I am planning to switch from Telstra to Internode.

Hi Gerry,

Sit down. There's a lot to explain here. But if you want to connect to Internode right now, follow this linkand click on the blue Sign Up Online button: Internode 200 GB Easy Broadband

Your humble telephone line carries two wires in it. Right now, it leads to a pillar in your street, where it is 'jumpered' to a connection back to your local telephone exchange.

Inside the pillar, the line is connected to a battery for backup power in the event that mains power goes out, and you need the phone line for emergency services.

At the exchange, the two little wires that connect back to your phone line are plugged into a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM, or Dee-Slam). This device is wired back to Telstra's Home Network.

Each wire will be programmed to carry different services. One line will be programmed to carry a broadband internet signal, at a very high frequency. The other will carry phone services at a much lower frequency. The phone wire can also be programmed to carry services like Faxstream Duet, which provides a unique fax line on the same physical line connection as your phone. Other services in the Telstra Suite include Priority Assist, Back to Base Alarm codes, and other complex dialback services.

If you connect to Internode's network, or the network belonging to other major suppliers like TPG, iiNet or iPrimus, then your humble copper line will take a slightly different route.

For starters, at the pillar, it will probably not be connected to a battery backup. So if your mains power goes dead, so will your phone.

At the exchange, if you've ordered the Easy Broadband package, your line will be routed to Internode's DSLAM. Your phone line will not be programmed with FaxStream Duet, or any of the other complex programs referred to earlier.

Internode does this because their primary business is in providing Broadband Internet Access. To do this, they must use Telstra's copper lines to connect from your house to their equipment- but after that, it's their business. To keep costs down, they eliminate services that are waning in popularity, like fax services. Instead they focus their energies on providing you with superior broadband connectivity (by keeping their networking points as state-of-the-art as possible and continuously securing faster international links) and offering better customer service and support.

To enjoy Internode's broadband service while still retaining your fully equipped Telstra phone connection, you would have to unbundle. This is more expensive, but sometimes necessary. So your line would litterally be split in half at the exchange, with your phone wire going to Telstra's equipment, and your broadband wire going to Internode's.

In this scenario, you would pay Telstra directly for line rental and phone service, at a minimum cost of $31.95 a month. Then you would pay Internode for the same 200GB plan, unbundled. This would cost $69.95 a month.

So, to summarize: If you take the Easy Broadband Bundle for $79.95, you will lose the full suite of Telstra services including fax (keeping the actual phone number shouldn't be a problem).

If you need to keep the full Telstra line connection, then taking Internode for Broadband will increase the overall costs of providing these two services. Still, it might be cheaper than a BigPond bundle, and you can enjoy Internode's uniquely superior customer service and support - Internode really are the blue ribbon broadband provider.

I hope this explains this issue (which, admittedly, is very complex). If you need further assistance or explanation, please give us a call between 9am and 8pm, AEST, Monday to Friday. We are a dealer for TPG, Vodafone and Internode, and can also provide general comparison and advice for other providers.

Thanks,

Adam at CompareBroadband

1300 106 571