Bigpond has had severe email server problems for several months now. Initially they said it was due to a virus, but none of the other ISPs reported similar problems.
I'd strongly recommend dumping Bigpond for several reasons:
1) They have proven repeatably to be unreliable (both uptime and email delivery).
2) The are one of the most expensive ISPs.
3) They have draconian usage and data allowance policies.
A good case in point is their recent offering of spam filters and virus checking on their email. It's being offered free for the first 3 months then you pay by the month. There are several other ISPs which offer this service for free!
A significant number of broadband users sign up with bigpond when they first switch to broadband, then migrate to another ISP as soon as their contract expires.
If you're looking for an alternative, I'd suggest going to
Broadband Choice .
There you'll find independant information on all of Australias major ISPs, comparison tools and forums discussing the pros and cons of each of the major ISPs as well as user driven technical support (so you don't have to wait on the phone).
Make sure you understand what you use the internet for and you understand your usage patterns. Then browse the forums and the ISP summaries to determine the best ISP and the best plan for your needs.
EDIT: IMHO whilst Internode is well known for the quality of their support, they do seem to be moderatly expensive. I'm currently with TPG, for $69.95 / mth with unlimited downloads, spam filtering, virus checking, a fixed IP address and 20 email addresses. Their support isn't so great, but the also have very good uptimes and reliability.
