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Published on: 02-04-2021 NBN technology type: Whether you need a modem or a router will depend on the nbn™ technology type. In some cases, the hardware that comes with your nbn™ connection will serve as your modem, so you will just need a router. Here is what you will need based on your connection type: FTTP – Fibre to the premises utilises fibre optic cable to connect your premises directly. In order for this connection to work, a utility box will be required to be installed outside of your premises in addition to a connection box that is installed inside the premises. FTTP is the best nbn™ connection type of technology which is more consistent in its delivery of ultrafast internet speed. You will need to connect a router to Network Termination Device (NTD) to access Internet service via WiFi. FTTN – Fibre to the Node utilises fibre optic cable to the nearest node to your premises. The signal from the optic fibre cable then travels down through existing copper lines to the primary telephone wall socket. A VDSL2 compatible modem router is required for this type of connection to work. FTTB – Fibre to the Building utilises fibre optic cable all the way to a shared point in the building’s communications room. From there, the connection travels along the existing copper lines to each customer. In order for this type of connection to function a VDSL2 compatible modem router is required. FTTC – Fibre to the Curb is the newest technology available in which it is capable of bringing optic fibre cables almost all the way to your premises. The connection then travels through existing copper cables into the home for quick and stable internet. An nbn™ connection device, short for NCD, is then set up within the premises and then connected to the primary telephone wall socket. You will need to connect a router into nbn™ NCD to access Internet service HFC – Hybrid Fibre Coaxial is utilised where there is an existing cable network can be used to make the final part of the connection. Similarly, with FTTN and FTTB, fibre optic cable is connected to a nearby node. A coaxial cable is then used to connect to an nbn™ device which is installed inside the customer’s premises. You will need to connect a router to nbn™ HFC NTD to access the Internet service.   How many devices are you connecting to the Wi-Fi? A modem router can generally accommodate up to 32 clients per wireless band. So, if the number of users is expected to be higher than that, then a dual-band router is suggested which can make the connection in two different frequency bands i.e., 2.4 GHz and 5GHz. A number of wired clients depend upon the number of ethernet ports available at the back of the modem router. Generally most of the modem routers equipped with four ethernet ports and most of the modern-day modem routers equipped with a wan port as well as with the rest of the LAN ports. What is the 802.11 family? Wi-Fi was developed and standardized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, which classifies the technology within the 802 family of standards for local area networks. The IEEE’s full code for Wi-Fi is 802.11. Older models of routers use 802.11 standards with the letter followed by such as “a”,” b”,” g”,” n” etc. But for the modern-day broadband internet, the least version suggested is 802.11ac. With every upgraded version of the standard, there is a boost of internet speed provided by the router. For example, “ac” routers which are also known as Wi-Fi 5 router can provide wireless connection on dual-band i.e., 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. There is less interference in the “ac” router as it can have access of 5GHz, which previous routers could not as they use 2.4Ghz only. You can find many other signals in the same frequency range such as radios to the baby monitors to microwave ovens, hence, there would be a lot of interference in the signal. The latest version of 802.11 is “ax” which is also known as Wi-Fi 6. Wi-Fi 6 technology is not only about high speed but also about high(wide?) range. Instead of boosting the speed for individual devices, Wi-Fi 6 is all about improving the network when a bunch of devices is connected. Wi-Fi 6 has introduced a mesh router system(which system?) which consists of the main router that connects directly to your modem, and a series of satellite modules, or nodes, placed around your house for full Wi-Fi coverage. They are all part of a single wireless network and share the same SSID and password, unlike traditional Wi-Fi routers. At OCCOM we provide our client with WI-FI 6 routers as well. We recommend our NETGEAR AX1800 MESH WI-FI 6 2-PACK router which has a dual-band, speed up to 1200 Mbps, and anti-interference capability. USB Compatibility: Also, you can consider if your modem router is equipped with a USB port or not. Look on the back of your router and you will probably see a USB port. A router will typically connect to a modem over Ethernet to provide it with a connection to the Internet, so what is the USB port for? The USB port on the back of a router allows for different peripherals to be connected. The most common use cases are connecting a printer or external storage device, so they are accessible to multiple devices over a fixed wireless connection. How about the Wi-Fi coverage? Wi-Fi modem routers operating on the 2.4 GHz band can reach up to 150 feet indoors and 300 feet outdoors. Older 802.11a routers that ran on 5 GHz bands reached approximately one-third of these distances. Newer 802.11n and 802.11ac routers that operate on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands reach greater distances. You can choose the modem router based on the wireless range that you require. If you happen to have a large home or an … Read more

Published on: 02-04-2021 There are five popular residential NBN speed tiers available, with maximum download and upload speeds measured in Megabits per second (Mbps). These are the speed set by NBNCo based on the direct connection to their fibre wire but upon arriving at your premises the services may be slightly affected by other factors. NBN speed tiers: NBN 12/1: 12 Mbps download, 1 Mbps upload. This service is also known as Basic Speed. It is great for the small households with light users. This is a speed tier for basic web surfing and general purposes such as email, social media, etc. NBN 25/5: 25 Mbps download, 5 Mbps upload. This service is also known as Boost Speed. Ideal for a household with 1-2 people. This speed tier is okay for streaming and social media browsing. NBN 50/20: 50 Mbps download, 20 Mbps upload. This service is also known as Boost Plus Speed. This speed tier is great for the users who require streaming like – Netflix and is ideal for responsive online gaming. NBN 100/20 or 100/40: This tier is divided into two: one with 100 Mbps download, 20 Mbps upload and another is 100 Mbps download, 40 Mbps upload. This is also known as Superfast Speed. This speed tier is designed for larger households with intensive users. It supports large downloads and uploads and is very ideal for HD streaming and online gaming. This service is not available on Fixed Wireless connections. NBN 250 – 250/25: 250 Mbps download, 25Mbps upload. This is also known as Rocket Plan. Not all connection types will have access to this ultra-fast broadband though. It’s available to those with a fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) connection, and in some cases, also those with hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) cable but be sure to check with the provider. This speed tier is suitable for users who require seriously high-speed internet.   Typical Evening Speed: The typical expected experience between 7 pm–11 pm is the busy time for Internet traffic. It is not a guaranteed minimum speed. The actual speed experienced depends on several factors – see Technical Limitations below. Excludes Fixed Wireless customers and FTTN/B lines with limited maximum line speeds. 12/1 Basic (NBN12) 25/5 Boost (NBN25) 50/20 Boost Plus (NBN50) 100/20 Superfast (NBN100) 100/40 Superfast (NBN100) 250/25 Rocket (NBN 250) Typical evening speed: 10.3 Mbps 21.5 Mbps 43 Mbps 86 Mbps 86 Mbps 216 Mbps* Suitable for VoIP phone Email Singles and couple Standard Video streaming Music Streaming Online gaming Singles and couples video streaming Online gaming Families with multiple devices Large file downloads 4K (Ultra-HD) video streams Online gaming Multiple heavy users Large file downloads 4K (Ultra-HD) video streams Online gaming Multiple heavy users Large file downloads Ultra-High / 4K Definition Music/Video Streaming Online gaming Multiple heavy users Large file downloads Occom offers a range of nbn™ speeds in Australia. Check out our full range of nbn™ plans to see what suits your needs. *nbn™ Fiber 250/25 Rocket Plan only available at FTTP and limited HFC technology locations OCCOM—Optical Communication Expert Occom is an Internet service provider dedicated to delivering faster fibre and mobile services and faster support. Occom has been praised by tens of thousands of satisfied residents and businesses, and our products have attained commendation from industry experts. As one of the fastest growing telcos endorsed by top global and Australian financial media, Occom has set the bar for exceeding Aussies’ expectations towards customer service. Occom’s young, passionate and professional team will keep on pushing the boundary for what is possible in the future. Tel：1300 200 999

Published on: 02-04-2021 What is a ping test? A ping test is one of the basic networking tests that can troubleshoot the network connection status between your PC and a specific IP address. It is available on almost all devices which are able to connect with a network. The testing IP address can be from your modem router, a remote device, any website or server, etc. During a ping test, some data packets will be sent to the destination, and the other side will reply some packets back (formally named Internet Control Message Protocol ‘ICMP’ echo request and reply). The ping test result can reveal the round travel time of a packet (also called latency), packet loss, incorrect IP / DNS settings, etc. How to run a ping test? Ping test in Windows Below are the steps to run a ping test in Windows 7. These steps are almost identical in newer windows versions. Open the start menu by clicking the windows icon on the left bottom corner of the screen. Type “cmd” in the search bar. Click the cmd in the search result. In the black cmd window, type “ping” and the testing IP address or website, and press Enter. Alternatively, press “windows key” + R to open Run, and type “ping” and the testing IP address or website, and press Enter. This method works on all of Windows XP, 7, 8 and 10. Ping test in Mac OS Click the spotlight search icon on the top right corner of the screen Type network utility, and press Enter Select the Ping tag on the top Enter the testing address, and click the Ping button at right. Alternatively, open the Terminal in the Launchpad, type “ping” and the testing address and press Enter. To stop pinging, press Control + C. Ping Statistics The ping statistics are important. This indicates 4 data packages were sent and all 4 were received. Seeing any % of lost packets indicates there is a problem. Also, if the minimum and maximum round trip times vary greatly or are significantly high that could also indicate a problem. OCCOM—Optical Communication Expert Occom is an Internet service provider dedicated to delivering faster fibre and mobile services and faster support. Occom has been praised by tens of thousands of satisfied residents and businesses, and our products have attained commendation from industry experts. As one of the fastest growing telcos endorsed by top global and Australian financial media, Occom has set the bar for exceeding Aussies’ expectations towards customer service. Occom’s young, passionate and professional team will keep on pushing the boundary for what is possible in the future. Tel：1300 200 999

Published on: 10-07-2020 In 2023, most of Australia’s residents have transitioned into high-speed nbnTM fibre. But when WiFi goes wrong, the resulting slow internet connection can be a real pain. With a long list of potential reasons your WiFi is performing badly, it can be hard to know exactly what the problem might be. Common issues can be a weak signal, an issue with the wireless channels, your modem/router, your PC or even the network itself. Don’t worry because there’s always a solution – here are some simple things you can try on your own to improve your WiFi speed. 1. Restart the Modem/Router That old suggestion of turning your device off and on again? It works for modems/routers too. Just turn your modem/router off for 20-30 seconds and turn it back on. You’ll find a power switch at the back of most modems/routers but unplugging the adaptor to cut off the power works as well. After you’ve restarted your modem/router, it’s a good idea to also restart the device you’re wanting to use WiFi on, as sometimes that can also be the reason you can’t connect to the internet properly. Please note: turning the modem/router off and on is not the same as giving it a factory reset. If there is a ‘reset’ button on the back of the modem/router, that is most likely its purpose and you should not touch it, or else you will have to input the PPPoE username and password again. If you don’t have those details, you can ask your internet service provider. 2. Connect to the 5g WiFi Name Nowadays, many modems/routers on the market are dual band. This means that they have two frequency bands you can connect to (one is 2.4ghz and one is 5ghz), and thus two WiFi names that show up when you look through your WiFi list. The WiFi name with ‘5g’ is for the 5ghz band. This is the one with less interference, so connect to this one when it’s available. Usually the 5ghz band covers less range, so you may see your WiFi switch to the name without ‘5g’ when you’re further away from the modem/router. Doing this is especially important if you’re living in dense apartments like in the CBD of Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. The close proximity of other internet users means that there’s a lot of interference if you use the 2.4ghz band. See point 5 for more information about interference. Note: ‘5g’ when referring to modems/routers is not the same as ‘5G mobile data’. The ‘g’ for modems/routers stands for gigahertz, and the ‘G’ in mobile data refers to the generation of cellular communication technology! 3. See What’s Using your WiFi WiFi speeds are affected by your bandwidth – the amount of data that can be transferred at any given time. The total bandwidth is divided between the devices connected to your WiFi, and bandwidth intensive programs running on any of these devices will affect the internet speed of all the others. Browsing the web usually won’t significantly affect your speed, but HD/4k video streaming, online video gaming and downloading large files is another story. So, when your WiFi gets slow, make sure that no one’s using your WiFi for bandwidth exhaustive content. Also, when you have too many devices actively using internet at once you might encounter congestion. Your WiFi might start making you feel like you’re driving on the Pacific Highway in Sydney during peak hours, but you can be cruising freely again when less cars are on the road. 3a. Background Programs using your WiFi Many apps/computer programs tend to run in the background, even when you think you’re not using them. For programs which connect to the internet, their background processes can use up bandwidth. Windows updates, Microsoft Office updates, video game updates, instant messaging apps, music streaming apps and mobile apps auto-updating are just some examples of these. If too many of them add up they will slow down your connection and your experience in general. When you’re on a mobile device, there are various ways specific to those devices to see what’s running in the background and easily purge them. For computer operating systems, you can properly terminate these background processes by going to the Windows Task Manager, or Activity Monitor if you’re on a Mac. For Windows: Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open the Task Manager. Then go to the “Processes” tab. You can see which of these programs are using up bandwidth by looking at the “Network” column. Many processes are essential to the operating system and shouldn’t be stopped, but any from a third-party program that you’ve installed can be closed if you’re not using the program anymore. You can stop these processes from continuing to run by clicking the one you want to stop and then clicking “End Process”. Try not to close processes which include words like Windows, System, explorer.exe, Microsoft etc. If you’re unsure about whether or not you can stop a process, you can look it up on Google to check. For Mac: Press Cmd+Spacebar to open Spotlight Search, and then search for Activity Monitor. Once open, you can see which programs are using your bandwidth by going to the “Network” tab. Similar to Windows, some processes shouldn’t be stopped but any from a third-party program you recognise can be. If you’re unsure whether you can stop a process, you can look it up on Google to check. 4. Protect your WiFi Ever saw your neighbour’s WiFi in your network list, maybe laughed at their WiFi name and tried to guess what their password was? People can easily connect to your WiFi and start taking up your internet bandwidth if it’s not secured properly. Most modems/routers in this age use WPA2 security – make sure you’re using that, or WPA3 (the newest, most secure version) if available. If you suspect that someone’s leeching off your network, you should get your password changed on a regular basis. You can do either … Read more