DibDob

Hi
Right i am completley confused, being used to UK internet options for the past 10 years all you do is pay a monthly fee and internet is then free.

What are internet limitations i see advertised i.e 2gb, etc?

What consists of a download?
Is surfing the web downloading or is it just when you download music and videos (which i do not)?

My average weekly use in the uk is roughly 1hour a day internet browsing, and maybe watching 1 or 2 games of rugby a week on my pc, what would my usage be?

Any help would be much appreciated
Thanks

The_Wookie

The download cap includes every site you visit (there's a very limited few free ones that normally depend on which ISP you're going to use).

Every website has images/text etc that all contribute to your downloads, so it isn't going to just be music/videos etc. It's everything.

It came as a bit of a shock to me also!

Oh and watching something like live sports etc on the PC will really eat up your download allowance.

The Bloke

...... and when you reach your GB limit, they'll either charge you an arm and a leg/MB or slow it down.
..... and if you have mobile B/band, say 3, and you go to say a Bigpond coverage area (were there is no 3 coverage), they'll charge you more to autoroam the download feed.

DibDob

thanks Guys,

wow that is a shock, every site you visit, wasnt expecting that

Can anyone estimate what my monthly usage would be on the above use?

I need to look at what package is best for me, and i have absolutely no idea what kind of usage mine is as it all in here?!!!

Thanks
Again

shears

Hi DibDob

There are a few comparison sites out there, google them. Sorry I was trying to do it for you but I'm SPEED LIMITED!!!!!!! grrrr

Have a look on whirlpool ... some geeky heads on there but you might find the info you need

sounds like you would be quite a light user, it asks you on these sites how you use your internet and helps pick the best plan. Definitely shop around because you're usually locked in to a plan for 12 - 24 months and if a cheaper, better one comes along you're screwed

Petals

We use Big Pond 25 gb a month and we can change our plan at the flick of a key anytime we like.

mecheng

That's what annoys me about Australia. Charging you an arm and a leg for an adequate broadband package whereas here in the UK I enjoy my 20 mb/s download speed and unlimited download allowance, and all very cheap too.The equivalent would likely cost me over $100 or more in Oz, although not sure if they have download speeds approaching those in Europe. I know the reasons Australia has slow broadband but still annoying.

Red_V_Roger

Optus usage figures apply to both download and upload....so if you are file sharing remember than what you share back accounts towards the month limit.

Burbage

Telstra phoned me up yesterday to try and flog me new services. Just for that I'm going to move my internet requirements to someone else.

Which is the best deal for ADSL via the phone line? Any suggestions. I've looked at TPG and it looks quite good, what others are there?

Wol

I'm with Internode - a big company, based in Adelaide - and have always found them to be very responsive. Any problems and they will get onto it promptly.

scrubbedexpat020

This applies to the new offers.

I am on a grandfather plan that doesn't include uploads and that's why I won't change to one of the new plans.

EDIT: Drinking Shiraz and didn't read Red's comments properly so had to edit.

For best deals go ADSL which means you need to have a Telstra line that you then swap over to another SP. Unfortunately, having an Optus phone line means no ADSL unless I pay Telstra to install and then swap Telstra out after a month.

Ian

fish.01

I thought Australia often had faster speeds than the UK. The UK has been on ADSL1 until recently right?

Moving to a large country far away from Northern Hem means you have to be prepared for difference. It is expensive to lay transcontinental cables so Australia has download limits. We are a huge country so hard to cover every nook and cranny with ADSL2+. Next you'll be annoyed 22 million people haven't funded roads that criss cross every inch of the continent with beautiful 5 lane motorways.

Some people have had 20Mbs for years by the way...I've had ADSL2+ for a long time as have many others....some still can't get it, luck of the draw.

dave99

Australia suffers from some of the most expensive and restrictive adsl I have ever seen. Its due to the monopoly telstra has on the network, the same as BT used to in the UK.
Plans are going through the goverment to change this, so hopefully in a few years competition will give better plans.

The best package I could find was through iinet, its a 60/40gb plan so 100gb total but 60 is for offpeak and 40 on peak. Basiclly morning up till 12 is offpeak.

I do a fair amount of downloading as the TV and radio are rubbish here, so a decent download was essential. I think I pay about $90. This is a naked package so no phoneline no line rental, its just pure adsl internet

fish.01

TPG are doing 40/40 for 49.99 or 65/85 naked for 79.99.

Not just due to Telstra wholesale pricing....download limits due to geographic isolation. Can't move the country

mecheng

From the tone of your reply fish, I'd say you are giving me crap

As I said fish, I'm aware of the capacity restrictions due to the geographical location of Australia. I have a right, as do all Australians, to be annoyed at that, even though we can't do anything about it. Either way, broadband with decent download allowance is extremely expensive.

I was expecting 6 lane freeways to criss-cross the country but you can't have everything unfortunately.