Looking for best plan for family of six, 4 kids need internet for studying.

Hi Philip,

I'm going to save you some time and suggest that your kids are doing more than just studying with that internet conenction. Pretty much everyone under 35 has grown up during the digital age, and sees an internet connection the same way previous generations saw newspapers and telephones. A broadband internet connection is not merely a luxury or a tool, it's a utility. It's a gateway to other services, more than just the sum of its parts.

Click here to check out TPG's Unlimited plan, or call us on 1300 106 571

Click here to check out Dodo's Unlimtied bundles - most widely available Unlimited plans in Australia! Or call 1300 136 793

It's interesting to hear the Before and After of prospective internet users. Before, they're simple, hardworking people, looking for a cheap and easy connection. They don't need anything fancy like the Dorito-munching techno-nerds who live their lives online. They just need something to read the news, and they only use their connection once every 6 weeks, in between healthier activities.

But even if the kids were just studying, that in itself can mean a number of bandwidth heavy activities. They could be video chatting with classmates, downloading lectures, downloading software - all of that activity would be enough to warrant a data-heavy plan. That's without accounting for streaming video, online gaming and large file downloads- the real bandwidth killers.

Here's a few tips:

1. All the value is at the higher end of the market. For example- TPG's $40 bundle comes with only 10GB of data to use in peak hours. For $60, you get Unlimited data. There's no huge cost saving to be had going with a cheap plan.

2. Avoid Mobile Broadband completely. Mobile Broadband (where the modem connects to a mobile network tower) is quick to set up, uncomplicated and easy to move around. But otherwise it is completely worthless for a house with 4 kids. The connection is likely to be interrupted by bad weather and brick walls, and there are no plans above 18GB anywhere. And there's the risk on some plans of going over your data allowance, and instead of being slowed down you will be charged very high rates for excess data. More than 50% of broadband connections in Australia are mobile, but expect that to reverse in the next few years as many people learn this very expensive lesson.

3. Invest a little more in a top-quality Wi-Fi modem/router. This device will be hardwired to the connection point (either your phone socket or a cable point) and wirelessly transmit the connection around the house, for everyone with a password to share. Better routers will manage traffic speed a bit better, so one person playing Diablo 3 won't be eating all the speed and leaving everyone else to yell out "Are you downloading something?"

The plans linked to above are the cheapest ways to get all-you-can-eat data on the cheap. If you otherwise don't use a landline phone service, it may also be worth calling MyNetFone on 1300 106 571 - they have a $60 plan that coems with 500GB of data, free modem and free connection on a 12 month contract.

Thanks,

Adam at Compare Broadband

1300 106 571