This is my best-effort reconstruction of my experiences with Bluemaxx Communications.

22 June 2007
I lodged a formal satellite broadband application with Bluemaxx. The forms had arrived in the mail, following my phone call to Bluemaxx on the 16^th.

Salient points:
Bluemaxx's letter states “we will arrange for a representative from GM Communications Pty Ltd, whom (sic) complete our installations, to contact you”. Their Terms and Conditions document states “Satellite CPE equipment ,wireless equipment, cabling and associated equipment remains the property of Bluemaxx”. Clearly, Bluemaxx was prime contractor on the installation and retains ownership of the equipment. They are therefore responsible for its performance.

02 July 2007
By 'phone, I confirmed with Bluemaxx that they had received my application.

16 July 2007
Installers 'phoned several times: first, they said they'd arrive about 3:30 pm, then it was the afternoon of the 18^th, then the morning of the 17^th. I waited with some interest to see what would happen.

17 July 2007
Installers turned up early in the morning. Apparently, the satellite dish needs to point west-north-west. From the roof of my house there are tall trees in the way, so their suggested solution was to put the dish on a pole about 18 metres from the house.

The extra work isn't included in a standard installation. I could pay them to do the work or do it myself. I spent the rest of the day and part of the next boring holes in a wall, digging a hole for the pole and digging a trench for the cables. Fortunately, the ground was soft from recent rains.

19 July 2007
Installers completed the satellite installation.

In the interim
No major problems. Minor outages & domain name resolution issues.

03 January 2008
I've been having problems with broadband refusing to come up, sometimes for hours. Bluemaxx support advises waiting for the modem to connect to the satellite before powering-on my computer.

13 January 2008
Broadband failed. Signal is at strength, but modem won't connect.

In the interim
Increasing frequency of drop-outs. Increasing difficulty (re)establishing connections.

24 February 2008
Broadband failed shortly after 9 am. Despite repeated attempts, I couldn't re-establish a connection until about 8 pm. Repeated attempts to contact Bluemaxx support by 'phone failed.

Text from email to support@bluemaxx.net.au:
I'm having increasing problems with reliability of service. Lately, I rarely manage to connect without several attempts and connections are unstable. For instance, shortly after 9am this morning, I'd just downloaded my email and was reading it when, trying to follow a link, I found that my Internet access had dropped out. Though I tried repeatedly throughout the day, I didn't manage to reconnect until evening. I tried several times to contact your support line, without success.

As it stands, the service I'm getting would fail to meet the TPA definition of merchantable quality. You're therefore in violation of our contract.

25 February 2008
Text from email in response:
I have had a look at your connection and the drop-outs are not coming from the Satellite. If you could leave your Modem on During Business Hours so we can look further into the settings in your Terminal this would assist us in repairing your Problem. Please advise us when this will be possible.

Take Care
Deleted on request [see below]
Technical Support Team Leader

26 February 2008
Contacted Bluemaxx support by 'phone. They referred my problem to ipstar, who reported apparent hardware problem at my end. Unfortunately, replacement hardware is not immediately available, so I'll be without broadband for a couple of weeks. Bluemaxx provided a courtesy dialup account.

04 March 2008
Spoke to Brett of Bluemaxx support, who indicated that hardware replacement won't be possible for a few weeks yet. Apparently, they're looking for alternative sources of supply. He did say though, that Bluemaxx will reimburse me in full for the period when broadband was not available.

20 March 2008 6:52AM
Text from email to support@bluemaxx.net.au:
My satellite broadband has now been out for the better part of a month. Can you give me any idea of when it might be fixed?

20 March 2008 12:22PM
Text from email in response
I've just spoken with our service manager and it looks like unfortunately there are still some delays in obtaining the stock required for your service call. We are working on alternatives to get this completed earlier but at this point there is still a wait of some weeks expected. I do apologize for the unusually delayed timeframe on this maintenance, and please make sure to contact our accounts department as soon as your connection is back up and running as we can arrange for credit to be applied to your account for the time you were offline.

Also, have you been allocated a dialup account in the meantime so that you have a fallback internet connection during this downtime?

Best regards,
Brett Richards

30 March 2008
Text from email to support@bluemaxx.net.au:
I do have dialup, but it's glacially slow: for example, I want to download OpenOffice, but calculate that it would take about 15 hours. That's why the government subsidises satellite installations in my area, after all.

I've now been without broadband for more than a month. Can you give me a timeframe for remedying the situation?

01 April 2008
Text from email in response
Good afternoon David,

Sorry about the delay in responding, I've just spoken with our service manager about your case and we expect that you should hear from the technician within a timeframe of at most 2-3 weeks.

Best regards,
Brett Richards

22 April 2008
Text from email to support@bluemaxx.net.au:
Please tell me my broadband will be restored this week. If not, it will be more than two months since my first email on the outage.

23 April 2008
Text from email from operations@skybridge.com.au
Thank you for submitting your Satellite Broadband internet application with Bluemaxx. A tentative installation date has been scheduled for 06/05/2008.

I confirmed, the same day.

06 May 2008
Skybridge crew rescheduled service call to 9 May.

09 May 2008
Technicians replaced both the electronics on the satellite dish and the modem inside my home. Foolishly, I let them go before checking that I could get the installation to work.

My attempts to connect failed. A call to Bluemaxx support (after I'd spent a lot of time, trying to figure out what I was doing wrong) revealed that something hadn't been set up at their end.

In the interim
Stress-tested the setup, downloading large files to check performance. Speed was consistent with contract, but dropouts proved a problem. Bluemaxx's Satellite Broadband Usage meter showed repeated two to three minute interruptions. Bluemaxx subsequently changed the meter, so it no longer shows such detail.

08 June 2008 3:59 PM
Text from email to billing@bluemaxx.net.au:
My service was restored on 9 May. It had been below merchantable quality, or out completely, since prior to 24 February. ...

Please organise appropriate credit, as mentioned by Brett Richards in his message dated 20 March.

08 June 2008 4:11 PM
Text from email to support@bluemaxx.net.au:
My service was finally restored about a month ago. Since then, I've had a problem with dropouts.

Internet access is interrupted for 2 to three minutes, then it returns without intervention on my part. The lights on the modem stay on, indicating that the connection to the satellite is constant. The interruptions even show up on Bluemaxx's Broadband Usage Meter.

Can you fix it?

10 June 2008 9:49 AM
Text from email from support@bluemaxx.net.au:
Looking at your connection, I can't see any obvious dropouts, there are 3 disconnections from the satellite, but these are after many hours of usage. I have forwarded this through to IPSTAR ,who will have a look into the signal strength, but not sure how much can be done at this point.

Do you have a router onsite? If so, can you try connecting the modem to the computer with the red cable?

If you don't have a router, it might be a good idea to try a new Crossover Ethernet cable (the red one going from the modem to computer), as this may be faulty. We can send one out to you, but it may be faster to buy one from a local Electronics or Computer store. They are about $5. Let me know what you want to do there.

Best Regards

Tony Farmer

10 June 2008 10:17 AM
Text from email from r.mason@bluemaxx.net.au
I have placed a credit on your account for $125.50 for the time you were offline.

10 June 2008 3:15 PM
Text from email to support@bluemaxx.net.au:
Hi Tony,

As I said, when dropouts occur, the indicators on the modem show a constant connection with the satellite. The problem isn't with the satellite link.

On occasion, I've turned off my computer but left the modem turned on. I'd been without broadband for so long that it took me a while to get back into the habit of turning it off. On those occasions, Bluemaxx's Broadband Usage Meter shows no logoff, so what happens at my end doesn't break the connection. There must be a problem on your side of the satellite link.

For example:- on 19 May, between 2:23 & 4:36 am, the Broadband Usage Meter shows more than 30 dropouts of 2 to 3 minutes each. The person who was online at the time (I don't keep such antisocial hours) assures me that the modem lights didn't change. They just thought the connection was unusually slow.

There have been other similar dropouts since, but nowhere near the same intensity. I've noticed a fairly regular dropout of longer duration, beginning after 9:30 am and ending around 10:00. The regularity indicates something to do with server maintenance or the like.

The problem isn't at my end, nor is it with the satellite. The issue most likely originates either with Bluemaxx or between you and the satellite.

10 June 2008 3:21 PM
Text from email from support@bluemaxx.net.au:
After speaking with our service manager, and the installation company that did your service call, we have decided to send the tech back out. He should be in contact in the next couple of days, and be out there by Friday. He will make sure that everything is working before he leaves.

Best Regards

Tony Farmer

15 June 2008 8:03 PM
Text from email to support@bluemaxx.net.au:
Hi Tony,

Nobody called and nobody showed up.

For the next couple of days I'll be out & about, so my landline will be pretty useless for contact. My mobile will be the best bet (vagaries of Telstra's NextG coverage notwithstanding). Please ensure the tech is aware.

As I said, there's a regular interruption to service just before 10am. I'm often not online at that time but, when I have been, Bluemaxx's Broadband Usage Meter shows logoffs as follows:
23 May 9:41am
24 May 9:45am
27 May 9:53am
31 May 9:38am
1 June 9:41am
2 June 9:35am
3 June 9:46am
8 June 9:52am
10 June 9:54am
13 June 9:39am and
14 June 9:59am.

On each occasion, there's a subsequent login recorded at 10:00am. The length of the interruption varies, but the pattern is otherwise very regular.

My habits are not that regular. The light on the modem stays on, indicating no loss of contact with the satellite. I'm certainly not logging off, then on a few minutes later.

What happens on your side of the satellite link, just before 10:00 am, that disrupts the service?

17 June 2008
Text from email from operations@skybridge.com.au
… Your service call to re-attend site has been tentatively booked for the 20/06/2008.

…

I confirmed immediately.

20 June 2008
Technician turned up and worked on the installation. While he was here, all seemed fine.

29 June 2008
Text from email to support@bluemaxx.net.au:
Since the technician was here last Friday week, I've had several corrupted downloads and Web access has been slow. The Bluemaxx Satellite Broadband Usage Meter download figure is well in excess of what I'd expect, given my level of activity.

The ipstar satellite terminal's web interface shows poor link quality. Could it be that the low quality link is corrupting packets, triggering resends and wasting bandwidth?

30 June 2008
I spoke to Bluemaxx support by 'phone about poor link quality. They said they'd contact ipstar about it.

01 July 2008 3:00 PM
Text from email to support@bluemaxx.net.au:
A Vista update has pushed my downloads past the gigabyte, so shaping has kicked in less than halfway through the billing month. A gigabyte is usually ample for a full month.

The last I heard, this was to be referred to ipstar. What's happening?

01 July 2008 3:00 PM
Text from email from support@bluemaxx.net.au:
I have had IPSTAR check on the connection, they seem to think it's fine, I have asked them to look into it further and I am awaiting a response.

I will let you know when I have heard something new.

Best Regards

Tony farmer

02 July 2008
Text from email to support@bluemaxx.net.au:
Hi Tony,

Fine, it isn't.

Yesterday afternoon, Adobe Acrobat reader tried to update itself. The download seemed to go OK but, when it came time to install, the download didn't validate: ie. it was corrupted. This sort of thing wastes a lot of bandwidth.

In the ipstar satellite terminal's xWebGateway.cgi display, hovering the mouse pointer over the bar graph in the upper left corner brings up a tool tip saying "Link quality: Poor". The graph shows only two bars of a possible five. I'm certain it showed more than that before (four or five, I think).

Whatever's wrong, the evidence indicates that it's somewhere between the satellite and the ipstar terminal. As it stands, the service is barely usable.

03 July 2008
Text from email to support@bluemaxx.net.au:
This afternoon, connection performance is so poor that I've been unable to do my banking. Luckily, I have phone banking as a backup.

I'm not getting the service I'm paying for.

In the interim
I spoke to Bluemaxx support by 'phone, but neglected to record details.

13 July 2008
Text from email to support@bluemaxx.net.au (with cc to billing@bluemaxx.net.au):
I was told that somebody would be around to attend to this. So far, nobody's arrived and nobody's called.

Again.

And I've just had another program fail to update itself because of a corrupted download. Whatever's going on it's wasting a lot of bandwidth: the Satellite Usage Meter shows activity well in excess of my actual usage (and no, my system doesn't have any malware). The link is glacially slow - far slower than shaping would account for. Evidently, the majority of packets are corrupting and being retransmitted. The Satellite Usage Meter also shows numerous short-term disconnects, which didn't originate from my end.

My service has been below merchantable quality, at best, since prior to 24 February. My account has apparently been credited for some of this time, but I feel I'm entitled to compensation for the whole period up to when it's actually fixed.

15 July 2008 2:18 AM
Text from email from operations@skybridge.com.au
… A tentative installation date has been scheduled for 19/07/2008.
…
This email is automatically generated, please do not reply.

Installation? Anyway, I confirmed immediately.

15 July 2008 9:43 AM
Text from email from r.mason@bluemaxx.net.au
If you email me once your service call is completed i will look at your account and credit for the rest of the time owing to you.

20 July 2008
Text from email to support@bluemaxx.net.au (with cc to sales@skybridge.com.au):
I accepted the appointment [for 19/07] mentioned [in message of 15/07 2:18 AM] on the same day as that message was sent. Nobody 'phoned and, on the appointed day, nobody showed up.

At least they're consistent.

As I'm into a new billing period my link is no longer shaped, so its speed has increased. The quality is poor, however. I'm still getting significant packet corruption.

As I remember it, Skybridge phoned that same day, to apologise and make a new booking for the 22^nd.

21 July 2008
Text from email from t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au
From our records, it seems the service call has been booked for 22/07/2008.

22 July 2008
Technicians turned up and confirmed that all is not well, but couldn't improve things.

30 July 2008
Text from email to support@bluemaxx.net.au
The Skybridge technicians turned up last Tuesday. They confirmed that there is a problem with the link quality, checked the dish and terminal equipment at my end and determined that the problem isn't there.

...

I made the mistake of connecting a new Vista system to the terminal. Vista tried (and failed) repeatedly to update itself. By the time I realised what was happening and turned off automatic updates, 80% of my broadband download allowance had been consumed (less than 30% into the billing period). This poor link quality/packet corruption problem is certainly expensive on bandwidth.

31 July 2008 10:06 AM
Text from email from t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au
Let me know when the modem is on so I can check this out.

31 July 2008 4:50 PM
Text from email to t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au
The modem is on. I'll try to remember not to turn it off until you've done your testing.

31 July 2008 5:04 PM
Text from email from t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au
The technician has reported that your dish is on a pole in the yard. Is this correct? Why is it not on the roof?

01 August 2008 10:58 AM
Text from email to t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au
You'd be better off asking the installers that question. As I vaguely remember it, they couldn't get a clear line to the satellite from the roof. They found one on the ground.

The technicians who last came out confirmed that the installation is working as it should and the line to the satellite is clear. They found no problem at this end (actually, they found some loose screws; tightening them didn't improve link quality), but confirmed that the quality of the link is poor.

The solution lies elsewhere. When first installed, the setup worked fine. What's been changed in the configuration?

The bar graph in the upper left of the modem's web interface is consistent with observed performance. What does it measure? The tool tip says "Link Quality", which isn't very informative.

08 August 2008 10:05 AM
Text from email from t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au
We have eliminated the possibility of the problem being with the satellite's connection to your dish, the equipment on your dish and also the modem. If this was a signal problem caused by the satellite, we would have many more customers with the same issue in which currently we do not have.

The only possible reasons for any problems you are having are either the cabling which was laid by yourself, which would need to be dug up and checked. trees that may be interfering with the signal (which would need to be cleared up if this is the case) or the computer/cable to the modem from its network card.

The technician reported that there is 25 metres of cable from the dish to your modem. This may be reducing the signal as that is stretching the signal rather thin.

Please look into this and advise.

17 August 2008 11:56 AM
Text from email to support@bluemaxx.net.au
> If this was a signal problem caused by the satellite, we would have many more customers with the same issue in which currently we do not have.
You attest that the satellite terminal (often referred to as a "modem") of every Bluemaxx customer within 100km of my location, who is served by the same ipstar transducer (commonly referred to as a "beam" and usually named for a population centre within its coverage area), reports good link quality? Please detail the transducer involved, including it's geographically-based "beam" name. How many of the customers served by that transducer have "modem"s reporting good link quality or better and how many report links of lesser quality? Has the transducer providing my service changed at any time in the past six months? If so, on what date did that change take effect?

> The only possible reasons for any problems you are having are either the cabling which was laid by yourself,
I'm not qualified to lay cabling. I dug a trench, then backfilled it after the installers had finished.

> which would need to be dug up and checked.
That might be warranted if tests on the cable showed problems with its performance. Please email me the results of tests on the run of cabling between the dish and "modem" on my property which indicate that digging up the cable is necessary.

At first, the installation performed satisfactorily. Your comment might be seen to imply that the installers did a substandard job on the cabling, in materials or workmanship or both, such that its performance has rapidly deteriorated. If you don't have test results to support the inference, you may have put yourself at risk of suit at law by the installers.

> trees that may be interfering with the signal (which would need to be cleared up if this is the case)
When I asked about that, the Skybridge technicians said there is no such problem (as mentioned in my message of 1 August). On what additional information is your comment based?

> or the computer/cable to the modem from its network card.
The Skybridge technicians detected the problem with their own equipment connected directly to the "modem". The "modem"s own web interface reports the problem. A cable connected to the output of the "modem" would not affect the quality at its input.

> The technician reported that there is 25 metres of cable from the dish to your modem.
The dish is less than 20 metres from my house. There's probably less than a metre of cable inside the house and a bit more than a metre up the pole to the dish. I doubt the installers used 25 metres of cable.

…

Is Bluemaxx capable of meeting its contractual obligations?

18 August 2008 4:45 PM
Text from email from t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au
Each IPSTAR satellite beam covers around 2000+ square kilometres. The beam your satellite connection is under is called Beam 506, in which Bluemaxx has around 558 customers. None of which are reporting the same problem that you are having, so this is definitely an isolated case. To answer your question regarding changes to the satellite beam, no changes have been made at all since around March 2007.

Unfortunately there are no tests we can run to test the cables you have onsite, this can only be done by the technician, although with the cables being underground, the tech wouldn't have been able to check if they were completely intact or if they had some moisture inside them. This is why I have requested that they possibly be dug up and have a visual check on them. These cables are the only remaining pieces of equipment that have not been checked or replaced on your satellite install, so this does need to be done. Other than checking these cables, there is nothing more we can do at this stage.

In the technician's report to his contractor "Skybridge", he has stated that the cabling was around 25 metres from the ODU on the dish to the modem, although his perspective on the distance may definitely differ to your own. He has also stated that the ground mount is fairly low and may be interrupted by the trees in front of it. I believe this would cause a much larger problem than your connection has now so the trees may not be making a difference.

06 September 2008 3:11 PM
Text from email to t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au
> Each IPSTAR satellite beam covers around 2000+ square kilometres.
2000 square kilometres is the area of a circle 50.46 km in diameter. I'm surprised that it's so small. How close am I to the edge of the coverage area?

> The beam your satellite connection is under is called Beam 506
What is the geographic centre of the coverage area of beam 506?

> in which Bluemaxx has around 558 customers
A surprisingly large number, within such a small radius.

> None of which are reporting the same problem that you are having
What is the pattern of link quality, as reported by the modems of customers who are served by beam 506?

> [to the beam providing my service] no changes have been made at all since around March 2007
Something has certainly changed, far more recently than that. The technician was here at that time doing something with the setup and, for a while, I was unable to send email to any address outside the bluemaxx.com.au domain. To the best of my recollection, that coincided with the deterioration in service.

> there are no tests we can run to test the cables you have onsite, this can only be done by the technician
So tests that should have been done by the technicians, when they were here, were not done. Without test results, isn't it a little early to be suggesting expensive ground works?

> the tech wouldn't have been able to check if they were completely intact or if they had some moisture inside them
Such gross problems would show clearly on electronic cable testing. Malfunctions so severe, so soon after installation, would indicate drastically deficient work in the first instance.

> He has also stated that the ground mount is fairly low and may be interrupted by the trees in front of it.
The mount in question was the choice of the installers. When they mentioned a pole, I expected the dish to be well above ground level, out of harm's way. What I have is about a metre high - more post than pole, really.

I suggest getting test results on the cable before spending money on ground works. …

08 September 2008 12:20 PM
Text from email from t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au
The edge of Beam 506 cuts through Gosford, south of Newcastle, depending how far you are from there would answer your first question.

There have been no reported cases similar to yours for a Bluemaxx customer since the company started the Satellite service through IPSTAR. This is why it is a difficult problem to overcome as IPSTAR advise to basically ignore that small graph as it won't make a difference to the connection. Have you had any problems in the last couple of weeks? If so, please advise what the problem was, and when. If it was a corrupted download, please advise what it was, from what link etc.

In the last week, there has been a major drop in signal, possibly showing an alignment problem, as you can see in the attached graph. On the 25th there was a drop, which came back rather quickly, this could have been due to weather. On around the 2nd the signal has dropped well below acceptable standards and hasn’t recovered as of yet. Can you advise if there are any weather problems etc in your area?

Currently the modem is offline, so I cannot see what’s going on inside. Please turn this on and advise when it is.

09 September 2008 11:20 AM
Text from email to t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au
> The edge of Beam 506 cuts through Gosford
I'm at Latitude 32º51'35.81"S, Longitude 151º15'08.16"E. That's roughly 63 kilometres NNNW of Gosford. If total coverage is only 2,000 sq km, then I'm probably near the other side of the area.

Is Gosford the Southern edge or the Eastern? Where is the centre? Can you provide a map of the area covered by Beam 506? The coverage areas shown at <http://www.ipstar.com.au/area.htm> are circular and apparently larger than indicated in your message of 4:45 PM 18/08/2008. At Longitude 119.5°E, ipstar is less than 40º above the horizon: <http://www.lyngsat.com/tracker/ipstar.html>. The area actually covered is therefore likely to be elliptical.

> IPSTAR advise to basically ignore that small graph as it won't make a difference to the connection.
If the graph is insignificant, why is it there? I believe it provides useful information, I'm just not sure what. At present, it's showing a single bar and the tool tip says Link quality: Bad. Signal strength measures 73 to 74 and EsN0 4.90 to 5.00.

While you're getting an answer to that question, it might be worth asking why the modem interface is specific to Internet Explorer (and not reliable, even on IE). The following from the page source gives a clue:
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252">
<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 4.0">
<meta name="ProgId" content="FrontPage.Editor.Document">
Using a consumer grade editor on a commercial grade product isn't good for ipstar's credibility. Any programmer worth employing can write markup that isn't browser-specific. Tell them that for me.

> Have you had any problems in the last couple of weeks?
Problems are pretty much constant. So much so that I don't take much notice any more.

Toward the end of my last billing period, I left my new Vista system connected: it kept trying to update itself until it succeeded. There were more failed downloads than I'm prepared to count. More recently, I had a failure on <http://welcome.solutions.brother.com/BSC/public/files/dlf/dlf002879/5840INST-A.EXE>. That's just one - it has lots of company.

> In the last week, there has been a major drop in signal, possibly showing an alignment problem, as you can see in the attached graph. On the 25^th there was a drop, which came back rather quickly, this could have been due to weather.
On the 25th: moderate cloud cover and a bit of dew in the morning. No weather worth a mention.

> On around the 2^nd the signal has dropped well below acceptable standards and hasn’t recovered as of yet. Can you advise if there are any weather problems etc in your area?
We had substantial rain from the 3rd to the 5th. Apart from that, nothing of note.

If the alignment of the dish has changed, I can't see it. As far as I know, nothing's happened to affect the alignment.

Thanks for the extra info. The irregularity shown in the graph is consistent with my experience: up to 90% of packets seem to be corrupted, at times. With all the retransmits, I'm not getting full value from the bandwidth.

What happened in June that led to me being unable to send email outside bluemaxx.com.au? That seems to be the key.

> Currently the modem is offline, so I cannot see what’s going on inside. Please turn this on and advise when it is.
>
It's online now. I'll try to remember not to turn it off until you say to.

09 September 2008 12:44 PM
Text from email from t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au
Hi David,

Your satellite terminal was installed with the latitude: -32.8524 Longitude: 151.2702. This is about 45-50 KM from the lat and long you have given me. I need to confirm that you are at -32.5135, 151.1508, being in the "Singleton" area?

Gosford is on the Southwest border of Beam 506. You are correct, the beams are elliptical and the satellite is at 39.27 degrees elevation from your lat/long. Also 311.09 Azimuth FYI.

It is probable that the rain you have had recently has caused this large drop (EsNo) and it may come back to acceptable levels over the week. As far as the graph is concerned, it is to do with signal strength, although other terminals we have running on 70+ signal strength don’t show any degradation in that graph. I have asked IPSTAR for further information.

I’m not sure why IPSTAR wouldn’t create a better interface for the modem, they only support Windows 2000/XP for all of their software (firmware/iUAT), seems they just don’t like Mac or Linux.

There may be some sort of firmware upgrade for the modem, this might help with the corrupted downloads. Disabling Netgain could also help, although that would cut your connection speed dramatically.

The graph seems fine up until the start of this month when the EsNo has dropped. Although there is a gradual decline, it is not great enough to cause a problem.

The email trouble in June could have been something to do with the mail server, not the actual satellite connection.

I am waiting on IPSTAR to update the ticket I have lodged, and will let you know what they say.

09 September 2008 1:28 PM
Text from email from t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au
There was a great error in the beam size given to me, the actual size is Pi*360km*225km = 254469 km2.

09 September 2008 8:30 PM
Text from email to t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au
> I need to confirm that you are at -32.5135, 151.1508
The coordinates I gave are in degrees, minutes and seconds. There being 60 minutes in a degree and 60 seconds in a minute of arc, concatenating minutes and seconds into decimal degrees is bound to lead you well astray. My place is at <http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=-32.859925,151.252272&spn=0.001109,0.001727&t=h&z=19>. The dish is below the gateway to the right of the house (the image pre-dates installation of the dish).

> It is probable that the rain you have had recently has caused this large drop
That wouldn't happen, unless the original installation was substandard. Is that implication your intention? Anyhow, the drop preceded the rain.

> I’m not sure why IPSTAR wouldn’t create a better interface for the modem, they only support Windows 2000/XP for all of their software (firmware/iUAT), seems they just don’t like Mac or Linux.
That, or nobody in the company knows any better. That doesn't give cause for confidence in them. Perhaps our problem is attributable to their (demonstrated) inexpertise.

> The email trouble in June could have been something to do with the mail server,
Something was changed in my installation that led to the email problem. If you can find out what that was, then get the change reversed, we could at least eliminate it as a cause of problems beyond email.

10 September 2008 12:16 PM
Text from email from t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au
How well are the cables sealed at the dish end? Could you check for moisture please?

10 September 2008 3:38 PM
Text from email to t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au
The seals seem tight: no evident moisture. The tape looks new; it was probably replaced last time the technicians were here.

10 September 2008 5:19 PM
Text from email from t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au
Can you perform a full isolation on the modem.

Turn the modem off and disconnect all four cables, wait 15, plug them back in and turn the modem on, wait for it to come online and then use as normal.

This may raise the EsNo level.

12 September 2008 8:56 AM
Text from email to t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au
Done. I left the modem isolated overnight.

Signal strength now 72 to 74. EsN0: 4.9 to 5.2.

17 September 2008 3:49 PM
Text from email to t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au, cc'd to r.mason@bluemaxx.net.au and info@bluemaxx.net.au
Yesterday, I connected a freshly-installed Linux system to the modem and let it run until it had updated itself. The required downloads totalled less than 250 megabytes.

With corrupted packets and failed transfers, the total actually downloaded (as reported at <https://secure.bluemaxx.net.au/usage/Satellite/index.php>) is 2,329.46 megabytes. In addition, what should have been done in less than an hour ended up taking 21 hours. Effectively, almost 90% of my bandwidth and 95% of my time are going to waste.

Today, keeping an eye on <http://192.168.5.100:8080/xwebgateway.cgi>, I see:
- signal strength fairly stable between 72.00 and 74.00; and
- EsN0 5.40 to 0.00.

EsN0 refers to: "Transmit signal-to-noise ratio, a measure of transmitter signal quality and interference as measured at the Network Operations Center." That is, it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with conditions on the ground at my end.

EsN0 shouldn't affect network speed or bandwidth. When it drops to 0.00, however, the connection is effectively severed. At the very least, this corrupts packets. If it goes on for too long, the satellite link is terminated. In the 24 hours from 10am yesterday, <https://secure.bluemaxx.net.au/usage/Satellite/index.php> shows five such terminations.

… I understand that my service uses [the Kalgoorlie] gateway. I gather that the change mentioned in my message of 9/09/2008 11:20 AM: "What happened in June that led to me being unable to send email outside bluemaxx.com.au?" was a shift from the Broken Hill gateway to the Kalgoorlie one. Bearing in mind that I have an undertaking from Bluemaxx to compensate me for the period during which my service is not of merchantable quality, that was an expensive mistake.

I'll give you until the end of this month to fix the problem created by the transfer of my service to the Kalgoorlie gateway. That's nearly two weeks. If the problem hasn't been fixed by that date, then we can let the ombudsman work it out.

18 September 2008 5:39 PM
Text from email from t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au
You are currently operating under the Broken Hill gateway, you were on the Kalgoorlie gateway. The first time the technician came out, he had not changed this, you were still on the Kalgoorlie gateway. The second time he went out there, he did change this.

The measurement of Esn0 you see in the modem is a value that the modem sends to the gateway. This is why, even if you are offline, the modem will still show an EsN0 value most of the time. If there was a problem at the gateway as you have suggested, this would be happening to every modem connected to that gateway, belonging to Bluemaxx or other providers and we would have received warnings from IPSTAR.

The email problem could have been caused due to an IP address error. At that time we had changed our IP addresses for all customers, it is possible that due to this change, the email server did not recognise your IP as allowed to access any external IP addresses, only the same as on your subnet. This was not a problem caused by the change in gateways.

We will send a technician again with spare equipment to check everything he can, ODU, cable, modem. He should also try downloading something large on his own computer to specify the problem with the corrupted downloads. If he deems the problem to be with the cable and how it has been laid or LOS (trees in the way), then you will be liable for the service call cost as it is no fault of Bluemaxx. If the problem is the equipment owned by Bluemaxx then we will cover the service call. If you are fine with this, this service call can be organised tomorrow. If not, then there is nothing else we can do as IPSTAR cannot find any other explanation for the problem you seem to be having.

Please advise me if you accept these terms for the service call.

19 September 2008 5:16 PM
Text from email to t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au, cc'd to info@bluemaxx.net.au
> We will send a technician again with spare equipment to check everything he can, ODU, cable, modem.
Given that there have been problems with my service since February, how come those haven't already been checked?

> If he deems the problem to be with the cable and how it has been laid
As prime contractor on the installation, that would be Bluemaxx's responsibility.

> or LOS (trees in the way)
A question I've asked many times. If the answer suddenly changes (and anybody's silly enough to send me a bill), then it's lawyers at twelve paces.

Other than that, no problem. Send in the tech's.

19 September 2008 5:33 PM
Text from email from t.farmer@bluemaxx.net.au
All of the equipment has been checked and replaced, except for the cable laid by you. The technician will check all of these again as a precautionary measure.

The cable was not laid by the technician subcontracted by Bluemaxx through a private installation company, it was laid by yourself, therefore not a responsibility of Bluemaxx if this cable is causing the fault. If the equipment installed by the tech is causing the problem, then we will cover the cost.

If there are trees in the LOS, again, this is not the responsibility of Bluemaxx, as these trees could have grown into the path of the dish over time, since the original installation.

The service call has been organised and you should hear from the technician/installation company within the week.

22 September 2008 4:03 PM
Text from email from operations@skybridge.com.au
Thank you for submitting your Satellite Broadband internet application with Bluemaxx. A tentative installation date has been scheduled for 25/09/2008.

As usual, I responded immediately.

25 September 2008
Skybridge technicians turned up (different ones to those I'd seen before). They replaced part of the outdoor unit and adjusted the dish (rotating it, but not changing the alignment). Signal strength is up slightly and signal to noise ratio substantially improved.

In the interim
I did my best to test out my access. Though the service is not perfect, I satisfied myself that it is of merchantable quality.

10 November 2008 4:41 PM
Text from email to r.mason@bluemaxx.net.au, cc'd to billing@bluemaxx.net.au
It appears the problem was rectified on 25 September. At least, my testing indicates that the service has been of merchantable quality since then.

Please arrange credit as appropriate.

[Rebecca Mason's message of 15 July 2008 9:43 AM appended]

3 January 2009 12:06 PM
Text from email to billing@bluemaxx.net.au
I've been billed twice since my last message. What's happening with the credit?

A couple of times, my modem has stopped responding. Pings to 192.168.5.100 elicit no response. Powering it off & on resolves the problem, but it's a bit irritating. Is that normal for the Icon terminal equipment?

[My message of 10 November 2008 4:41 PM appended]

28 January 2009 11:04 AM
Text from email to support@bluemaxx.net.au, cc'd to billing@bluemaxx.net.au
There's been no response to my last message and I've been billed again. Please respond.

The modem hasn't died since my last message but, on several occasions, DNS has failed. Cycling the modem generally fixes it, though it sometimes takes a couple of tries. What's going on?

[My message of 3 January 2009 12:06 PM appended]

29 January 2009 1:13 PM
Text from email from billing@bluemaxx.net.au:
We are writing in response to your email received by our office 28 January 2009.

Please be advised your request for technical assistance has been referred to our technical support team and they will review your service remotely and will contact you accordingly.

Your request for credit on your account had been received and referred to Bluemaxx Board of Management for review. We apologise in the delay in confirming that your request had been received and actioned.

In this instance, after reviewing all technical reports and usage on your account during this period, Management have declined your request for credit.Also, after reviewing your account including current and past usage, it is noted that the plan you have currently selected [Plan: 512/256kbps - 1Gb] does not always meet your internet needs and we recommend, to avoid being shaped, you review Bluemaxx's competitively priced off peak data plans available on our website: www.bluemaxx.net.au. Should you have any further queries, please refer them billing@bluemaxx.net.au or phone accounts on 1300 791 990.

29 January 2009 4:43 PM
Text from email to billing@bluemaxx.net.au
In July, a Bluemaxx representative gave an undertaking that I would not be charged for the period during which the service provided was below merchantable quality [In Rebecca Mason's message of 15 July 2008 9:43 AM, which was appended]. Note that there had been problems since February. I've been very patient: once service was restored to something approaching merchantable quality, catching up with the backlog took me months (and yes, it resulted in shaping).

I suggest you reconsider your decision to violate your undertaking. Or shall we see what the ombudsman thinks about your performance?

20 April 2009 11:55 AM
Text from email to support@bluemaxx.net.au, info@bluemaxx.net.au and billing@bluemaxx.net.au
I've just publicly called for comments on my reconstruction of our history. It's only fair that I give you the same opportunity.

...
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Request for comments
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:46:12 +1000
From: David Boxall <david.boxall@hunterlink.net.au>
To: Link <link@anu.edu.au>

Greetings Linkers,

My ISP evidently needs me to lodge a complaint against them. In preparation, I've reconstructed the sequence of events. There's a summary at <http://david.boxall.id.au/bluemaxx/main.html>, with a link to the full reconstruction.

I'd welcome constructive criticism.

21 April 2009 1:10 PM
Message on my home answering machine from "Jerry" of Bluemaxx Technical Support, enquiring "if there's anything wrong with" my Internet access.

21 April 2009 5:04 PM
Text from email to support@bluemaxx.net.au
I've received a message from "Jerry" asking about the quality of my Internet access. Overall, it's adequate, but the niggling issues reported in messages earlier this year continue.

It looks like access is interrupted periodically. DNS apparently takes some time to restore once service resumes. For downloads and the like I can usually compensate for the interruptions using a download manager, but it can cause difficulties with software updates if an interruption occurs while one is in progress.

The modem hasn't frozen since my last message.

22 May 2009 10:54 AM
Text from email from cosmos@tio.com.au (in response to my online complaint lodgement):
Thank you for your online complaint to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO).

Your TIO Reference Number is 09/123627. Please refer to this number in all correspondence with the TIO.

Because of the large number of emails we receive every day, we cannot respond to your complaint immediately. However, we will contact you within the next 5 to 10 working days. If you need more immediate assistance, please call our Enquiry Centre on 1800 062 058 between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday (Eastern Standard Time).

Please note that when we process your complaint we will forward the information you have submitted to the telecommunications company concerned. See the TIO's privacy policy at http://www.tio.com.au/privacy_policy.htm.

While your complaint is being investigated, you do not have to pay any charges that you are disputing. However, it is important that you tell the company that you are withholding payment because the bills relate to the unresolved complaint, and that you have also submitted an online complaint to the TIO. The company should put a hold on these charges until your complaint is resolved.

Please remember to pay any other charges that you are NOT disputing. On this point, please do not withhold payment of valid charges if you expect some compensation. A company can take action to recover valid charges for your service and usage.

For more information on our complaint handling process see:
http://www.tio.com.au/FAQ/ADR.HTM

Sincerely

Investigations Team
www.tio.com.au

******************************
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.

If you have received this email in error, please delete this email and notify the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman's office by return email or on +61 3 8600 8700.

We use virus scanning software but exclude all liability for viruses, worm, etc in any attachment.

TIO Reference Number: 09/123627
Title: Mr
First name: David
Surname: Boxall
Address: <deleted for privacy reasons>
Suburb: <deleted for privacy reasons>
State: <deleted for privacy reasons>
Postcode:<deleted for privacy reasons>
Contact phone number: <deleted for privacy reasons>
Contact email address: <deleted for privacy reasons>
Special needs: No
Heard about TIO: Internet coverage of TIO
Consumer type: Residential
Service ID: <deleted for privacy reasons>
Date of complaint: 22/05/2009 10:51:12 AM
Complaint: ONLINE ENTRY BY COMPLAINANT

Complaint Type: An internet service
Member Name: BlueMaxx Communications
Date of complaint: 29 January 2009
Disputed Amount:
$
COMP CLAIMS:
Service was barely usable from the beginning of 2008 to 25 September 2008. They reimbursed me for part of that period but refused to do so for all of it, despite giving an undertaking to do so.

For full details, see <http://david.boxall.id.au/bluemaxx/main.html>
MEMBER'S RESPONSE:
After refusing, they've mostly ignored my efforts at further communication.
RESOLUTION SOUGHT:
Honour their undertaking (given on 15 July 2008) <http://david.boxall.id.au/bluemaxx/timeline.html#20080715b>. Even an end to the stony silence would be an improvement.

29 May 2009 9:06 AM
Text from email from response@tio.com.au:
Thank you for your email to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) on 22 May 2009.

The TIO reference number for your complaint is 09/123627.

== What to do about your complaint ==

As a first step, please call Mr Russell Smith about your complaint – on 0488 130 044. They are a high level complaints person at Bluemaxx Communications which receives referrals from the TIO.

Russell will have 10 working days to resolve your complaint directly with you.

It is a standard part of our process to give a company another opportunity to resolve a complaint directly with their customer. In our experience, most complaints are resolved through this process of direct referral. Please tell Russell that the TIO referred you.

== What to do about your bills ==

While your complaint is being investigated, you do not have to pay the charges that you are disputing. Bluemaxx Communications should not ask you to pay charges until your complaint is resolved. Please contact us if the company continues credit management action on these charges during this time.

However, please remember to pay all other charges that you are NOT disputing, e.g. for services that you have used. Bluemaxx Communications can demand payment of such charges.

== If you are not satisfied with Bluemaxx Communications response to your complaint ==

As stated above, Russell has 10 working days to resolve your complaint directly with you. If you need further assistance with your complaint after then, please call the TIO on 1800 062 058 or email us.

If you contact us again, please tell us:

1. Who did you talk with at Bluemaxx Communications after you contacted its high level complaints department?
2. How did they respond to your complaint?
3. Do you believe your complaint is still not resolved? If so, why?
4. What resolution do you think would be fair and reasonable?

Important: if we do not hear from you again, we will assume that your complaint has been resolved. It is up to you to contact us about your complaint if you cannot resolve it directly with Bluemaxx Communications.

== More information ==

Please note that the TIO uses alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to resolve complaints. ADR is successful when everyone is committed to working with each other to resolve a complaint. It is very important that everyone listens to each other's point of view with respect, and is prepared to compromise when this seems reasonable. Please remember this when you speak with Bluemaxx Communications about your complaint.

For more information about how we handle complaints, see http://www.tio.com.au/FAQ/ADR.HTM.

Yours sincerely
Stephanie Quintana
Enquiry Officer
Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman

Phone: 8600 8700
Fax: 1800 630 614
email: tio@tio.com.au
http://www.tio.com.au

29 May 2009 3:49 PM
I dialled 0488 130 044. The line was answered by a recording, which identified it as belonging to “Russell from Bluemaxx”. I left a message, explaining that I'd been referred by the TIO.

30 May 2009 10:33 AM
I dialled 0488 130 044. The line was answered by a recording, which identified it as belonging to “Russell from Bluemaxx”. I left a message, repeating that I'd been referred by the TIO. I also gave email details, as an alternative means of contact, plus the address of this web site.

2 June 2009 10:03 AM
I spoke to Russell Smith on 0488 130 044. He said that he has been out of the office for the past week. Russell then referred me to Chris Rodriguez of Bluemaxx Sales who, he indicated, is handling TIO referrals in his absence.

2 June 2009 10:11 AM
I dialled 1300791990, selecting option 1, for Bluemaxx Sales (the web site says option 2 for Sales, but the voice prompt -and Russell Smith- said 1). At 10:16, after five minutes on hold, I hung up.

2 June 2009 10:38 AM
Text from email to sales@bluemaxx.net.au (cc'd to tio@tio.com.au):
Attention: Chris Rodriguez

I've been referred to you by Russell Smith, to whom I was referred by the TIO. For details, see below. You might also like to check out <http://david.boxall.id.au/bluemaxx/main.html> and <http://david.boxall.id.au/bluemaxx/timeline.html>.

Please contact me at your earliest convenience. For contact details, see my sig. According to the TIO's message, you have until the seventeenth.

(sig. block, with full contact details, plus TIO email of 29 May, appended)

2 June 2009 11:13 AM
Mr Rodriquez phoned. He agreed to honour their undertaking of 15 July 2008, apologised and indicated that those responsible for the decision to dishonour that undertaking are “mostly” no longer with Bluemaxx.

2 June 2009 12:01 PM
Text from email from <ChrisR@bluemaxx.net.au >:
Hi David,

I have attached the apology letter in a word document. Thank you for your time today.

Kind regards
Chris Rodriguez

For those unable to read Microsoft's proprietary file format, the text of the letter reads:
Hi Mr. Boxall,

My name is Christian Rodriguez from Bluemaxx Communications. First of all I would like to thank you for your detailed emailed regarding your time with Bluemaxx, and Thank you for talking to me today. I would like to apologise on behalf of Bluemaxx for any inconveniences we have caused you in the past and we hope there are none in the future. We have recently changed management and are looking to better our services to all our customers in hopes this does not happen again.

As mentioned in our earlier phone conversation Bluemaxx will happily credit you for the 5 months you had very little service and sometimes no service at all. We wish you all the best and thank you for continuing your services with us.

Kind Regards
Bluemaxx Communications

18 August 2009
In the middle of an intensive download session, my connection cut out. ftp and http failed completely but, strangely, ping still worked. After checking everything, I bit the bullet and phoned Bluemaxx support. To my surprise, they responded in reasonable time.

After changing DNS settings in the ipstar terminal equipment and waiting for support to do whatever at the other end, the connection came up. On checking my usage, I found substantial changes to Bluemaxx's site. My guess is that they'd done some sort of upgrade (or changes, at least) while I was online. The numbers on the new usage metre didn't add up, but I attributed that to temporary effects of the changes.

20 August 2009
The numbers on the usage metre still didn't add up. I printed the screen to a pdf, for the record. Evidently Bluemaxx can't do their sums. This gives no grounds for confidence in their ability to manage my Internet service.

22 August 2009 10:18 AM
Text from email to support@bluemaxx.net.au:
While checking my usage, I noticed that the numbers didn't add up. For details, see <http://david.boxall.id.au/bluemaxx/20090820.pdf>. One gigabyte minus 114.81 megabytes does not equal 855 megabytes. I've subsequently noticed that, as usage increases, so does the error. You might want to check your algorithm.

10 October 2009
The numbers on the usage metre now add up. The metre seems to show usage at times when the modem was turned off. Given that Bluemaxx chooses to conceal information, it's a bit hard to tell. I see no reason for confidence in its accuracy.

Text from email from former Bluemaxx employee:
Can you please remove my full name from your website ...

I ... do not wish to have my name associated with this company in a Public Forum as my experience with them was also less than satisfactory.

18 October 2009
Yesterday, having expended my monthly download allowance, I set up a large download to check on the performance of Bluemaxx's shaped bandwidth. 24 Hours later, my download manger records less than 70 megabytes. Not what could be expected from 64 kilobits per second. Bluemaxx's broadband usage meter shows more than 200 megabytes.

Monitoring the ipstar xwebgateway.cgi shows it repeatedly logging off, then on. Signal strength measures 75 to 77 and EsN0 (when logged in) 10.8 to 11.

14 November 2009
My monthly download allowance being expended, I set up a large download, to again test Bluemaxx's shaped service.

15 November 2009
After 24 hours, my download manager shows less than 100 megabytes received. Again, not what could be expected from 64 kilobits per second. Bluemaxx's broadband usage meter shows almost 300 megabytes.

At times, the link has been so slow that DNS requests time out. The ipstar xwebgateway.cgi shows speeds generally below 10 Kbps and often below 1. It continues to repeatedly log off, then on again, despite consistently strong signal and good EsN0.

17 November 2009
Thunderstorms last night forced me to shut down for a while. I took the opportunity to take a more precise measurement. In 9 hours, the download manager registered 17.77 megabytes.

Attempts to cross-check against Bluemaxx's broadband usage meter failed. Firefox reported: “The connection to secure.bluemaxx.net.au was interrupted while the page was loading”. Internet explorer reported: “a problem that cannot be repaired automatically” and suggested that I contact my ISP.

The ipstar xwebgateway.cgi shows data downloading at 5.6 to 11.2 Kbps; Signal Strength 75 to 76 and EsN0 10.8 to 11.

Ping times to secure.bluemaxx.net.au [202.60.77.124]:-
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum = 668ms, Maximum = 938ms, Average = 820ms.

19 November 2009
This morning, the ipstar xwebgateway.cgi Login Status Messages box was stuck on “Logging off”. The modem had evidently failed to log back in after one of its regular logoffs. This seems like a good time to abandon testing.

20 November 2009
The Bluemaxx's broadband usage meter figures for last period seemed even higher than expected, until I realised that it lists two 19^th days. It reports for a month, plus a day. Checking back on a copy I'd kept of the previous period's report, the same anomaly is evident.

30 December 2009
While attempting to buy software, the browser froze. Purchase Interruptus? A quick check of the ipstar xwebgateway.cgi showed that the modem had logged off. Signal strength was within the usual range, as was EsN0 (once the modem finished logging back on), so there was no obvious local cause for the logoff. I can only presume that it was initiated remotely.

01 January 2010
I noticed that the broadband usage meter records downloads on days that the modem was turned off (from 21 to 27 December 2009).) The numbers are admittedly small, but the fact that anything is recorded when nothing was possible is a bit of a worry.

18 January 2010
After exhausting my download allowance, I started a couple of multi-threaded downloads, which should have maxed out the bandwidth, then monitored the performance. Although the contract states that the service will be shaped to 64 kilobits per second, I rarely saw more than 40 and frequently less than 10.

I stopped the downloads and, intending to change my plan online, attempted to use Bluemaxx's web site. It repeatedly timed out, so I resorted to the 'phone. I changed to a plan, identical to the one I was already on (except that they probably count uploads, as well as downloads), but with 2 gigabytes of off-peak data.

19 January 2010 9:42 AM
Text from email to sales and support at bluemaxx.net.au:
Yesterday, I spoke to a CSO who identified himself as "Christian". Christian said that he would change my plan to Bluemaxx Standard 1024/512kbps 2GB off-peak/1GB peak data, effective from the next "anniversary", which was midnight last night.

This morning, my Customer Usage Meter shows 196.15MB of off-peak data used and a total of 804MB left. Why is it so?

The problem was soon fixed, but the email responses confused me:

19 January 2010 12:29 PM
Text from email from Christian:
Here is the usage so far.

You have Plan: 1024/512kbps - Peak 1gb + Offpeak 2gb

Therefore you have approx 901 peak and approx 1800mb left.

If you have any questions please let me know

19 January 2010 6:17 PM
Text from email from Bluemaxx Accounts:

Current Account Uasgae

Your current usage is listed above this is from logging of the terminal and the major usage seems to be around 6am to 7am

Which is somewhat interesting, but what does either response have to do with my question?

17 March 2010
After failing to download email, then to update virus signatures, I noticed that my satellite modem was not responding. The modem's lights indicated a connection to the satellite, but attempts to access its user interface with Internet Explorer failed.

My experimental data logger had crashed hours earlier. The remnant log file indicates that the modem began to fail at 02:18:20 UTC and did not respond at all after 02:20:15 (lines 219 and 232 of the file). Adding ten hours, to adjust UTC to the EST used by Bluemaxx in the usage record, it seems the problem coincides roughly with the time that my service was shaped.

Did Bluemaxx's shaping crash the modem?

04 April 2010
I posed the question on Whirlpool. The best response was off-list (and presumably wants anonymity):
The modem is no more than a simple micro with limited memory. In the case of very slow speeds like 12kbps or less your PC overloads the modem with packet requests effectively causing the internal stack to be exceeded and therefore the micro crashes requiring a power reset to correct it.

The same respondent suggested I try a plan that shapes to 128/128kb/s, instead of 64/64. I subsequently switched to a Maxxisat 2.5GB plan, which provides 500MB less data at the highest speed the satellite can deliver, shaped to 128/128 after that.

18 May 2010
To test the performance of my service when shaped, I resumed a download and a peer-to-peer session that I'd paused when my broadband download allowance ran out. The picture revealed by the logs is not pretty.

For example: in the hour between 0700 and 0800 Australian Eastern Standard Time today, the log shows the modem messaging 12 times, for periods between 5 and 75 seconds, totalling 240 seconds. Gaps in the log indicate that the modem was not responding for much of the time (the log lists 99 readings: a fully-responsive modem will provide 720 readings in an hour). Changes in the BytesReceived data indicate some activity while the modem was unresponsive. At one stage EsN0 dropped to 0 while messaging, under which conditions the service was probably not usable.

26 May 2010
Text of enquiry sent via Bluemaxx's web form:
My contract is due to expire on the 18th of July. I'm told that, to establish a contract with another supplier, I'll need a "letter of release and transfer of ownership" of the IPstar equipment from Bluemaxx. When can that be done and how do I go about organising it?

03 June 2010
Content of response from Bluemaxx:
Hi David,

Sorry for the late reply.

What we will need to do is arrange cancellation of your account, to do that we will need to send you a cancellation form for you to fill out and send back. Once that has been received I can do a Letter of Release for you which you can forward to a new provider.

If it is in regards to pricing we have recently upgraded our plans which are on our website but I have attached these below.

Speeds of up to 4096/512kbps
PEAK: 12pm (midday) to 11pm (1200-2300)
OFF PEAK: 11pm to 12pm (midday) (2300-1200)

If you wish to cancel your account to move to another provider please call 1300 791 990 option 1 and I can arrange that for you.

05 June 2010
Content from my reply:
If it is in regards to pricing we have recently upgraded our plans which are on our website...

On value, Bluemaxx suffers in comparison with (for example) Skymesh:

Satellite Plans

MaxSpeed Plans:
These plans allow your service to run to the maximum speed of your IPSTAR satellite modem.

On their MAX 2 plan, for a dollar per month less than I'm paying Bluemaxx, I'd get almost twice the data. Skymesh shapes to 64/64 against Bluemaxx's nominal 128/128 but, in my experience, Bluemaxx doesn't honour that part of the contract anyway.

While price is an issue, service quality is more significant. For my latest analysis, see <http://david.boxall.id.au/bluemaxx/timeline.html#20100518>. Bluemaxx's habit of hijacking my browser after my service has been shaped is particularly annoying.

If you wish to cancel your account to move to another provider please call 1300 791 990 option 1 and I can arrange that for you.

I don't want to cancel my account, so much as allow our contract to run its course. I signed a contract and respect my obligations under it.

I'd expect the relevant documentation to be forthcoming soon after payment is debited for the last period of our contract (which should be on the 19^th of this month), if not before (given that I've informed you that I don't intend extending the contract). If you need more paperwork (and I see no reason why you should), then please send me the necessary document(s).