I am trying to define my & the household needs in order to get a great deal.
I am on a low income and am currently studying on line. Which requires downloading information. I have two primary aged school children. One of my children researches information at home for associated projects on Ultranet at school. Both children like to play games and talk to friends. I am a resident of Castlemaine, Victoria. Most plans do not give you all information. For example; if you move to a different address are there any costs associated. I am also not aware of how many Gigabytes I would require. You may have guessed that I am still on dial up. I don't won't a plan that charges you if you have used gigabyte quota. Regards & thanks.
08/11/2010
From your phone number, it looks like you are in a regional area, so I will talk you through a few ADSL1 plans. However, some internet service providers (ISPs) may offer you ADSL2+ at your address, which is better because ADSL2+ is a faster, cheaper broadband connection.
It sounds like you will be a medium user, so I would recommend looking at plans with a 1500kbps speed and 15-20GB of data. Bear in mind many providers split their data into peak and off-peak, so what looks like a 20GB plan could have just 5GB during the day and evening when you want to use it. On our site we always show you the peak and off-peak quotas so you can compare different plans easily.
We try to give as many details about a plan as we can without overwhelming our customers with too much information. If you have any questions, like the cost of moving to a different address, you can call the ISP on the phone number provided and find out more. Moving costs do vary from provider to provider. An example of a relocation fee would be TPG’s $79 charge if under contract, or $59 if outside of contract.
Also, keep in mind there is often a disconnection fee if you move while still under contract and the current provider doesn’t have a service in the new area. If you are thinking of moving it's best to choose a plan with a short contract term. Contracts range from month-to-month, to 6-month, 12-month, 18-month, or 24-months in length.
Most ISPs will warn you when you get near your monthly quota and allow you to check how much data you have used up online. You will also find most ISPs shape – which means slow down – your connection once you have reached your quota for the month. The exceptions are Dodo, Bigpond and Exetel. On our site we tell you if a plan is shaped or charges excess, and we will also tell you the shaping speed.
Finally, you will find most ISPs will offer you a discount if you bundle your home phone service and your internet together into one package. This means you would move your home phone service from your current provider to your ISP's service, but you still will be able to keep your old phone number.
I would recommend you give iPrimus (1300 137 794), iiNet (1300 106 571) and Westnet (1300 768 134) a call and find out what they can offer you based on your address. As you are not sure how much data you will need, find out whether there is a cost to upgrade your plan. Many providers will let you do this for free.
Once you are happy you have found the right plan, you can sign up over the phone or online.
