Voice traffic to a country as big as Australia.
I am impressed. Look around your area at the actions being taken and expand that nationwide.

last, of all I have an Instagram site that looks at the NBN in a lighter vein.
In relation to phone systems read more here.

The author is Peter Hanley a long-term telecommunications survivor.
select@westnet.com.au

NBN and Government

A summary

I may be out of place talking about the NBN and Government although someone needs to set the record straight.

In a report January 18 in The Sydney Morning Herald it was reported that Australia has a slower broadband speed than  Kazakhstan.
This plus a host of other nations.  Countries including Austria, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Russia.
In fact, we rate well behind a majority of countries in the world in this test.

As Donald Trump would declare,  this is fake news! It is twisted to distort the facts with the headline designed to throw doubt on the abilities of our NBN and Government.

Why would I make a statement so bold as to challenge a leading newspaper  report.

Because my friends the headline is a sensation but reading the full transcript details something very different.

Australia is less than half-way through its rollout of high-speed broadband fixed network and add to this 80% of those on the network have chosen a slower speed than possible.

Is it cost?

This may be a cost factor which we can blame all the supply tiers for. Or is it simply that a basic 25 Mbps is enough for most people and that more is wasted.

The measurement they went by was the average download speed across the country.

Since the beginning of 2017, the average speed in Australia has increased by 25 percent. Reference telecommunications comparison site. WhistleOut spokesman Joseph Hanlon said.

They also stated that we are targeting a world average of 40Mbps by year end 2018.

A reasonable achievement in most eyes.

When we are still heavily invested in ADSL services across Australia and most choose a speed between 12 and 25 Mbps on NBN.  How will they increase the average?

NBN and the carriers are opting for new pricing packages. This isn the hope to move users up to a 50Mbps speed that is available to most users.

Where will we be happy?

I must admit that I am happy with 25mbps but if 50 was appropriately priced I would be tempted to move up.
As more business come under the fold they will help increase the average as well.

It really is a cost/need model that is skewed more to cost than need.

It would have been interesting if the original Fibre to the premises model had been rolled out with much higher speeds available. What would have been the uptake?

The current Government opted for a hybrid model for both speed and setup cost.
This was to get Australia moving to a position where we had some choice.
This watered down network does not look like returning a profit any-time soon.

Imagine the cost basis of the original infrastructure.

Yes, there are lots of problems with the NBN we know that.
Most issues I see are not being able to get on the network and still having to work with about 5Mbps ADSL.

Gee, I still remember those days as I happily accept my NBN fate and regularly run at around + 20Mbps in a home office.

And my point being?

My point here is that we could all run at speeds of  50+ Mbps if we so choose to and if the NBN network was available so it is only time.

A couple more years and we shall all be hankering for higher speeds and as Borak would have said eat our dust Kazakhstan.

Peter Hanley has worked in the Telco area for many years. He currently markets  NBN services through and Australian carrier Vonex. 1800116116

Are the NBN complains right or wrong? This is a multi-directional question that can be answered only by understanding how it all works.

It is true that The NBN was changed from a Fibre to the home network to a multi-platform product. Therefore, we can complain endlessly but it won’t change that fact.

The latest round of NBN problems are with the Hybrid Fibre connections, OK, you have a good reason to complain because all connections have been shelved for the near future.
HFC comprises about 26% of all connections so that’s a lot of complaining.

This complaint, however, is not how well it works it is purely based on not being available.
( OK, they stopped installation because of problems they could not resolve)

Fibre to the Node.

A node or local big green box should serve approximately 384 homes/ businesses in a collection area. It does this by using the old copper connections to your home from the node. The copper, however, has a limiting factor. This factor is distance.
If you opt for lower speeds than say 50Mbps  You are pretty safe. If you are more than around 400 meters from the Node 100Mbps  is improbable, although, you can be up to 700 meters and still get up to 50 Mbps.

This has been a real thorn in the side for the carriers. They forgot to tell customers about the limitations and many are now paying out compensation for the error.
These early subscribers have a real reason for complaint. Mostly because they were paying for what they could not get.

In the current market, your carrier, should give you the best estimate distance and advise what speeds you can expect. You then have a choice of product and no later complaints.
In most cases, homes and small business have opted for speeds up to 25Mbps  which should be achieved in most areas.

Other issues are with both Fixed wireless and satellite connections in Rural areas that will
include about 5% of final connections.

What about the carriers responsibility?

Well, again we can partly blame NBN Co for this.

NBN sell the carrier a capacity based on price. If you load too many subscribers onto a channel you get peak time slow down. It should be understood if you get cheap NBN you are setting yourself up to fail because to make money they will channel stuff
When you live with a certain speed and it drops by say half you have a reason to complain.

With many carriers you can pay for what you get, Cheap price average quality, the medium price will suit most users and those that insist high-quality bandwidth purchase.
You should also take into account greater loading over time as they load your area with users.

A declaration

You will note on most price sheets a declaration saying Basic evening speed, or Standard Evening speed up to Premium evening speed. Prices increase based on the consistency of speed.
If channel loading is going to annoy you pay the small extra premium it will be well worth it.

In summary;

Know what connections are available to your premises. Link Here

Ask your chosen carrier the distance from the node and pick a speed.

Choose your product based on need not on price.

That leaves one final complaint.

I can’t get NBN in my area please hurry the installations.

In conclusion

I help customers achieve results using a favoured carrier because we look at all the inputs to best advise a product to suit your needs. One you hopefully won’t need to complain about. email to select@westnet.com.au or call on 1800116116

Peter Hanley

• NBN thinks it’s acceptable to undertake long outages and maintenance during business hours
• The NBN has no service level agreement or rebates for outages and downtime.
• They don’t guarantee time to restore services
• Their outages impact your business in lost revenue and wages
• Interruptions mean your business has no Land lines
• Does this sound good for business? No, I don’t think so.

Who controls the NBN speed?

In an article in the West Australian newspaper by NBN CEO Bill Morrow, he talked of the three link chain that is the NBN and who controls the NBN speed?

Because the NBN was scaled back to cut cost and to deliver a quicker completion we are stuck with some of the same problems that exist with the current ADSL-2 system.

Namely, distance from the exchange a problem that has dogged many users for many years and slowed the speed of the NBN.

One day somewhere in future time we will have high speed delivered right through to your computer. Then, who can we blame, perhaps the computer? More on that below.

What we do get though are higher speeds than we have now and probably lower prices.

Plus, a change in how we run our phone calls through the Internet.

The three links in the chain that will affect your service are.

1. How the NBN gets the signal to your home/ business and how good your internal wiring is.
   Now some will still be at the end of a long bit of copper coming from a local node. Some will have fibre and a few will have satellite access.
   You have no control over this, just ask the question at the start of the journey so you know what to expect.

2 What speed you purchase from your carrier, 12, 25, 50 or 100 MBPS. You should, however, understand these are maximum speeds and not guaranteed in any way.
You do have a say in this and can order a speed to suit your need. A majority of users are opting for the 25 MBPS plan which is probably three times greater than what you are getting now.

The important bit is you have some level of choice provided you are in a reasonable access area.

3 This is the important issue and again is partly in your control.  Certainly, you need to choose wisely.

The carriers buy supply from the NBN and retail to you the customer.
They buy in bulk in two quantum’s, one is an access fee the other is the collective amount of data that flows between the two networks at any point in time.
If your carrier does not purchase enough data but adds excess customer they need to share the bandwidth thus reducing speed.
This may be experienced at peak times. Just like the good old days.

This experience is really exaggerated when on a Satellite link. Here they load the link with customers over a given area. Thus, performance deteriorates to a significant degree and there is no escape.

Preparing for the experience.

How can you prepare for such an experience? Well the first principal is cheap is not always good and to ask your carrier what speeds you can expect during peak times.
You may not get a good answer but at least you have a point of conjecture if it is not achieved.

The NBN is now providing coverage for one in every two Australians so the roll-out is happening very quickly and will be complete in a couple of years to service over 12million premises.

In an article  Sunday 30/07 Sunday times Western Australian. It was quoted that NBN was a Damaged brand. The report finished by saying that the NBN reported 23,700 Service class Zero locations unable to get the internet.
Taken as a percentage of a completed service meeting 12 million premises equates to 0.002 percent in a country as big as Australia.

Consider this; if NBN had gone for a first class roll out across Australia what damage would we see in delays and cost.

A balanced view.

For a balanced view listen to some of the good stories and look at issues other than the NBN.

A friend of mine using a Telstra NBN service had terrible quality service.
He moaned and groaned about the service with dropouts, slow service, and bad voice quality.
Week after week I listen to the complaining until it was suggested he change his modem. The magic Fairy waved her wand and now he sings the virtues of fast internet and how good the NBN is.
He blamed NBN, not his carrier and installer.
Telstra should have advised correctly, on the equipment to be used.

In conclusion, you should look at the three chains in the link and where problems may come from before joining the chorus of how bad things are and NBN bashing.

I am not related to NBN in any way, I do have a proffered carrier but my opinion is based on realistic outcomes.
I want faster internet and now I have a choice, that is a true step into the future.

Peter Hanley

Who controls the NBN speed? You do.

do you have to go NBN

Thinking about the internet, NBN and things that ring do you have to go NBN.

It is a fact that we will all move to the NBN network sometime in the next three years.

For some much sooner, you have about 18 months once it arrives in your area.

I have had several conversations with industry people that have told me that the NBN won’t make it and we won’t need to change. They say there is no alternative to ISDN and that the coverage is just not there.

My Take on this is that NBN is a national company that is designed to replace the current copper network. It is halfway to the total implementation and a 2.5-year time frame to the finish.

Furthermore, NBN only starts to make money when it has practical completion around 2020 when they expect to have around 8 million connections.

Change or upgrade

You can change PSTN, ISDN or any manner of lines to the NBN using your selected carrier by IP or SIP protocol.

Yes, there will be a few areas that have limited access or slower speeds using the satellite as they fill the bandwidth channels and they will need to wait for a longer time.

In a recent radio show, they were talking all things NBN and callers were ringing in and complaining.

What amazed me was that nearly all were complaining about the current system and crying that it would not get better. Mostly from fringe areas where expectations are based on need not on reality.

Yes NBN is more prone to dropouts than the current system as they work on it and make changes along the way but we all hope this improves.

Back up system

One option is to have a 4G automatic backup device that will fill in at any downtime. Yes, there is a cost but if phone calls are that important, and they are, this is a no-brainer.

Data will be faster, the current average speed of a service using ADSL 2+ would be less than 8mbps upload.  Almost anything will be an improvement.

In conclusion and in my prior reports, I emphasise that you should not wait until the last months to convert to NBN. It takes time and planning to get it right and to make the change.

Ask us how at mail@verdi.net.au

Peter Hanley