Broadband internet (which ADSL service provider?)

[Richard Hunt]

Calling those in the know!

I am currently contemplating switching from dial-up internet connection to ADSL broadband (256/64k connection fast enough). I have done some preliminary research to confirm that the ADSL service is available in my area and now need to make a decision on which service provider.

TPG with its heavily marketed 256/64K consumer service priced at $19.99 mth plus download charge and its business service of $89.95 mth unlimited downloads seem to be good value. The set-up costs of $349 & $495 respectively (incl ADSL modem) seem to also be reasonable.

Also had a quick look at iprmius who also seem to be competitive.

Can anyone provide feedback on these service providers and their packages or other service providers I may have overlooked?

Can you carry across your domain name based email addresses to these services? Eg. [email protected]

 

[Sunstone]

Dear Richard,

Stay away from iprimius. I had a contract with them for their business services but the installation date kept on changing. After six weeks of heaps of promises and still not a firm installation date I cancelled it. Was totally appalled by their poor service.

If I had so much problems in trying to get it installed I couldn't imagine what their service would have been like after the installation.

Others to consider.

1) Telstra/Optus Cable

Personally I use Telstra Bigpond Cable and have used it for over 2.5 years. Connection has been very reliable and only very rarely have I had many drop-outs and non-usable time. If I did it was like only 30 minutes once in 3-4 months. In the last 6 months I have had only one lot of unusable time.

Good connection and great for this. Only a 3gig download limit can be a limitation if you download lots of movies. Still I pay $87.95/month for a 1500/128 connection and that is better than any other comparative connection I have seen. (Optus cable not being extended and not available in my area.)

2) Internode

Sim and a couple of the Adelaide guys swear by internode. However when I check the prices I still find them more expensive for me by comparision. However again cable is not necessarily available in all areas.

Don't know much about the tpg current offering but check the download charges..... They ALWAYS get you on this one. Also check how much downtime they have. No good having a permanent connection when it spends more time down then you want to be on the net.

Cheers,

Sunstone.

P.S. Yep you can always carry across your domain name. It just needs to be setup. Muppie or Sim could help you in this area.

 

[Peter_Tersteeg]

Hi Richard,

For broadband resources and news, check out http://whirlpool.net.au/

It has links to a lot of different providers, and there's forums there on which you can read users comments on the different broadband providers.

If your email address is provided by a thrid party (not your current broadband provider), you shouldn't have to do much at all to transfer your email as it isn't linked with your dial up account. If your dial up provider is handling your email domain, you'll need to look specifically at your current provider and future provider on how to handle the transfer.

 

[Sim]

You need to be careful about your choice of broadband providers. There are three types:

1. The primary providers. These are the guys with the actual network. Essentially this means Telstra for ADSL/cable or Optus for cable.

2. Secondary providers. These are the ADSL guys who run their own backbones and link into the Telstra exchanges. All Telstra provides is the "last mile" - the copper between the exchange and your house. Internode are an example of a secondary provider.

3. Resellers. These are the ADSL companies who often don't own anything at all - they simple resell a service - usually Telstra's. When you use the resellers you are only using Telstra's network.

Most of the plethora of ADSL ISPs out there now are simply reselling Telstra ADSL. The problem is, although Telstra have mostly sorted out their connectivity problems, they still have regular problems with their other servers which provide services essential to being able to successfully use the connection... the biggest offender here is their shocking DNS servers which always seem to fall over.

My recommendation is to find a secondary provider who know how to run their servers and have a good track record for reliablility - so long as Telstra doesn't screw up the last mile, you will usually get better reliablility from one of these providers.

As PT_Bear suggested, Whirlpool is the #1 resource in Australia for broadband internet information... I suggest you spend some time reading through the forums there and decide for yourself.

What do I use ? I use Telstra, but that's only because my work pays for it, and that's what they insist I use. Can't complain about free broadband ! Well, actually you can, and I do, but only when Telstra screws it up again, which fortunately is happening less and less frequently !

Hint... #1 gotcha with broadband pricing is the download allowance. Take careful note of the excess data transfer charges. If you get a plan with a 300MB per month download limit, and you go over this, you are often paying up to 20c per megabyte for excess usage. Do the sums, very very quickly you will find yourself paying more than if you had forked out for a 1GB or 3GB plan up front.

300MB sounds like a lot when you're on dialup, but unless you don't ever use your computer, once you have broadband you will generally start doing things you wouldn't have dreamed of before - because you can ! The data usage goes up quite dramatically. And watch out for those peak usage months where you use a lot. One month of extremely high usage may cost you more than 6 months on a more expensive plan !

So when comparing prices, take into account the amount of data they allow you to transfer each month and the price of excess data charges. Be prepared... it can get very expensive very quickly.

 

[michaelg]

Hi,

I use iinet, price was good, and if you go over the monthly download limit, you get throttled down to 56k, instead of getting charged extra per MB.

Michael G

 

[Kevmeister]

I would suggest that Internode, iiNet, and Netspace are considered the "best" ADSL providers at present. Personally I am with Internode, but iiNet has bandwidth throttling after you exceed your download limit.

Check out http://www.broadbandchoice.com.au for details on broadband providers and http://www.whirlpool.net.au for forums in which you can ask the question (BUT search first because the same question "which adsl provider" gets asked every second day).

 

[Arkay]

I'm also with Internode for a few differing reasons. After scammpering through the maze that is broadband one thing became obvious to me. That is Internode are constantly praised by their clients for their customer service. That means a great deal to me. The few times I've had to call them (any time day or night), I've always got a person on the other end.. Try calling Telstra for a broadband problem and see how many automated voices you have to go through before you get put on to someone who can't help you and suggests you ring someone else...

This, coupled with the fact that they run their own infrastructure, other than the copper to your house (as Sim mentioned earlier), led me to go with them.

Their pricing also suited me for the amount of data I figured I'd use in a month.

512/128 connection, 3 GB plan. $79 per month, they only charge for download, uploads are free. Most ISP are going this way now, except for Telstra.

Internode are also currently looking into speed throttling where there will be no excess download charges but your speed will drop after you pass your limits.

My advice, go with a large supplier that run their own network that only use Telstra for the bare bones minimum. The less you have to do with Telstra the more rewarding the experience will be.

Cheers,
Rick.

 

[Richard Hunt]

Thanks to all for the great advice and direction to the relevant websites/forums (from which I've just surfaced after a few days of research!)

Looks like it's a toss-up between iinet and Internode.