You may have heard the news that Telecube, one of our recommended NBN providers in the past, has decided to wrap things up on the NBN side of their business. They will still continue to offer VOIP phone services, but only under the Siptalk brand (Their sister company that they purchased in 2016). If you currently only have a voice service with Telecube – don’t worry, this will get transferred to Siptalk automatically, along with your credit, and the service will be the same. If you use their NBN service, you’ll need to switch before the 4th of September. See the bottom of this blog post (Appendix 1) for a copy of the email that is currently being sent out to customers.
Long story short, there are a few options available. The first option that Telecube suggests is moving over to is Aussie Broadband, who I have also suggested for a long time and offer great service and support. They’re not the cheapest of providers, with their cheapest plans starting at $50 for 50GB of data, but they do have a very high quality service and are definitely better value than a lot of the “big” players (eg. Telstra, Optus) who tend to offer good service but poor or average support.
Another alternative which I can suggest is Exetel, who have great value offerings. Exetel’s service and support isn’t quite up to par with Aussie Broadband, but they are quite close. They have some great value plans, such as their $39.99 NBN plan with 100GB of data with no contract. I’ve searched around and there isn’t really anything better than this as an entry level NBN plan. Their unlimited plans are also excellent value, but Aussie Broadband does have slightly better network performance, especially with international links.
As far as what is involved with switching over, you do not need to order any new equipment or change your modem / router. The existing equipment you have will work with Aussie Broadband or Exetel without any worries and you do not need to order any new equipment. However the connection settings will need to be updated. I’ve detailed this below for each type of connection you may have:
Satellite, Fixed Wireless, Fiber to the Curb (FTTC) or Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) Migrations
Since NBNco provide a termination device of some sort on these connection types (Also known as an NTD, NCD, or “the NBN box on the wall” etc), then the process of migrating to a new provider is relatively straightforward and only requires minimal downtime. Once you have ordered a new service with your new provider, your new service provider will opt to activate their service on a spare, unused port on your termination device. Typically there are four ports available, sometimes referred to as UNI-D ports. Port 1 is normally used by your old provider, and the new provider will normally install their service on Port 2, but please keep an eye on your emails from your new service provider as to which port it will be provisioned on.
Once your new provider has confirmed that your new service is being provisioned, they will send another email shortly after to confirm that your connection is active, usually within 24hrs. At this point you can log into your router and change the WAN connection settings (if necessary) to match the settings provided by your new service provider. Usually this means that you need to enter a new username or password if your provider uses a PPPoE connection, or change the router to use DHCP / IPoE / Dynamic IP if your provider uses that instead. Once the router has been updated, you will then need to move the ethernet cable that comes out of your NBN termination device and move it to the UNI-D port that your new provider has nominated. Wait a few minutes and your internet connection should come alive.
Once your new connection is working well, you can then contact your old provider to cancel the previous internet connection. In some instances this is done for you, but it makes sense to check just in case it doesn’t happen automatically.
Fibre to the Node (FTTN) Migrations
Unlike other types of connections, Fibre to the Node uses a technology called VDSL, which is a little different. NBNCo does not provide a termination device with these connections, and instead you will be using a VDSL modem and router, which plugs into a phone socket in the wall somewhere. The main downside to this type of connection is that you can’t have more than one connection active at once, meaning that there will be some downtime involved as the connection gets switched over. Otherwise the transition is essentially the same as the above, but there will be no physical switching over of cables required – this is all done by the provider. It is recommended that you arrange a backup internet connection if you need 100% uptime, as it’s not uncommon for the connection to be down for a few hours during the transition process on the nominated cutover date. You will still need to update the settings on your modem/router to match the new connection however.
Other Considerations
When moving to a new provider, you also have the ability to change phone services as well. I don’t normally recommend this if you are happy with your current phone service, but if you do decide to change, you will need to update the SIP credentials on your VOIP devices (eg. VOIP ATA, PBX, etc) to what your provider has given you. You may also need to adjust any QoS settings if your plan speed has changed to ensure that voice quality remains consistent, and to allow you to use the full capacity of your internet connection.
Feeling Lost?
If this post has you confused and you’re worried that you won’t be able to switch your internet connection over yourself, don’t stress. We can assist with the signup process and offer remote support to re-configure your modem/router before the cutover date so that the transition is relatively seamless. We can also come out to you as well. Feel free to create a service ticket here and we can take things from there.
Appendix 1:
Dear Customer
The purpose of this letter is to inform you that Telecube will no longer be
offering NBN services from 4th September 2018, after that date the NBN
services are in danger of being disconnected. Please act promptly and
arrange for a new provider as soon as possible.
We understand that this news is short notice and we also acknowledge the
importance of your internet connection. As a result we have made
arrangements with two Internet Service Providers that we think are a good
fit with your service. Below are the prices and links to their respective
sites.
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** ABB (Aussie Broadband) **
Aussie Broadband is pleased to offer Telecube customers switching over to
us $10 off for the first six months on any unlimited plan, or $5 off for
the first six months on any of our other plans.
We know changing providers can be stressful so we aim to make it as
painless as possible – online applications will usually see your service
switch across in anywhere between 15 minutes and a couple of hours. Please
note that if you want to port across your phone number, switching across
will take longer.
Aussie Broadband offers all-Australian support, no connection fees and no
lock-in contracts (so if you don’t love us in the first month, you’re free
to leave).
To take up this offer, you need to sign up at the Aussie Broadband website
www.aussiebroadband.com.au or call our friendly team on 1300 880 905 and
use the following promo code at the checkout: telecube
This offer is only available to current Telecube customers and will expire
on 31 August 2018.
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** Siptalk **
Siptalk are offering two speed tiers with unlimited data. As an incentive
they will add a credit to your account for any unused days on your old
Telecube service.
– 50/20 unlimited $75/month
-100/40 unlimited $95/month
Please log into your Siptalk account at
https://manage.siptalk.com.au/myaccount/services/addnew/nbn/ and you can
add a service there.
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Thank you for your past business and we wish you all the best for the
future.
Kind Regards,
John Matich
Telecube