Naked DSL is simply ADSL without the usual additional expense of a telephone line. Save on your bills by not paying additional monthly rental fee for a phone line you don't use.
The prevalence of mobile phone contracts with large call caps now means many Australians no longer require a home phone service. Until recently however, anyone wanting a high speed broadband plan was also required to pay monthly home line rental for a phone service they rarely used. The technology behind Naked DSL has been available since 1999 but was held back in Australia by a series of disputes among the major telecommunication wholesalers. The introduction of naked broadband offers consumers all the advantages of a high speed ADSL2+ broadband connection, without the necessity of a home phone service. Internet service providers who offer naked broadband plans switch off the home phone line while still providing ADSL2+ speeds on existing hardware and infrastructure. Naked broadband is slightly more expensive than most ADSL2+ plans, but eliminates unnecessary monthly line rental charges.
Australian internet service providers are slowly coming around to the popularity of naked broadband with the most recent addition on the Telstra network being TPG, who released their naked broadband plan in early February 2009. TPG joined providers like iiNet, Exetel, Dodo, Netspace and Internode who already had naked broadband plans on offer to eligible customers. Even the major home phone service providers seem to be realising the popularity of naked broadband as Optus became the first to release naked plans in early March 2009.
To apply for Naked DSL connection with any broadband provider you will initially need an active home phone service. For most naked broadband providers (TPG, Exetel, Dodo, Netspace and iiNet) the current home phone service must be on the Telstra network. Both Optus and Internode currently offer naked plans on existing Optus infrastructure. The standard home phone line will be de-activated by your internet service provider once the Naked DSL is active and you will no longer be able make calls. As with ADSL2+ connections, the availability of Naked DSL will depend on the location of service, quality of infrastructure and exchange availability at your address. This means not everyone can have a naked connection at this stage.
Many providers of naked broadband services also offer VoIP (Voice over internet protocol) services to allow customer to make cheap local, national and international calls without an active telephone line. iiNet's iitalk bundle is one example of a VoIP service, offering unlimited local and national calls free on every naked broadband plan. Exetel offers a similar range of cost effective VoIP services to naked broadband customers with 100 free VoIP calls nationally each month. It is worth considering a VoIP plan when taking a naked broadband deal as international calling from a mobile phone can still be expensive.
There are also additional costs that offset potential savings on naked broadband plans. Naked broadband attracts higher monthly costs than ADLS2+ plans which need to be considered when evaluating the cost effectiveness of Naked DSL. For instance, several naked plans are $10-$15 more expensive than an ADSL2+ plan, essentially offering $10 or $15 line rental without a home phone service. Naked broadband plans also generally have longer contract periods and higher setup costs so any saving would occur long term.
You can compare Naked DSL contracts and packages from Australian providers.
