Belong NBN Connection

ChunkyToast on 15/05/2017 - 18:08

Hi Everyone,

Hope all is well.

So I moved into a new place about 3 months ago and NBN connectivity was available.
We ended up going with Belong on a contract for 12 months (mistake).

Internet itself works during off peak like a breeze, ping is often between 4-10ms and speeds of 25/5 Mbps (as per the plan) run smoothly but from day 1 there has been a significant amount of lag between 7pm - 10.30-11pm. Ping hovers between 10-400ms and speeds drop to about 100Kb/s (at best) which is absolutely ridiculous.

Now I know these are peak times as everyone at home / area would be online gaming, downloading etc, however, my understanding was that NBN would be able to handle such loads. My old place had ADSL2+ and I never had such issues. Even half the contracted speed would be fine by me during the peak times.

My usage at home during the peak period is not intensive, we just browse the web and sometimes watch Youtube or Netflix (which works well in off peak times).

I have been on the phone with Belong multiple times and their customer service timing is absolutely horrendous, takes bout 1 hour to get through to chat to a rep and all they do is tell me to reset the modem / nbn box in the garage.

I have been sent through to technical support once who got me to run tests but nothing has come of it yet. From uncle Google, I see that people have complained on WP about providers "speed throttling". There is definitely nothing wrong with my home connection / modem as I get the contracted speeds during off peak. I think they are definitely throttling speeds at night. I want to complain to the TIO as no one is home during business hours (we all work) and we are not able to use the net when home Monday - Saturday.

Has anyone had similar experiences and if so how do you go about getting released from a contract. More importantly, what are the other providers who do not "throttle speeds" in "peak" times.

Thanks in advance.

Internet

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Comments

  • bjdchwr on 15/05/2017 - 18:37

    I was with belong and on a contract but then I realised that they didn't 'belong' to me - high ping and slow speed during peak hours.

    Old post

    Called them and they insist that it's not congestion.

    Filed a claim with TIO and had my plan cancelled without problem.

    I am now with TPG ADSL2 plan and I an very happy.

  • pjetson on 15/05/2017 - 18:49
    +4

    First thing to do is ask Belong to released you from your contract, because they cannot provide the service that they have contracted to supply to you. In many cases, they will agree. If they don't agree, tell them that you will lodge a complaint with the TIO and ask Belong for a complaint number. You need this, and Belong have to provide it.

    Then, lodge a complaint with the TIO - it's easy, you do it online. In the section where you state what outcome you want, explain that you want a reasonable speed, or to be released from your contract. Within about two weeks, Belong will either supply you with the service you have contracted for, or they will release you from your contract.

    It really is that simple.

    However, you may find that your next RSP (what NBN call an ISP) may not be able to provide a reasonable service either. The only real way to find out is to ask your immediate neighbours who they are with and whether the service is acceptable. Asking people in different areas does not necessarily tell you how an RSP will perform in your area.

  • Povotron on 15/05/2017 - 18:52
    +1

    I'm with belong NBN and have had just about every possible issue.
    Lately I haven't been able to get on during peak times. That was due to their dns servers being congested, I switched to some telstra dns servers and that resolved the issue but from what you're saying it's not your problem.
    Their router isn't very good, I live in an apartment building where multiple people have belong and the wifi interference was fierce. Running a wired connection and getting a better router can really help that.
    If you're getting those speeds on a speed test while running a wired connection then there's probably not much else you can do but cancel your contract. Shouldn't be too hard if you can actually get through to them.

  • scrimshaw on 15/05/2017 - 19:27
    +4

    Throttling usually refers to the ISP putting an actual speed limit or cap on certain times of day (or on services). None of the NBN providers should not be throttling during peak hours, but what you're experiencing is just plain old congestion.

    Congestion happens when the ISP has not been purchasing enough CVC to supply all it's subscribers, in essence to save money on their end and increase profits they are skimping on bandwidth and this negatively impacts the customer's speeds during peak hour period.

    • [Deactivated] on 15/05/2017 - 19:31

      Scrimshaw is on the money
      Any unlimited NBN provider offering 100/40 is NOT going to work in PEAK HOUR due to cvc congestion

      • scrimshaw on 15/05/2017 - 19:42
        +2

        Yes. Avoid the unlimited plans. Avoid ISP's that offer unlimited plans.

        They are a trap to make you think you're getting 'best value internet'.

        you have to consider unlimited plans from the ISP's point of view: Selling Unlimited plans are risky because some people abuse the 'unlimited' aspect and download several tens of gigabytes during peak hour and put a lot of strain on the network.

        You might not be that kind of person to download / upload several terabytes of porn in single month, but your neighbour could be, and those are actually the worst kind of customer an internet provider can have.

        So Belong insures themselves from loss by skimping CVC, to cut down on cost, and to ensure they are maximizing profits. By cutting down bandwidth, everyone will just get the 'bare amount' required but gamers will be unhappy because the routing and ping times will be terrible.

        And when every household is watching dinnertime Netflix on their fancy 4K tv's, you won't be getting your 25 megabits that you're paying for past 8'oclock.

        If you wish to avoid this kind of thing, go with a provider that does not offer Unlimited plans at all.

        • nocure on 15/05/2017 - 19:48

          Unlimited 100/40 My Republic

        • scrimshaw on 15/05/2017 - 19:53
          +1

          @nocure:

          You have enough CVC for your respective POI. You can think of them similarly to ADSL DSLAM's. You will have a bunch of houses that hang off that POI and each POI will service a particular region.

          Mileage will vary depending on geographical regions.

        • nocure on 15/05/2017 - 19:54

          @scrimshaw:

          Translation: nocure is a lucky boy :)

        • scrimshaw on 15/05/2017 - 19:55
          +3

          @nocure:

          Get out of here, you're making the OP feel jealous. 😆

        • Axelstrife on 16/05/2017 - 16:34

          @nocure: http://imgur.com/a/bkrjD

          Your ping is very high for nbn here is my myrepublic speed test.

        • nocure on 16/05/2017 - 16:52

          @Axelstrife:
          Is that a static IP ?

        • Axelstrife on 16/05/2017 - 17:14

          @nocure: yeah

        • nocure on 16/05/2017 - 17:16

          @Axelstrife:

          Might change

        • Axelstrife on 16/05/2017 - 17:20

          @nocure: I only went gamer for two reasons
          1.i can complain if i experience lag in game which i haven't not even once, maybe why my ping is lower then yours.

          2.static IP for open nat which isnt possible on standard Myrepublic.

  • [Deactivated] on 15/05/2017 - 19:30
    +1

    Get rid of Belong
    its cheap and nasty, nothing but trouble at the moment
    I can't see why people sign up to "unlimited data" ISPS on the NBN
    Its a load of bullshit
    Peak hour contention is never going to give you 100/40 in peak hour

    Skymesh is my choice of NBN provider, realistic data limits and prices

    Belong also route data through sydney too from memory, 30ms ping right off the bat from Brisbane, no thanks

  • Axelstrife on 15/05/2017 - 19:44
    +1

    congestion report them and try and get out of the cointract since you are clearly not getting anything close to a usable connection during peak hours.

    im on myrepublic who has been awesome

  • ChunkyToast on 15/05/2017 - 20:10

    Thanks everyone, definitely sounds like it's more prevelant than first thought. Cheers, will follow the process etc.

  • pjetson on 23/05/2017 - 15:49

    What did belong say, RainDrop? Did they release you from the contract, or did you have to lodge a complaint with the TIO?

    • ChunkyToast on 24/05/2017 - 00:31

      Hey mate, I have been working some pretty long hours so haven't had the chance to browse the net at home let alone have dinner at home. I'll get to this late June when I get some "standard hours". Their customer service times at night are terrible so I haven't bothered. TIO website says I need a complaint number so I'll be getting that first. Are you having the same issue?

      • pjetson on 24/05/2017 - 11:26

        I had an issue with Belong (for my daughter's internet) but they let me out of the contract without me needing to contact the TIO.

        I also had a separate issue with my own NBN connection with Optus where I had to escalate it to the TIO and the result there was that my connection magically started working as it should. Funny that an official complaint can resolve a technical issue that Optus could not sort out before the TIO got involved.

        I was just interested to find out how you got on.

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