Australian ISP RECOMMENDATIONS

Communities Blog
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So after quitting my job @ Telstra Business I would like to share my knowledge and recommendations from an insiders perspective on the best internet deals, due to the many number of options which can confuse most people. these will be adsl plans due to the fact that the NBN is still being rolled out. Please feel free to ask me any questions.

"these are in no specific order"

ClubTELCO: ($40 unlimited ADSL2+)

"BEST VALUE IN AUST"

Club telco is a sister ISP to IPrimus and its availibility depends on how many ports are open @ the exchange, you can check your address here (www.adsl2exchanges.com.au/). The thing that sets ClubTelco apart from the many other ISPs is the fact that there is no contract, no 12 or 24 month contacts with hidden fees. You pay an $80 annual membership fee and then pay month to month and if you want to disconnect it or you move address you just stop paying, No exit fees what so ever, the only bad thing about these guys is that there support is not so good and they no longer provide nbn. check out the Critical Information Summary below

(http://www.clubtelco.com.au/pdf/Critical_Information_Summary-Club_Unlimited_ADSL_Broadband.pdf)

IINET: ($69 unlimited ADSL2+)

iinet is now owned by the M2 Group who owns DODO, Steve, iPrimus. iinet's $69 naked plan is a good deal for those who do not want a landline but want a lot of data. The good thing about this plan is that there is no lock in contracts, so while you are signing up for a 24 month contract there is no fee to cancel. There customer service is good and in my opinion they are one of the most customer driven ISPs out there

(https://www.iinet.net.au/about/legal/cis/cis-naked.pdf)

Telstra: ($115 adsl2+ 1000GB)

Telstra is one of the most expensive ISPs in Australia because they own the entire backbone copper infrastructure due to the fact that the Australian government used to own and run telstra when the copper was rolled out. The best value per GB is the $115 casual plan for 1000GB, this plan is not good if you need calls as they will charge you $0.50 per call connection then $0.50 per min. They also charge a lot of fees for things like charging $240 for someone to setup your modem.

here are the first month charges for self install.

$115 monthly min charge
$89 activation fee
$120 casual plan fee
$168 for a self-install Home Network Gateway

Optus: ($80 adsl2+ unlimited)

Optus is the second biggest ISP in Aus, and actively try to out bid Telstra in its pricing. The best plan at the time of writing is the $80 unlimited plan, you get unlimited data and unlimited standard calls to landlines, plus free modem for new customers and if you already have a mobile on a plan you get $30 off per month. They use the same offshore call centres telstra use and there customer service is ok.

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Thanks for the post, and info cobber.

I'm in rural Qld, and generally rely on a prepaid wireless voucher-system (which suits my needs at present)

** I hope you're not out of work for too long, in the present climate it's hard to secure permanent employment) **

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Thanks, i should be ok as i have started my own business. what plan u using (if thats not too personal :)

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I would say get an O1B Vesa and move to the USA.

Better ISP - Done.

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nah if i was going to move just for internet i would go japan or china: better speeds + no trump or Hilary :P

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I just utilise at standard $100 prepaid voucher purchased from my local news agency.

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is that through telstra, vodaphone, optus, amaysim, dodo, digi ?

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Sorry cobber, I meant to say Telstra Prepaid.

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ok so you should get like 22gb?

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Not sure on that one digger, it is probably right that figure.

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yeah it sucks that telstra is the only reliable rural coverage isp atm, lot of better deals for that price but no rural:(

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and the new Sky Muster II is delayed, but you should be able to get wireless nbn when they launch that satellite

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Then go to Osaka Japan. Gigabit is basically free there with so many open wifi spots. I've been considering it myself. The work environment is exactly how I work lol. Always on and always going.

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@SDA4TW what's the current situation with iinet and their subsidiary companies after the TPG takeover, anything at all?
I had a cousin in iinet management and apparently him and all his coworkers were looking for new jobs before the change over happened, they gave free upgrades of plans to all their customers it seems just before the take over too.

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sorry for late reply. It was a bit of a fiasco because TPG did not share their business plan going forward. However it is clear to me why they bought iinet and its sister companies, it was an ingenious takeover to sieze second place behind telstra as an isp overtaking optus. However it will be some hard work to organise all the exchange data they have to collate together and i feel sorry for the engineers who have do it.

iinet did give discounts and free products because tpg's intentions with iinets current plans was and still is unclear. However iinet did a great service to its customers in giving free upgrades of plans because under Australia consumer law if a customer has an active contract, the contract must be honoured even when a company is bought out, the contract is then turned over to the new owners and cannot be change unless the contract ends, TPG pay out the contract or the customer agrees to change the terms of the contract. so in giving free upgrades they have given away millions of dollars.

As for your cousin its always a safe bet to look for new job in a takeover, however in my professional experience/Opinion only if the employees are sub contracted do they loose their job because the new company usually has their own sub contractor. The employees who have earned a place under iinet ( not subcontracted) are usually retrained under the new companies system, (this is just my opinion based on my own experiences in the field) If your cousin has not found a job yet and is interested Telstra call centres usually hire on a 6 month schedule for various positions and the pay is good ( between $900 pw - $1500+pw) depending on his expertise.

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lol i thought that's what they were doing, give everyone a Christmas present and upgrade their plan from 1TB a month to 2TB just for the hell of it for free and that contract has to be upheld for x amount of years minimum.
I haven't spoken to him, apparently they were all not expecting to have jobs from what they knew back before the take over.

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I bet you it pissed of TPG though :)

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Best option for Internet in Australia? Move to New Zealand, Get Gigabit unlimited fibre

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If only it was that simple lol.

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  • iiNet isnt owned by the M2 group. I think OP has got this one confused with Vocus.

  • Yes iiNet are under the umbrella of TPG, however like Internode is under iiNet, there are only a very minimal sets of linkages between the 2. The biggest change that has occured is the shift to CSG waived plans.

At the end of the day the wholesale infrastructure that all providers run on is either Telstra Wholesale (government), Optus or select 3rd parties whom have strangle holds on estates, buildings suburbs etc. If you're 3kms away in copper length from the exchange and ADSL speeds are shit.... move closer to the exchange.

Some of the cheap and nasty providers when provisioning ADSL in order to save wholesale costs put people on 1.5mbps ports as that is what is deemed as the minimum acceptable speed.

I cant suggest any given ISP cause I work for one. However you do get what you pay for. Go cheap and chances are you wont have a fun time.