One very important factor to check before buying a home – yet none of the real estate guides mention it.

house-for-saleBuying a home 10 things to check before you buy lists important things such as checking for water leaks, sagging ceilings, and drain holes in the walls. Before you buy a house by The Sydney Morning Herald also includes checking the title, pest inspection, plumbing, is there is a vacant block of land next to or near the property.

But nobody suggests you check the following:

Is high-speed internet and Foxtel available at this location?

Moving to a house or apartment where there is no high speed or Foxtel connection can be a deal breaker these days, especially for the tech-savvy Gen X and Gen Y's.

If you are a seller and your house or apartment has high-speed Internet and Foxtel. Make sure you brag about it in the real-estate advertising.

If you are a seller and your house or apartment DOES NOT have high-speed Internet and Foxtel it could well increase your properties attractiveness by having them installed, or if they cannot be installed, keeping very quiet about the matter.

The majority of houses and premises in are currently connected to the Internet via an ADSL which uses the copper wire, now known as the “land-line”, connecting your premises to the local exchange.

Although speeds of 20 MBPS can be achieved using ADSL (if you live close to the telephone exchange), some connections only receiving 1 or 2 MBPS. In comparison, high speed internet can be achieved using HFC which currently offers speeds of 30 to 100 MBPS and NBN connections offer speeds of 100 MBPS or more. Test your current Internet Speed here.

Business fibre connections are available but very expensive at over $1,000 per month. NBN fibre (if available) offers the same speeds at a much lower price.

 

What is a HFC Connection?

HFC” stands for “Hybrid Fibre Coax” and is the coaxial cable that provides Foxtel to homes and businesses.

In the 1990's Telstra laid the cable to many houses across many Suburbs to offer services. Only Telstra offer this service.

Foxtel wall plateYou don't currently need a Foxtel servicecoaxial-cable but you do need the cable running down your street. Not all streets and suburbs were connected in the 90's. Telstra's HFC service is also known as “ ”.  See below for connection details and pricing:

 

What is a NBN Connection?

NBN-Fibre-access-pointNBN (National Broadband Network) is the name of the scheme and company charged with providing High Speedfibre-optics Internet services throughout by the previous Labour Government. The NBN Company was formed to deliver these services initially by providing Fibre-to-the-premises (), Fibre-to-the-Node (FTTN) or Fibre-to-the-Building () Internet Services by a new fibre-optic cable network, giving peak speed of between 100 mbps to 1000 mbps. However, due to cost blow outs the technology mix has now changed dramatically with the current Government adding  Wireless and HFC to it's offered services.

What Alternative internet services are available at my address?

What happens if you are in a HFC area but dont have the cable running to your premises?

On March 4th it was announced that if 's or Telstra's pay TV cable runs down your street but you currently don't use it for broadband , someone will come to hook up your in the next few years – even if in the past you've been told it is unavailable.(Read more here “More pieces start to fit in NBN puzzle“)

Will I ever get an NBN Connection if I am eligible for a HFC connection?

A few months ago the Communications minister, Malcolm Turnbull, made it known that in order to save costs NBN quality broadband will only be delivered through the network for those premises that are currently eligible.

Only those premises not having an HFC connection will eventually get an NBN connection which could be FTTN or

Telstra Cable Broadband Pricing

telstra-logoTelstra Cable broadband (HFC) can deliver Internet speeds of 30 to 100 mbps compared to a maximum of 20 Mbps for ADSL 2+.

For plans and availability click here.

 

Plans start at only $73 per month. (plus modem and installation charges)

If your one of the many Perth ADSL customers getting download speeds of 10 Mpb's or less (click here to test your speed) then Cable Broadband from Telstra is probably your only solution to faster Internet speeds unless you live in a new suburb or building that maybe eligible for FTTP or FTTN services.

Be aware that your existing modem will probably not be cable compatible so you will need to buy a new one from Telstra. A self-install Cable Home Network Gateway is $144 for new Telstra home broadband customers. If you're an existing Telstra home broadband customer and would like a new modem you can take up a T-Gateway Package for $216.

If you already have Foxtel Cable installed, Telstra will simple mail you a self-install modem kit. You can install it yourself or call us out to do it for you.

If you don't have Foxtel cable already coming into your house, Telstra will also charge you an installation fee to have one of their technicians install the cabling (up to $299), Make sure you direct them to terminate it a place that suits you such as next to your TV or in the smart-wiring junction box. Again, if you have any doubts, call us out to assist you.

Telstra cable broadband can provide download speeds up to a maximum of 30Mbps when downloading from capable sites or across multiple sites but average speeds will be lower. If you take up Telstra's optional $20 per month Super Fast Speed Boost option then it can provide download speeds up to a maximum of 100Mbps into the home for sharing across multiple users in a household.

 The above is designed as a self- guide to finding a faster Internet Services to residents of Perth, Western Australia. If you would like the IT Guys to be assistance or to deal with Telstra call us on 08 6365 5603 and we will be happy to assist if we can.

Related Issues

How to test your Internet Speed

How to increase the speed of my Internet Connection

How to increase the speed of your Modem Router or Wireless Modem Router

How to Fix Wif-Fi Problems

How to increase your Internet Browsing Speed

Networking and Internet

:jk:

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