Buzzy--Bee

OK so I'm about to order broadband.

But I have no idea how many Gb download quota I will need.

20Gb? 50gB? 150Gb?

I use the internet for emails and these forums, uploading family photos, some shopping, booking acommodation etc, occasional youtube and music.

And I will be working from home up to 2 days a week too.

Can anyone hazard a guess?

Thanks

Buzzy

DrWho

THe big killer is downloading TV shows, films, etc... We have iiNet's lowest business plan at home that gets 40gb off peak and 20gb on peak which we pretty much fully use every month... If you're not going to do any/much of that then 10gb is going to be fine for you... Don't forget with most ISP's moving up a plan is a no cost option but going down can be painful...! So start low and work your way up...!

Siren & Brian

PLease don t go through Bigpond as they talk in MEGS and not GIGS.

I reckon you would only need a 2gig peak 2 gig off peak plan as a minimium that gets shaped if you go over.

TheSubMainMan

Can't you just get unlimited?

Or dose that cost a fortune over there?

adriang

the important thing is to check what happens when you exceed your quota. I think that Bigpond charge (a lot). I use TPG, and they just shape the speed for the rest of the month.

Trouble is, you don't know what ISPs you will have access to until you know where you live, as the program to update the exchanges is an 'ongoing one'.

This is a useful site. http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/

And this helps in what exchanges, so what districts will have broadband connectivity. http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum...s.cfm?t=709165

Broadband service and availability here is not like Europe..

datamile

Or you get some telstra technology like a rim which puts on a poor adsl 1 plan. I think you only get good value if you can get onto adsl 2 equipment.

This page will give estimate distance to exchange http://www.adsl2exchanges.com.au/det...mmarystart.php

This one shows if its likely that you have rim etc in your area.

http://www.adsl2exchanges.com.au/viewsuburb.php

kiwi_child

Broadband is a rip-off in OZ in terms of speed, functionality and price. I still use dialup

Pollyana

Same here; the best plan I've found is Dodo dialup. Thats got unlimited downloads and unlimited time for $70 a quarter. Occasionally runs like a sick pig, but usually very good. I have moments of toying with the thought of broadband but I don't think for the extra cost it woul,d be worth it here as when I've used other peple's pcs their broadband is no faster than this dialup.

Large downloads are a bit slow but at least I don't have to worry about going over the poxy limits each month.

C&R

I am on Bigponds Liberty Plan. $59.99 per month 12 GB. No cost for going over the quota, it just slows down apparantly.

I have been downloading every day, Laptop is always on for seeding. Have not gone over my quota yet, and must have downloaded alot of TV programmes, watched Youtube a fair bit too.

Had no problems whatsoever with BigPond, am really happy with the package I am on.

Hutch

So explain to me how I'm paying the same here (just under £40 a month) for an 8Mb/400kb line with 40Gb bandwidth allowance with the most highly rated ISP in Australia? Not to mention the download mirror service they throw in for free, the stand-by dial-up (free), no penalty if I run over, global roaming facility and excellent 24 hour support.

Now that is a ....

If people can't look any further than Bigpond and Telstra then more fool them ...

Hutch

If you're not a heavy downloader of TV shows and the like then 20Gb will be more than adequate. If you think you might download stuff in the future, then make sure the ISP you go with offers free upgrades to higher capacities (most good independent ISPs do).

C&R

Hutch I tryed to sign up with iinet, but their customer service was appalling, it was just easier and cheaper for me to stick with Telstra and Bigpond. I am glad I made that decision too.

Vim Fuego

From your assessment I'd say that 10Gb a month will do you just fine (maybe even half that) but I don't know about the overhead of working from home (I assume you'll be connecting via some 'remote desktop' thing like Access Anywhere?).

May be worth checking with the techies at work to see what sort of upload/download usage the software has.

I also work from home when I can get a chance and I'm on Bigpond so my uploads also count against my 12Gb limit, then I am 'shaped' down to dial-up speeds ... works fine for me and apart from the odd DSN error (can't find the Bigpond server, which can be overcome by pointing to alternate one) I've not had any issues with them.

Buzzy--Bee

Thanks for all the info guys.

Buzzy

Hutch

No experience of iinet, so couldn't comment.