Having just moved to Albury from Wagga we need a new broadband connection.

Hi Tim,

I'm glad some of the articles we've written have gotten through! But yes, you're correct - for a decent fixed-line service, you'll need to have an active telephone line. Whether or not you use the phone service that it comes with is irrelevant. The line has to have current on it to allow for a broadband connection along it, and that means paying line rental.

There are plenty of plans I could recommend for what you're looking for. I'm going to quote the bundle price, which include line rental. So these are the actual prices you would pay, not the price with an extra $30 waiting for you :)

TPG 100GB ADSL2+ Bundle - $49.99. This is on a 6 month contract, with a $100 connection and a $20 line deposit. The data is split 50GB peak and 50GB off-peak, with off peak being 2am - 10am.

TPG keep their costs down by concentrating on just what's important for most people - quality broadband. The phone service included is very bare-bones, being incompatible with complex services like Fax and Back-to-Base alarm systems. From your enquiry, I'm guessing that's not a concern.

Customer service is offshored, but well trained and focused - they rarely engage in upselling and other frustrating techniques. They also have a good social media presence on forums like Whirlpool, where TPG representatives regularly engage with customers having issues and will directly follow up with solutions.

TPG further keep costs down by limiting your payment options. Your connection fee and first month must be paid upfront, from a credit card or directly from a bank account. Monthly charges will similarly be direct debited from one of these accounts - TPG don't bill in arrears. This means they don't have to spend money chasing delinquent accounts.

We're a dealer for TPG, so you can call us on 1300 106 571 for this offer, or click here to sign up online. 

Internode 150GB Easy Naked - $59.99. This is a special offer in some areas - otherwise the same plan only gets 30GB.

This plan comes with no phone service, meaning that the line is potentially faster (thanks to there being no phone signal to interrupt the broadband signal down the line).  The 150Gb is not subject to peak or off peak splits.The setup fees are steep though - $129 connection, and your first two months upfront. But there is no contract.

Internode is Australia's premier provider for a tailored, bespoke broadband service. They carefully monitor their network and co-locate many popular sites - this allows for popular sites to be accessed locally, rather than relying on full international links. So even though your line speed will be the same as with many other providers, the connection will actually feel faster.

Internode also has all their customer service and technical support based in Australia, and their customer satisfaction rating is consistently the top rated in Australia (according to polls by Roy Morgan Research and others). Internode's social media presence is huge, with Twitter, Facebook and Whirlpool presence that includes input from the managing director on down. Internode founder Simon Hackett (now part of the iiNet board, who own Internode) is a regular on forums like Whirlpool, and regularly interacts directly with Internode customers.

We're a direct dealer for Internode as well, so you can call us to enquire on this plan as well. Or click on the Sign Up Online link at their plan page.

If these services are unavailable

Internode (as part of iiNet) and TPG are the two largest competitors for ADSL2+, so if they're not available at your new address, there's a good chance no-one else is either- and that includes Optus (1300 137 897) - though it is worth checking.

In many regional exchanges, the only provider of ADSL2+ connections is Telstra Wholesale. This means you can either go with BigPond for a bundle, or save a bit of money by not bundling. This takes a few steps.

First - Call Telstra on 1800 331 286 and organize a landline connection. The connection fee will be a minimum $59 (depending on the status of the line). You then need to take a plan - the lowest is Homeline Budget, which is $22.95 a month.

Second - you can now choose from a number of providers who offer decent "off-net" standalone ADSL2+ plans, where they re-sell a Telstra Wholesale connection to you. MyNetFone (1300 106 571) has an economy plan that comes with 100GB peak and 100GB off peak for only $50. That includes a free connection.

Dodo (1300 136 793) and iPrimus (1300 137 794) also have good value regional broadband plans.

With a combo like this, your total package overall might range from $73 a month to $89 a month. But if Telstra is the only game in town in your area, then that's really your only option.

As for Hardware- whomever you go with, ask for them to check if your modem make and model is compatible. And if the modem is only rated to ADSL 1 and not ADSL2+, then you'll only get about 1/3rd the speed. So upgrading might be recommended.

Hope this helps,

Adam at CompareBroadband,

1300 106 571