On-net vs. Off-net

“On-net” and “off-net” describe two of the ways that Skymesh delivers an nbn® service to you.

On-net services are offered in locations where Skymesh owns a CVC and POI in your area.

The “CVC” (Connectivity Virtual Circuit) is a group of nbn®-connected homes in the same neighborhood.

The CVC is how nbn® connects homes around Australia to “POI”s (Points of Interconnect). There are 121 different locations around Australia called Points of Interconnect. This is where your ISP (Skymesh, that’s us!) connects to the nbn® network.

When you’re connected via an on-net service, Skymesh delivers the Internet directly to you. If you experience any technical difficulty, Skymesh works with the nbn® to resolve that problem.

On-net services use a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) or “Dynamic IP” Internet connection type to authenticate your service. If you connected a computer to the Network Termination Device, your device would not require a username or password to connect to the Internet.

Off-net services are offered in locations where Skymesh does not own CVC and POI in the area. An off-net service means that Skymesh has partnered with an aggregate provider to deliver the nbn® to you. If you experience any technical difficulty, Skymesh would work with the aggregate provider to resolve the problem, and the aggregate provider works with the nbn®.

Off-net services use PPPoE (Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet) to authenticate your service. PPPoE requires a username and password to access the Internet.

If you connect your computer to the Network Termination Device, you will need to enter a username and password to connect to the Internet. This might require setting up a ‘PPP dial’, and we’ve included a quick guide to setting up a PPP dial on Windows and Apple operating systems after the jump.

Connecting your computer directly to the Network Termination Device is an important part of an ‘isolation test’, and we’ll go into more depth on what that means and why it’s important in the near future. An isolation test allows you to test the stability and speed of your network without interference from third-party equipment. This makes it possible to accurately test the performance of your nbn® service.

You would need to use a PPP dial if:

1. You are using a single computer connecting to the Internet and don’t require a wireless router.
2. You are testing the speed or stability of your off-net Skymesh connection.

Here’s how you do it.

To perform a PPP dial on a Windows computer:

1. Open the Network and Sharing Center
2. Select ‘Setup a new connection’
3. Select ‘Connect to the Internet’, click next.
4. Select ‘Broadband (PPPOE), click next.
5. Enter your Username and Password (these are your PPPoE credentials)
6. Click Connect.

To perform a PPP dial on an Apple computer:

1. Click on the Apple menu.
2. Choose ‘System Preferences’.
3. Choose ‘Network’. Unlock the pane (if you need to). Click the ‘+’ button.
4. Choose “PPPoE” as the Interface, and select “Ethernet” from the Ethernet menu. Click create.
5. Enter your Username in the ‘account name’ field. Enter your Password (these are your PPPoE credentials)
6. Click the TCP/IP tab. Choose “Using PPP” from the Configure IPv4 pop-up menu.
7. Click on the DNS tab. Click the ‘+’ button. Type ‘180.181.127.3’. Click the ‘+’ button. Type ‘180.181.127.4’. Click the ‘Ok’ button.
8. Click the ‘Apply’ button.