Internet plan thingys

[Rawhead]

I know most people here are probably on the internet,

I'm looking to upgrade my service soon cause 25gigs on a 1500/256 plan just isn't cutting it anymore.

I was all set to go to Exetel, who have a 30 gig ADSL 1500 plan for $45.00, but I just got a message from my current provider offering me a naked ADSL2 deal for $60 a month with 200gig download (Isage internet) at 24,000kps.


It's a tough decision. Doubt I'd ever use 200gigs a month, even making the move to VOIP would only add 3 or 4 gig a month to my quota, if that. I'd save $30 a month in line rental, but would have to pay $50 to set the naked ADSL up to begin with + $10 a month VOIP service, and then stay contracted for 12 months. The contracted part is the bit that scares me, cause I'd be getting 10x the speed and download for approximately $5 cheaper which is great, but things change mighty fast in the world of broadband.



soooooo, I've checked out broadbandchoice, but am wondering who other people are going through, and if being locked in for 12months at that price seems like a good deal, or if there's a possibility holding out for a month or two might see other plans tumbling in price.

 

[chopperduck]

With Naked ADSL2 the only thing you need to worry about with being in a contract is if your going to move, because you can't get ADSL2 everywhere, and if you move somewhere where you can't get it, then you still have to pay for it, or cop the cancel costs of the contract. There is no new fast technology coming out better than ADSL2 in terms of speed. Not until the new government national broadband network or whatever it's called is rolled out, and that is years away before it is available everywhere.

 

[whatboutbob]

I'm been with iinet for years and happily recommend it for its reliability and service, but there are far cheaper options out there. Just make sure you do your research on whirlpool - there are some nightmare stories out there.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

1) Most naked plans count uploaded data against your quota (especially noteworthy if you torrent).
2) Have you got the router/modem to take advantage of the ADSL2+ speeds ("24Mbps"*)? I assume it is bundled with the proposed contract...?

* As an aside, you're highly unlikely to connect at that max theoretical speed. Your actual connection speed depends on a number of factors - probably most important and difficult to change is your distance from the exchange. I've known people (admittedly a rarity) who barely got a bump in speed when switching up to 2+. At a guess the avg connection speed would be about 12Mbps

 

[dlanod]

Second what whatboutbob says. Try putting your address into http://www.adsl2exchanges.com.au/ to see what the theoretical maximum speed you can get from ADSL2+ is, because if you live quite a distance from the exchange you may be better off going with a cheaper ADSL plan.

Having said that we've gone for Naked ADSL2+ in our new place and love it. For $10 more than we were paying on our old internet bill, we no longer have a phone bill (only pay for international and mobile calls with iiNet's VOIP) of $50-60 a month. However I still miss Internode - no upload counting, no peak/offpeak rubbish and no tying and promoting of BoB into anything and everything. However they don't have our new exchange connected so it was out of our hands.

With the contract, check carefully but most ISPs let you break it - you just have to pay the difference in the discounted set-up fee.

Overall 200GB for $60/month seems like a pretty good deal, depending on their VOIP phone rates.

 

[Rawhead]

I'm in Holland Park, so at a guess Naked DSL connection shouldn't be a problem, but will have to check cause they use Optus lines. I know Telstra exchanges are no dramas, but not sure about Optus. Think I'm only a couple of hundred meters from the exchange.


Uploads aren't counted on this plan, which is a definite pre-requisite for me, and my old Billion 5102s should have no dramas with ADSL2.


It's not bundled with VOIP, I'd have to go through a third party like engin (actually prolly WILL be engin cause word on the street is my Linksys Wireless-G Router is locked to them). Which I think is $10 a month last I checked, which includes unlimited local and national calls. Brings total monthly cost to $70.

If I owned my own house, it would be a no brainer, it's purely my penchant to up and go overseas for months at a time that makes naked DSL unsure. Mind you, the $50 set up fee is enticing, seeing as most others I've looked at were around the $160 mark. The contract is a little unclear on penalties for early termination. It looks like its a straight $100, which seems too good to be true, but is in line with what dlanod just said.



I think I might do it. If the National Broadband upgrades are more than 12 months away, and there's no word on the street regarding radical pricing structure changes, it seems the best option.

 

[chopperduck]

Any decent ISP will allow you to still change plans, even though you are in a contract if they have a plan restructure. There might be a fee to change something if it is too drastic, but you shouldn't be stuck on 70 bucks a month for example whilst everyone else pays 50 for the same thing because of a restructure.

I was lucky enough to get speeds of around the 20Mbps when i had Naked ADSL2 (with iinet, which i agree were a great company in the short time i was with them). I was in an 18 month old townhouse and bout 2km from the exchange, so my conditions were pretty ideal.

The new National network has much much better speeds etc, but as said earlier, it will take awhile for this to get rolled out and be available. Also, as whataboutbob said, just check your router/modem and make sure it is adsl2 compatible, or that your getting one as part of the contract.

Whirlpool forums are a great source of information about all things internet.

 

[whatboutbob]

The new National network has much much better speeds etc, but as said earlier, it will take awhile for this to get rolled out and be available.

Another aside: if the taswegian NBN pricing is indicative of national pricing (and I believe it has been stated that it will be), then the NBN is going to be pretty underwhelming for areas already with adsl2+ infrastructure. Yes, it'll have faster speed options, but you'll be paying a fair premium for them that'll put it out of reach for most.

 

[Alpha1]

Im with Optus cable, 120 gig on a $45 plan great value and the speed is awesome download a 2.2m a sec.

 

[The Flying Belgian]

Another aside: if the taswegian NBN pricing is indicative of national pricing (and I believe it has been stated that it will be), then the NBN is going to be pretty underwhelming for areas already with adsl2+ infrastructure. Yes, it'll have faster speed options, but you'll be paying a fair premium for them that'll put it out of reach for most.

Do you (or anyone else for that matter) know what the NBN means for us folks in new estates on RIM's/CMUX's who can't get ADSL2+ even and therefore no naked DSL?

Sick of being a slave to a Telstra home phone line.

 

[chopperduck]

That's my problem Belg, i went from my tasty 20Mpbs Naked connection to a crappy 1500/256 standard ADSL connection when we bought our house. And i pay the exact same amount for both products. With internode now, and they have been great, have managed to get my connection upto nearly 4Mpbs for free, and my plan is now 50Gb, was 20 when i first signed up, all of this not costing me anything extra.

I can't say i do know how the NBN will go everywhere. I do believe it is ment to be made available to a very large portion of the population though (correct me i've im wrong anyone in the know). Don't know how it ties in with the exsisting infrastructure.

 

[Rawhead]

Don't know what will come of it, but there were whispers about cable being laid through existing sewer pipes, drastically cutting down on both implementation times and capital outlay.

 

[whatboutbob]

Do you (or anyone else for that matter) know what the NBN means for us folks in new estates on RIM's/CMUX's who can't get ADSL2+ even and therefore no naked DSL?

Sounds like you're in a similar position to these, now happy, chaps (so says "Quigley"!).

You will be able to ditch Tel$tra, though price-wise, it may sting.

I wouldn't be holding my breath for a quick roll-out either.

 

[The Flying Belgian]

Sounds like you're in a similar position to these, now happy, chaps (so says "Quigley"!).

You will be able to ditch Tel$tra, though price-wise, it may sting.

I wouldn't be holding my breath for a quick roll-out either.

I didn't know Inner North Brisbane is being included in stage 2. Doesn't include my suburb and therefore makes me think that it'll be a while before we get a guernsey.

Funny though, I would have thought that the areas that can't get access to ADSL2+ or broadband would be the places most in need of the upgrade.

 

[dlanod]

They're test sites, so they're picking them as representative samples of locations across Australia rather than starting with the worst and working their way up. They're also testing different implementors and plans in different sites for evaluation.

Wouldn't surprise me if there's some marginal electorate targetting in there, but in general their selections seem pretty good.

 

[The Flying Belgian]

They're test sites, so they're picking them as representative samples of locations across Australia rather than starting with the worst and working their way up. They're also testing different implementors and plans in different sites for evaluation.

Wouldn't surprise me if there's some marginal electorate targetting in there, but in general their selections seem pretty good.

Ah, makes sense.

 

[Rawhead]

Well I've made the switch, though it wont happen for two weeks officially.

Turns out the plan counts traffic both ways however as it's a 200gig limit, I didn't see this as an impediment, I only share as much as I take, so this will still mean, less quota for VOIP, I'll go from 25gig for $45 to around 95 gig for $60



On further plus sides, I was wrong about the $50 setup as well, the setup is completely free, and if I disconnect within 12 months there is a flat $99 disconnect fee, no paying out the value of the contract ala optus.

I checked my theoretical download speed, and it turns out I'm 2.5 km from the exchange, so THEORETICALLY I'll get a maximum of 13 MBit, (although just checking the attenuation reports on my router, looks more like there is 42 db of attenuation and 23 db SNR ratio, so more likely 8 MBit)





I should save around $600 over 12 months making this switch.



Just curious too, will I still need my ADSL line filter connected once the switch to Naked ADSL2 is made?