Broadband Inquiry

[Danny]

There are many ISP's out there.
I am trying to get Broadband either. ADSL, ADSL2+, DSL Direct.
Can someone explain the difference.

My telephone exchange has the facility for ADSL. but I need to check if a port is available and if the copper phone line is suitable.

We were thinking going with Optus Fusion ( bundle existing phone and internet service as one. Is someone using this plan at the moment and if so is the help line support good / bad etc
The options are either 12mths or 24mths.
Any suggestions would be helpfull.
Regards
Danny

[IanMcD]

I am trying to get Broadband either. ADSL, ADSL2+, DSL Direct.
Can someone explain the difference.

They are all standards of ADSL.

ADSL or standard ADSL is the first standard and requires a connected phone number. It has maximum throughput of 8Mb/s. All the ADSL enabled exchanges are owned by Telstra and every ISP leases the the lines and ADSL hardware in the exchanges.

ADSL 2+ uses newer technology than ADSL and still requires a connected phone number. It has a maximum throughput of 24Mb/s. The ADSL 2+ hardware in the exchanges are owned by the ISP or coalition of ISP's. So ISP's only lease the lines from Telstra. This is how ISP's can provide cheaper ADSL 2+ plans over standard ADSL.

ADSL Direct or Naked ADSL standard has been used in other parts of the world instead of standard ADSL. Naked ADSL does not require a connected phone number, so the $35 monthly line rental is not needed. Naked ADSL has maximum throughput of 8Mb/s or 24Mb/s depending on the ISP's hardware. The Naked ADSL hardware in the exchange is owned by the ISP.

We were thinking going with Optus Fusion ( bundle existing phone and internet service as one. Is someone using this plan at the moment and if so is the help line support good / bad etc

I would have a look at the broadband survey and choose an ISP based on how good they are. http://whirlpool.net.au/survey/2007/
From the survey "How would you rate their customer service?" Optus is showing 3.7% said excellent, 39.8% said good, 29.3% said below average and 27.2 said awful. 56.5% That is more than half of Optus customers said they are below average or awful.

The options are either 12mths or 24mths.

I wouldn't sign up for any longer than 12 months, because pricing changes so rapidly in the internet a telecommunication area and you would be stuck with an outdated plan.

Broadband Choice is a good place to start.
http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/bc-exchange.cfm

[glenidol]

A friend of mine who has a PPC 20inch iMac has had a dreadful time with Optus who haven't appeared particularly Mac friendly as far as service.

I get excellent service from eis.net located in the city who are very Mac friendly - the service actually goes through aapt. I've been with eis.net for many years as a dialup customer and switched to ADSL a bit over a year ago. Contact person there is Ernie Elu. Ernie set up a Linksys ADSL2 Gateway modem/router for me and sent it out with a courier.

If I need to talk to someone - extremely rare - I get to talk to a real person immediately.



Jude
http://www.eis.net.au