Hi, Just looking into new avenues for broadband access at home.
Currently living in Bunbury, WA and Telstra has just become progressively slower and slower to the point where it is unbearable. We pay roughly 70 dollars for 20Mb/s download and get maybe 3mb/s. Essentially looking to change providers because Telstra insists they are doing the best they can. Would need to have as fast a speed as possible, at least 200GB of data and above all be reliable as business operates from home. One of the only reasons Telstra has been our ISP for so long is their reliability. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Chris.
21/06/2012
Hi Chris,
That must be a frustrating situation for you. Unfortunately, there isn't a definite solution I can suggest that will fix it for you, because it sounds like you're already on ADSL2+, one of the fastest broadband connections available. It's a common misconception that when you buy an ADSL2+ plan, you can pick how "fast" it is, or ask for a "super fast" one from a provider. This is born out of the old days of ADSL1, where you paid for both how much data you wanted and how fast you wanted your connection to be. When you purchase an ADSL2+ connection, however, you are only paying for how much data you want; theoretically, speed is always the same.
Obviously, people get different internet speeds all over the country. This is because the two main factors that affect your broadband speed and the reliability of your service are the quality of your copper line, and your house's distance from the telephone exchange. It is these two factors more than anything else that will control your internet speed, and as you can imagine, they are two factors that your provider has no control over.
This means that generally, no matter which provider you go with, your internet speed is going to stay the same. Unless Telstra can think of a real reason why their connection is so slow with you – maybe they have a lot of customers in your area who are clogging up the lines somewhat? – there's a very real chance that your speed will not improve no matter which provider you go with.
The thing you can improve on, though, is your price. $70 is a lot to be paying for a broadband service that you're not happy with, and I'd recommend picking your provider based on customer service and price, as these are two factors that your provider can control. Take a look at some of the following broadband providers, and give them a call to see if they'd be able to give you something that would suit you in your area. However, unless they tell you that you are very close to the telephone exchange, don't hold out too much hope for any speeds that they promise you; it may be that something is wrong with your line.
TPG: 1300 106 571 (Unlimited ADSL2+ with the Home Phone is $59.99 a month.)
Dodo: 1300 136 793 (Unlimited ADSL2+ with the Home Phone is $59.80 a month.)
iPrimus: 1300 137 794 (300GB ADSL2+ with the Home Phone is $79.90 per month, iPrimus are famous for their Australian based customer service.)
I hope this helps! If you have any further questions, feel free to call on 1300 106 571.
Mikaella.
