ᐅ Which types of telecommunications home connections are practical?
Created on: 18 Jun 2023 19:59
C
Catibu74
Hello everyone,
In our new development area, fiber optic cable is being installed, which should be available around the time we move in. We have already signed the contract with Toni (BBV) for a house connection costing 600€ plus 100€ activation fee. Are we well equipped with this for phone, internet, and TV?
Or should we also apply for an old-fashioned copper telephone line for about 800€?
We inquired about a cable connection from Vodafone but received a rejection for our area, even though the city had listed cable as a possibility when selling the building plot.
Should we additionally install a satellite system? Our general contractor offers it for 1800€. The problem is that we have a hip roof, and the south, west, and east sides will be covered with photovoltaic panels. So the satellite dish would need to go on the north roof on a long mast. That should work since our roof pitch is only 20° (20 degrees), but it doesn’t look very nice because from the street view you would see the back of the dish.
What do you think?
In our new development area, fiber optic cable is being installed, which should be available around the time we move in. We have already signed the contract with Toni (BBV) for a house connection costing 600€ plus 100€ activation fee. Are we well equipped with this for phone, internet, and TV?
Or should we also apply for an old-fashioned copper telephone line for about 800€?
We inquired about a cable connection from Vodafone but received a rejection for our area, even though the city had listed cable as a possibility when selling the building plot.
Should we additionally install a satellite system? Our general contractor offers it for 1800€. The problem is that we have a hip roof, and the south, west, and east sides will be covered with photovoltaic panels. So the satellite dish would need to go on the north roof on a long mast. That should work since our roof pitch is only 20° (20 degrees), but it doesn’t look very nice because from the street view you would see the back of the dish.
What do you think?
I have a cable connection (I know this is not available in your area) for internet, phone, and IPTV (Waipu). We are now getting fiber optic (excavation work for 0 Euros, minimum contract 20 Euros per month for 24 months) – whether I will continue to use it remains to be seen; for now, I just wanted the fiber installed in the house. I don’t see any point in having a twisted copper cable from Telekom installed.
I deliberately excluded a satellite system from the general contractor contract and instead opted for more network cabling.
As a backup, I have a portable camping satellite system with a tripod.
I deliberately excluded a satellite system from the general contractor contract and instead opted for more network cabling.
As a backup, I have a portable camping satellite system with a tripod.
H
HeimatBauer19 Jun 2023 09:29Only fiber optic.
Sat: Back then, I installed a satellite dish on the roof, but I’m not sure I would do that again today with all the hassle involved—shadows on the roof, roof penetration, wind load, cables running to the matrix, then cables to every potential TV location—that’s a lot of trouble, especially nowadays when people mostly watch TV over the internet.
DSL: Copper as a home connection is so 1980s, sorry. I only used it because in my street fiber optic runs up to the distribution box, and I even have pre-installation for it at my place, but there’s a 10m (33 feet) gap in between and the distribution box isn’t connected yet. As soon as it’s possible, I’ll switch to fiber optic.
Inside the house, a combination of cable and wireless is indispensable for me: Throughout the (admittedly large) house, I have 120 Ethernet cables all patched in the server room. Some are simply laid concealed under plaster or capped with blank covers, so they caused neither significant work nor costs. About half are fully patched, and surprisingly many are actively used. I have a lot of wired IoT devices, and six of the eight mesh Wi-Fi access points are powered via PoE. For the future, I also have a few unused fiber optic lines inside the house. It sounds like a lot, and it is—but for me and my needs, it’s absolutely not too much.
Sat: Back then, I installed a satellite dish on the roof, but I’m not sure I would do that again today with all the hassle involved—shadows on the roof, roof penetration, wind load, cables running to the matrix, then cables to every potential TV location—that’s a lot of trouble, especially nowadays when people mostly watch TV over the internet.
DSL: Copper as a home connection is so 1980s, sorry. I only used it because in my street fiber optic runs up to the distribution box, and I even have pre-installation for it at my place, but there’s a 10m (33 feet) gap in between and the distribution box isn’t connected yet. As soon as it’s possible, I’ll switch to fiber optic.
Inside the house, a combination of cable and wireless is indispensable for me: Throughout the (admittedly large) house, I have 120 Ethernet cables all patched in the server room. Some are simply laid concealed under plaster or capped with blank covers, so they caused neither significant work nor costs. About half are fully patched, and surprisingly many are actively used. I have a lot of wired IoT devices, and six of the eight mesh Wi-Fi access points are powered via PoE. For the future, I also have a few unused fiber optic lines inside the house. It sounds like a lot, and it is—but for me and my needs, it’s absolutely not too much.
H
HeimatBauer19 Jun 2023 09:45Oh, and since there was a question about telephones: I haven’t had a traditional landline for 15 years. I use a mobile phone, and at home, calls go through Wi-Fi, plus I have several VoIP phones for work. For my personal VoIP account, I also use a W38 model connected to the LAN via an adapter. I wouldn’t want to give it up—there’s nothing quite like hanging up a call by placing the Bakelite handset back on the Bakelite cradle. Still, I can be reached on several numbers through it, which often confuses close friends when they hear the typical carbon microphone sound and wonder whether I’m in London, Hannover, Cologne, or Munich.
My DSL modem also seems to have some sort of phone output—I think. I’ve never used it. The house connection socket is there only to be converted immediately to Ethernet.
My DSL modem also seems to have some sort of phone output—I think. I’ve never used it. The house connection socket is there only to be converted immediately to Ethernet.
We have fiber optic from the attic (so-so), a 250 Mbps Telekom VDSL connection as a fallback that is currently inactive, and a 4G/5G modem as a fallback fallback. I would definitely add copper alongside fiber optic again, just to have an alternative in case of extreme frustration.
As mentioned, the DSL is currently inactive, but the mobile router occasionally steps in.
As mentioned, the DSL is currently inactive, but the mobile router occasionally steps in.
The main question is whether you watch TV. We hardly watch any TV anymore, so we didn’t have any cable TV installed. Fiber optic internet is enough, and you can also subscribe to services like Magenta TV, Giga Red, or whatever they’re called. It costs about the same as the HD package from Vodafone, and nowadays you don’t really want to start without HD anyway.
We don’t have children yet, but I simply doubt that in 15 years, when they’re old enough, they will want to watch traditional TV. Our generation is already not doing that.
Also, our building specifications originally included antenna sockets in every bedroom and the living room. We were able to have those converted to LAN ports at no additional cost. I think a LAN port in the children’s room is much more important these days than a TV socket.
We don’t have children yet, but I simply doubt that in 15 years, when they’re old enough, they will want to watch traditional TV. Our generation is already not doing that.
Also, our building specifications originally included antenna sockets in every bedroom and the living room. We were able to have those converted to LAN ports at no additional cost. I think a LAN port in the children’s room is much more important these days than a TV socket.
H
HeimatBauer19 Jun 2023 11:53I can still clearly remember the first time I had to explain to my son that you can’t just pause or rewind live TV. His puzzled “why would anyone want to put up with this?” look is still vivid in my mind.
For me, satellite TV is, if anything, just an add-on in case you already have network coverage everywhere. My ratio is 1:10 because I have 12 satellite cables and 120 Ethernet cables. If my fixed-price contract included a satellite cable that I could (even for an extra charge) exchange for an Ethernet cable, I would only ask: Where do I sign? In terms of installation effort, material costs, and labor, Ethernet is clearly more complex than satellite.
In my gym, I have a TV that supports both connections – but I have never actually used it with satellite; it’s always been via the network. So I believe satellite cables are the first to become useless in the house. I have no idea if you might ever need them for something else, but I suspect not.
For me, satellite TV is, if anything, just an add-on in case you already have network coverage everywhere. My ratio is 1:10 because I have 12 satellite cables and 120 Ethernet cables. If my fixed-price contract included a satellite cable that I could (even for an extra charge) exchange for an Ethernet cable, I would only ask: Where do I sign? In terms of installation effort, material costs, and labor, Ethernet is clearly more complex than satellite.
In my gym, I have a TV that supports both connections – but I have never actually used it with satellite; it’s always been via the network. So I believe satellite cables are the first to become useless in the house. I have no idea if you might ever need them for something else, but I suspect not.
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