I need fast internet with a fairly high data limit, to stream films

Hi Lindsay,

You've asked a lot of good questions here, which I'm sure many readers could relate to. Let's break down your enquiry step-by-step, because you will have some choices, and for some things you won't have a choice - you'll have to settle for what's available.

1. Only two people using the connection

This is irrelevant. If 70 people are using the one connection to send emails, no problem. If two people are using the connection to stream films and television, then you have problems. Video, games and direct downloads are the applications that use your connection the most.

2. Need fast internet with fairly high data limit

There are a handful of providers who offer Unlimited data. They are:

TPG - 1300 106 571

Primus - 1300 137 794

Dodo - 1300 136 793

Club Telco - 1300 106 571

As for speed - this is mostly dependent on how far you are from the local telephone exchange. The speed from the exchange itself is between 20 and 24 Mbps - this is more than fast enough to handle streaming video, gaming and high speed downloads. But to get that full speed, you have to live within 500 metres of the exchange - so it's a bit of a lottery. You can call any of these providers to get an estimate on the cable length, and an estimate on what your actual speed should be.

If you live more than 4.5km from the exchange, then you'd get no connection at all.

3. Will I have to pay Line Rental?

Yes, one way or another. This is a very misunderstood (and, to be fair, very confusing) part of the equation.

Telstra owns and operates a network called the Copper Access Network (CAN). The CAN is the network of copper wires running from each home, unit, shop and office, to that premises local telephone exchange. Telstra need to be paid for access to this network, one way or another. You have a few ways of paying it:

Cheapest - Bundling. This is when you pay your service provider the line rental fee, as well as the internet fee. You will be provided with a phone number and a dial tone as well. A lot of people don't stop to think about this properly. You're provided with a landline service, but you don't have to use it. People sometimes take this to mean that you're paying line rental for a service you're not going to use. But that's not how it works. You're paying line rental to rent the physical line. The phone service is added, as a requirement set by Telstra Wholesale. You don't even have to plug in a telephone handset, if you want to avoid extra call charges.

Not as cheap - Naked DSL. This is where you don't pay for a separate thing called 'line rental'- your line rental fees are wrapped into the overall price. Contrary to popular belief, this service still uses the physical copper line, and is usually more expensive than a bundle. The difference is that no telephone voice service (ie. a dial tone and a phone number) is being provided. The advantage is not economic - the advantage is that your connection might be a little quicker, because there is no phone service on the line using precious bandwidth. Usually, Naked DSL is harder to set up, more expensive, and doesn't offer enough of a speed boost to be worth it.

Most expensive - Standalone DSL. Again, most people miss the point on this. Standalone DSL is not a broadband connection with no phone line. It's for when the customer specifically wants to pay one company for the line rental and phone service, and another company for the internet connection. It's only recommended if the owner of the phone line is not you (say, if you were living with your parents) and you just want to pay for the internet part of the connection, while someone else pays for the phone service.

I hope that provides some explanation. For what you're after, you're best off calling the providers listed below, getting a quote for your particular address, and weighing it up from there. In metro areas, their prices will all be about the same - so compare on the basis of contract length, connection fee, and included extras (free modem, 24 technical support, etc).

Thanks,

Adam at CompareBroadband

1300 106 571