By 
Over the last couple of weeks I've been working on a Now/Unison Fibre connection. In short. It's awesome!
That is world class broadband and cost effective at around $150 per month.
The main things I'm using all this speed for is:
- Skype: I'm constantly talking to Xero staff all over the world. We use Video for quick one on ones, a lot of chat, and do most of our interal meetings as a Skype conference (normally just voice). While skyping we're often often collaborating on Google docs or http://bullseyehd.com. I'm finding I'm doing a lot more external calls on Skype. A few times a week I'll have job candidate interviews and quick partner catch ups. I've noticed a real benefit of Skype is that meetings are much shorter. Often in physical meetings people feel obligated to stay for an hour but in Skype, when you're done you're done which leaves some whitespace for getting other things moving.
- Our business lives on Yammer, which allows all Xeroes around the world to be part of conversations during the day and throw ideas around the team
- GotoMeeting HD Faces for video conferencing and online presentations
- Vadacom deskphone. My home office is on the Xero virtual PABX so I can dial anyone in the company and place calls nationally and internationally via the Xero account
- Dropbox for file sharing
- Home phone line and HSM alarm system
- iTunes
Having this much speed makes AppleTV transformational. I've moved my library (iTunes and iPhoto) off my working MacBookAir onto a dedicated MacMini. I've put an AppleTV next to each TV.
I can control the MacMini using VNC, so use that to download US TV shows and movies in the background which is fast and painless. I use VNC full screen so can just 'two finger swipe' across to the MacMini. My iPhone and iPad also syncs to that, not my work machine. Wifi Sync keeps most things up to date and every few days I plug in which does photos.
The combination of iTunes, Home Sharing, Apple Remote app, Wifi Sync and AirPlay means you can beam content all around the house, from anywhere to anywhere. And it's very straight forward to set up (though you do need to know about all of it to make it work).
In New Zealand I'm still conscious of bandwidth so I'm not using iCloud which pulls movies back over the web when ever you want them. I want to pull movies from the MacMini locally which the above setup does. I've also found iTunes Match frustrating as it doesn't seem to update when you upload new songs from a CD or free downloads so playlists get out of date. This sync model still works a lot better.
Mad Men series 5 is out and over the weekend I subscribed to the HD series. That pulls down both HD and SD versions of each episode. That chewed through my my 60GB quota but I upgraded to Now's 100GB plan which should be enough. No ads and you can 'power watch' a series. If you haven't got an Apple TV yet you should. $159.
To connect inside the house I run a Time Capsule which provides wifi and backup and AirPort Express for extended wifi cover. Like Apple Remote there is an iPhone app to manage your home network: Airport Utility.
To get the best possible voice and video quality to my computer I'm running an Apple ThunderBolt Monitor and MacBook Air with ThunderBolt so I have hardwired Internet. When the MacBook Air docks it gets Internet through the Monitor so it's as fast as possible. I also hardwired the AppleTVs to avoid any wifi jitters - but that may be overkill.
When working at home I spend hours a day on the phone (skype, mobile or desk phone). A cool work toy I got was a Plantronics Savi headset which connects all three devices and I can walk and talk.
The best thing is I'm traveling less. Flights to Wellington or Auckland are $300 to $500 a pop and I'm sure I'll save a couple of flights a month. That also frees up many wasted hours of travel time. More time for living. So for me the Return on Investment is high.
Working a few days at home changes the way you work. In my 'big city days' I try to pack all my in person meetings in. I can't write stuff in the office as there are too many distractions so I save board papers and things that needs thinking time to home days. I also try to do calls on home days. I find that in non scheduled time I can chase opportunities and try to make new things happen. I'll often look for a company we want to do things with and track people down in LinkedIn.
So thank you Now and Unison Fibre. It's never been easier to live local and work global.
Also thanks to HSM Security and Code Blue for getting everything else working.
We're very lucky in the Bay to have a bunch of companies that work together well and can get you sorted.
Finally, there is one essential bit of office equipment that makes working for home much, much easier ...
11:55, 21.05.2012
Nice insight. Cheers Rod.
I think this is the final nudge I needed to go and get an apple TV.
12:41, 21.05.2012
So you’re saying that 100GB “should be enough”? Sounds like you could utilise two or three times that amount with the connection you’ve got.
12:43, 21.05.2012
Great looking speeds. And the savi definitely looks like something I could use.
Now to convince the powers that be that we really really need an apple TV
13:05, 21.05.2012
Out of interest, how is the Home Alarm monitored over the IP service?
22:28, 21.05.2012
Great blog post Rod, you’ve set the digital household bar well!
The Apple ecosystem is great in that everything just works and works well together. But, I do think that Apple have missed a great opportunity with their iTunes Match service, it seems almost out of place by its sheer unpolished-ness.
Also, I would have thought they’d do well with a music subscription service similar to Rhapsody. I have a Sonos sound system at home (NZ Distributor is HB based BTW http://www.playback.co.nz/ ) which is connected to my Rhapsody account, best thing since sliced bread I reckon!
Anyone else care to share their home set-ups?
In the coming months we will be building a technology lounge at our new offices in Onekawa to show off some of this cool technology in action and let people have a play to better demonstrate the benefits of an ultra-fast broadband connection.
I’ll put up a post when it is ready and send an open invite to anyone who is interested to come in to check it out.
Shameless plug since it is on topic….
Our ultra-fast fibre broadband pricing for home users starts from $75 per month and is published up on our website now.
Coverage is a limited in Hawke’s Bay but is growing all the time, so keep an eye on your letterboxes because we will be dropping mailers to houses that have it, when they have it.
22:42, 21.05.2012
@Rik, HSM have monitoring over an IP connection. No need to tie up a phone line anymore
09:43, 22.05.2012
Great post Rod on how to get the most of fibre as a remote worker / consumer. I have a few things to add to my Christmas list now.
Are there similar product use case descriptions you’ve seen that Hawke’s Bay vertical industries can refer to? For example use cases for:
- Telemedicine opportunities for health ie: District Health Board
- Education opportunities for remote learning and study ie: EIT
- Cloud based working for the 21 digital media agencies.
- Advice based online for the legal businesses.
- Backpacker Cafe internet
- Running a global business headquartered in Hawke’s Bay for businesses moving here.
With Unison Fibre passing 40% of businesses, there is probably a use case for everyone, it would be sensible to have this information available to share with business colleagues and partners.
Ryan
@ryaninnz
10:36, 22.05.2012
Great post Rod. It’s awesome to hear how a fibre connection can improve business and entertainment with real financial benefits.
UnisonFibre will pass around 3300 businesses in Hawkes Bay. If you’re in Hastings CBD, Omahu, Havelock North business area, Napier CBD, Onekawa or Taradale business area it is either avilable now or will be before year end.
Check out http://www.unisonfibre.co.nz/28/our_fibre_network -to see if we’re there.
Cheers
Wayne
10:58, 22.05.2012
We had fibre installed at the Mogul office a couple of weeks ago and it has been fantastic. Software downloads are especially quick and we’ve been able to move websites between servers at blinding speed.
We haven’t really had a chance to put it to the “tele-presence” test yet, but we’ll be putting it through its paces soon. We are about to embark on a series of workshops with a new client to help them develop their global online marketing strategy.
The workshops will involve videoconferencing with teams in Christchurch, Brisbane, Houston, and Vienna.
The only downside is that sometimes you need to stay up till 11 at night before the videoconference starts and then have a follow up at 7am the next morning. Still, it’s better than sitting on a long-haul jet for umpteen hours.
Cheers
Matt
11:16, 24.05.2012
Hi Rod,
Good article. But can you post some some International Speed Tests to San Jose (where the SCC docks) & perhaps London?
I know – as much ass you do – when you do International Speed Tests, the “Pipe dreams” come tumbling down in a BIG way! I’ve seen around 5-8Mbit on a Fibree connection to the USA
I Pacific Fibre addresses these issues, not to mention the pultry Data Caps!
Regards,
Grant
13:13, 24.05.2012
I used to own and operate a broadband ISP in the Eastern Caribbean, and over my 20 years in the industry have designed and built same for customers across the globe.
Although impressed with what I have read by Rod – in particular the whole home ecosystem aspect, I just want to issue one caution – The bandwidth speed test shown is actually quite misleading. It is a speedtest from Rod’s IP address at his home router, via his provider, to a speed test server which is based inside NZ – and could likely also be connected to the same core service provider that Rod is connected to.
The 5ms latency and the impressive download and upload rate is sort of a give-away to that probability because the more hops between routers that your IP traffic takes, the more latency you will encounter – depending on how loaded those routers you hop through are, and depending on their core capacity for traffic routing.
If you do an OOKLA or SPEEDTEST.NET analysis to say a server in Los Angeles, New York, or Hong Kong, the readings will be significantly different becauser that is the one chokepoint in bandwidth for NZ – (i.e the shared capacity your ISP is afforded when the traffic transits their network onto the internet at large). International fibre from NZ to USA will typically have a latency of anywhere from 80 to 150ms.
Measuring to some point within NZ that is likely interconnected on the same fibre backbone does not truly represent the nature of things. I would be interested to see the traceroute from Rod’s IP to that speedtest server so it could be determined how many hops it took to get to that resource… (noting that each HOP does add latency)
However, with that said, it is still refreshing and exciting to see the realisation of fibre to the premise…..and the benefit it brings
13:23, 24.05.2012
@John, @Grant, you’re quite right. FTTH does not make the boat go faster. We need to fix international for that.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/6961419/Xeros-Drury-slams-commissions-UFB-views
If I get a chance over the next few days I’ll post national and international tests. From Memory I get about 5Mb/s downloads from LA and 130ms pings.
13:30, 24.05.2012
first question would have to be “are you looking for a lodger?”
As far as I know Mad Men series 5 isn’t available with an NZ itunes account – is there some jiggery pokery going on here ?
thanks
Dave
13:36, 24.05.2012
@Dave, you can run US iTunes account alongside a NZ account.
15:56, 24.05.2012
Rod,
you are completely correct, I do it myself along with a UK account.
However, it isn’t legal to do so as the rights have not been cleared for NZ under the EULA that you agree to when signing up.
It simply illustrates the madness of splitting the Globe up in to different territories in such a connected world. My personal view is that if I am paying the content creator and the distributor by legal means for legal content then I should be able to watch it wherever I want.
I am sure that SKY would have a different opinion, mostly based on unreasonable margins.
11:03, 21.04.2013
Rod, we’re based in Tauranga.
Was searching for some examples of how people are using UFB – one of the common objections coming from those who already have acceptable ADSL speeds and know no different is “what’s wrong with what I’ve got?!”.
Cool to see you’re with (and supporting) a local company than one of the national ISPs.