Saw this in the newspaper today. Sign up on any month to month plan and get one month FREE (second month)
Great if you want to trial vivid after you buy a cheap modem from gumtree or eBay.
Also great if your moving home and want temporary internet for ~ 2 months.
That's enough speed from 95% of internet users
You must live in part of the lucky country.
My mother lives somewhere that isn't even slated for NBN yet. My area is slated for 2-3 years from now and I'm on an ADSL RIM that only gets me ~500kB/s (on really really good days, otherwise it's closer to 256kB/s) for $100/month.
For those people, VW is an extremely viable option, and I'm glad they're available. However be warned that they throttle P2P to 0kB/s (which also means Starcraft 2 distributed hot fixes can have trouble downloading), their gateway towers aren't Gigabit and don't have a bridge mode, and YouTube is extremely jerky on it so I suspect they throttle that too.
I guess their idea is to reduce prices by limiting the speeds. Seems generous 10 Mbps * 3600 s/h * 24 h/d * 28 d/m * .001 M/G = 24 TB per month. It would be good for listening to streaming music at work, which can take around 1 GB per eight-hour work day.
But the other caveat is this:
"If, in our opinion, your use is so heavy at any time that it will adversely affect the quality of the service received by other customers, we may de-prioritise your access to the network."
Terabit* you forgot to divide by 8. It's about 3TB a month.
Good catch!
Also from anecdotal reports, users who are continuously using 10 Mbps will be throttled close to 0 Mbps, so it's unlikely that you would be able to get even 1 TB. One commenter below said around 1 Mbps. So that would be around 100 GB maximum.
I would assume around 100GB is what they consider fair usage for 'unlimited', though I reckon 150-200 is possible.
I'd still only assume it's worth it if you're downloading overnight (ie steam updates), otherwise if managing downloads isn't a problem something like the $59.95 for 50GB posted a few weeks back is better as it's a direct Optus reseller with no speed limits.
Math:
Let's say you limit your downloads to around 256KB/s overnight. This results in around 1GB/hr once you count overheads and everything. Assuming 8hrs of download every second night this is around 112GB. Add in daily usage and you're at 150-200GB. I'd assume this would be around the maximum allowed usage.
I cancelled my ADSl2 last month as I moved to Vivid. I went from speeds ranging from 64kps-900kbs, to now getting a constant 900kbs-1.1mbs.
Vivid is great. But don't signup, I don't want to share my cell tower's bandwidth.
Lol, 900kbs-1.1mbs for a 4G network, which equals to 112.5KBps-137.5KBps. Is it good enough for 240p videos?
Twice as fast as what my current "ADSL2+" service offers me.
-EDIT- Not available in my area. Balls.
You'd be extremely lucky to get that much… I was with them for over 1.5 years because didn't have a telephone line at the rental property.. Would barely get 1mbps best of days and even after countless hours spent with the technical support trying to fix the issue all they could offer me in the end was to leave the service as the issue was congestion.
Ended up paying extra to get the telephone line at home to get "proper" broadband
Wouldn't recommend the service even to an enemy.
You were signed up to the old WiMax Vividwireless. The new LTE version with new Huawei modem is based on 2300mhz band, and is actually great. None of these issues anymore.
Should be $89/month.
Referral link does same thing doesn't it?
You get both I believe (ie. Two free months).
If your interested, here my referral code: Removed my code. Don't think they're aloud in comments?
No, you can't use both, conditions state that.
And yeah, referrals not allowed in comments
What modem is required to get this service?
How do I find out if it's available in my area?
Edit: found the coverage link at the bottom.
I am in a similar situation to DoctorOwl. I am in NBN No Man's Land, and I get 250KB if I'm lucky.
I have an Archer D7. Can this one do it, or perhaps with a USB add-on, or something connected to the WAN port?
You must use the modem they provide. The sim card doesn't work in any other modem (regardless of whether it supports 4G). Their modem has wireless, 4 ethernet ports and one usb.
Well that sucks balls.
What if I want to change providers. Does this mean a new modem again?
Probably, they said in the manual that the modem and sim card are tied together and can not be used separately.
That, and the modem doesn't support bridge mode either - although with some hackery can kind of work with other routers.
nb. it's a huawei b315
Wow, someone is finally doing unlimited 4G?
Considering 4G around here is double the speed I get on broadband, that'd be neat.
They have a speed limit of 10Mbps down, 1Mbps up which is pretty comparable to ADSL for most people.
Yeah, saw that. Shame.
I mean, in 7/10 cases, that's STILL better for me. On a good day, I'm lucky to get 6Mbps. Really shitty connection down here.
But considering my Optus 4G gets 25Mbps, I was rather expecting the same from this. Especially for 80 bucks a month. Ah well.
They've always had this. Not really a special. Also if you discontinued the service and sign up again later, use a new email address to sign up, you'll get 2nd month free again. Actually make sure you use a different email. Otherwise the 2nd time you sign up with the same email, they'd use the date you first sign up as your billing date. So if you only want a 4 weeks of service, you'd probably end up being forced to pay for a few more days/weeks depending on the anniversary date. So it's best to sign up with a new email each time. Just go create a free gmail account.
If the modern and SIM Card are locked together, and must be provided by them, I'd suggest they would have a record of IMEIs and SIM numbers. So you'd be up for a new set each time, at more than twice the saving of a month's free rental.
The modem and sim are locked. But the accounts connected to each modem is not. I've had this since like 6 years ago and I keep it to use for emergency broadband connection whenever my main DSL drops out or someone needs to borrow it for a new house. Each time you start the modem, if you do not have an active subscription, you'd be ask to sign up or sign in. So just sign up for new account each time. I've verified this with a very rude vivid rep too.
Should just do ref to get the same. Probably more reliable.
OP you should mention - month to month requires you to buy their stupid overpriced modem/router/access point. Even if you insist on bringing your own, they'll tell you it's some proprietary Optus band (800? I'm not sure, whatever the old band was). This box is approx $200 so add that to your "temp internet"… It becomes pretty pricey. The OVO deal is great (posted in forum) and uncapped bandwidth. 50gb 59.95/mth no bandwidth cap/ no contract. I get 70mbps down and 45mbps up, using a little Huawei $15 modem at my house
50gb is tinny. It's not 2006.
Not really, that's 50hr of HD Netflix
It's also one Xbone/PS4.
Again, it's not 2006.
Yeah, minimum cost over two months is $199 + $90 + $0 = $289. Not a very good price for two months of internet
Can you link to the alternative?
The review is not good.
Lol the review.
There can only be one.
Their*
http://www.productreview.com.au/p/vividwireless.html
According to the reviews:
Their*
Lol! If you're going to correct someone's grammar, at least know you're right first.
There is correct.
Why you keep correcting my grammar? I just want people to checkout the reviews before they jump onto this deal.
What sort of network infrastructure are they using? VF, Optus or Telstra?
They use Optus 2300Mhz towers, the bandwidth is only used for Vivid as I understand it (Vivid is owned by Optus). You can check out if you have a tower near you here https://oztowers.com/Home/Query
Thanks, very useful info.
Had customers with Vivid BEFORE they went 4G. Your mileage may vary but their customer service was disgusting and when they started turning off their WiMAX services they did not bother to tell customers ahead of time, and when customers rang about not getting signal simply shrugged their shoulders, told them they would not be supporting them any more. No refunds no nothing.
I personally would not ever touch them with a 10 foot barge pole. But I have a thing against companies who are not customer focused.
I hope you guys do better with them.
Just in time for 10% off on ebay for the modem!
im with iiNet at home in northern beaches of Sydney
i call them every 2-3 weeks to tell them of slow internet, and get the usual, youre far from the exchange, but ill put you to premium speed profile. restart modem now, wait 30 minutes then itll be fine.
Im only allowed to get 3Mbps up and 1Mbps down at the fastest profile. i dont know if that is fast anymore, compared to everyone else. i mean i live in metropolitan Sydney.
Most times im lucky to get a ping of 3000ms with 0.7 Mbps DL and non existent Ul, Netflix flat out says "No thanks"
My situation is actually a joke at iiNet's South African call centre, they all know me well.
my question is, seeing as my house is within 500metres of a tower (as the crow flies) would this actually be a better connection that the copper line?
would it affect streaming detrimentally? or make it better? Netflix? youtube? P2P? spotify? etc.
Also, a few people have mentioned buying a modem on eBay or externally, how will that work with their $199 modem costs upfront? wouldnt they claim "proprietary modem use only"? or will they just send out a sim to plug into any modem?
I ask because i have a 4G capable modem at home from iiNet with a slot for a SIM
This was on their site: Our service exclusively uses the stylish Huawei B315s modem. It comes pre-provisioned for network access with a dedicated Vividwireless SIM card already installed. This SIM card cannot be used with any other modem or on another network.
Thanks in advance
In theory it will be MUCH better. But ultimately it will depend on how many other people in the area are connected to the same tower.
or will they just send out a sim to plug into any modem?
I would like the answer to this question as well.
Someone's already answered this above. No.
So they won't sell you the sim individually? Why are people buying the modem from other sources then?
I've had no problems with mine. Live in Sydneys inner west. Good reception and unlimited….
Vivid wireless has been fantastic!
I struggled for 9 weeks for a new line to get connected to my house with an ISP for an ADSL2+ service, only to finally find out once connected, that i would get 0.72mbps. Completely unusable.
In desperation, I went down to a Harvey Norman and bought the Vivid wireless router off the shelf, plugged in & was up and running in 5 minutes @ 10.1mbps.
I am extremely happy with this service as without them, I would have had no other choice. No NBN No HFC, unusable ADSL.
Ping/latency on the router for me with a weak(1-2 bars) signal still gives me 30-50ms and have had no issue with online Gaming (xbox etc).
As another person mentioned, if you are under 6.0mbps and don't need a fixed line for home phone, this is a much better option if you are in an area with coverage.
I found Vividwireless a good alternative where there is limited Internet service choices like at my parent's place on acreage outside metro area with slow/unreliable ADSL. They are not in the claimed coverage map but still get signal. Yeah, $199 is steep for their mandatory modem/SIM card but I bought mine on sale for $159 and believe they have some kind of service guarantee/return policy if you can't get signal within their coverage map. I was also moving house and found it useful but for users who want to confirm/test coverage, it would be better/nice to be able to borrow a modem to try it out. I wonder if such a rental service is viable? :-)
I used to have a very problematic ADSL connection. Issue was either between exchange and house, or between house and modem. It's crazy. I had to stay home sometimes for Optus/Telstra people to come, on top of speaking for hours on the line with tech rep and going through troubleshooting. All these unproductive and stressful hours cost you more than the upfront $200 for modem (or none for 1 year contract) and how pain-free Vividwireless has been. Night and day.
I use this as my main internet and its great. 1.1MB/sec from usenet every night.
Some slow down during peak hours but its still very good.
btw this isnt a deal…has been available since day one…
My account was $900 in credit from referral links…lol (now at about $650) free Internets yay!!!
'Vividwireless' LTE internet service provides up to 10mbps download and 1 mbps upload.' Ouch