adsl
Networks
Bird Beats Broadband! Pigeon Flies Faster Than South African DSL
11:33PM Joanna Stern | South Africa’s broadband has got to be feeling pretty ill-equipped today considering a real, wing-flapping pigeon beat its transfer speeds. No really, a company found out that sending a bird with a 4GB USB drive was faster than uploading. More »
Networks
12:59PM Nick Broughall | APC is reporting that Telstra has made an announcement in conjunction with the new Labor Government that they will be switching on ADSL2+ at 900 exchanges across Australia. The agreement comes on the back of the new government deciding not to regulate third-party ISP’s right to access the network.
The service will be available to 91 per cent of the population in both regional and city areas. That means that if you’re with Telstra, you can now access broadband speeds of up to 20Mbps, if you’re in one of the 360 exchanges where a competitor has ADSL2+ packages on offer. Everywhere else, you’ll be running at 8Mbps…
…And paying for it. The cheapest new ADSL2+ plan on offer starts at $60 per month for a – get this – 600MB download allowance. It does get slightly more reasonable as you climb the scale ($150 for 60GB), but the excess usage fee is astounding – $150 per GB.
More »
Telstra turns on ADSL2+ at 900 Exchanges, Increases Charges
12:59PM Nick Broughall | APC is reporting that Telstra has made an announcement in conjunction with the new Labor Government that they will be switching on ADSL2+ at 900 exchanges across Australia. The agreement comes on the back of the new government deciding not to regulate third-party ISP’s right to access the network.
The service will be available to 91 per cent of the population in both regional and city areas. That means that if you’re with Telstra, you can now access broadband speeds of up to 20Mbps, if you’re in one of the 360 exchanges where a competitor has ADSL2+ packages on offer. Everywhere else, you’ll be running at 8Mbps…
…And paying for it. The cheapest new ADSL2+ plan on offer starts at $60 per month for a – get this – 600MB download allowance. It does get slightly more reasonable as you climb the scale ($150 for 60GB), but the excess usage fee is astounding – $150 per GB.
More »
Networks
9:56AM Seamus Byrne | One caveat we missed when sharing news of iiNet’s naked ADSL2+ release is the inclusion of uploads in the usage limits. This is a nasty trend that is now spreading beyond just Telstra, something we were hoping would decline rather than spread. According to Whirlpool, iiNet feels their caps are higher than otherwise to compensate (we thought the caps could have been better even before hearing this) and no other plans are affected.
iiNet is correct that more serious users are now uploading a lot more than they used to, whether through P2P traffic or offsite storage. But in our books, counting uploads is a double dip – an ISP somewhere else is counting downloads when you are sending uploads, so is it fair to be ‘charged’ on both streams?
More »
iiNet naked DSL counts your uploads
9:56AM Seamus Byrne | One caveat we missed when sharing news of iiNet’s naked ADSL2+ release is the inclusion of uploads in the usage limits. This is a nasty trend that is now spreading beyond just Telstra, something we were hoping would decline rather than spread. According to Whirlpool, iiNet feels their caps are higher than otherwise to compensate (we thought the caps could have been better even before hearing this) and no other plans are affected.
iiNet is correct that more serious users are now uploading a lot more than they used to, whether through P2P traffic or offsite storage. But in our books, counting uploads is a double dip – an ISP somewhere else is counting downloads when you are sending uploads, so is it fair to be ‘charged’ on both streams?
More »
Networks
8:52AM Seamus Byrne | The ads are popping up all over (even here) with the news that iiNet has really, truly, rooly launched naked ADSL services. Starting from $49.95, you can now get ADSL2+ from iiNet and you don’t have to pay the line rental tax to do so. The intro plan gives 2GB+2GB, and then plans range up to $119.95 for a 65GB+65GB option. I think the prices do get a little hot a little too quickly for the usage limits on offer, but this is still a good deal considering you aren’t adding dollars for a phone you never use (or don’t want to use, but use now and then because it is there – and that just costs you more dollars).
The deal also includes unlimited local and national VoIP calls through iiNet’s VoIP service. Gravy on top, and perhaps that is the key to why the plans are higher than my brain was expecting. Will be very interesting to see how the competition positions when TPG and Internode, and no doubt others, start to offer their plans in coming months.
I’m shocked we haven’t seen the iiNet guy wearing nothing but an ADSL router! C’mon, iiNet, the joke needs to be done. Actually, lets hope they hold a press event at a strip joint. Hey, it’s a better excuse than some I’ve heard!
[Full naked iiNet plan details] More »
iiNet first to go the nudie run with Naked DSL
8:52AM Seamus Byrne | The ads are popping up all over (even here) with the news that iiNet has really, truly, rooly launched naked ADSL services. Starting from $49.95, you can now get ADSL2+ from iiNet and you don’t have to pay the line rental tax to do so. The intro plan gives 2GB+2GB, and then plans range up to $119.95 for a 65GB+65GB option. I think the prices do get a little hot a little too quickly for the usage limits on offer, but this is still a good deal considering you aren’t adding dollars for a phone you never use (or don’t want to use, but use now and then because it is there – and that just costs you more dollars).
The deal also includes unlimited local and national VoIP calls through iiNet’s VoIP service. Gravy on top, and perhaps that is the key to why the plans are higher than my brain was expecting. Will be very interesting to see how the competition positions when TPG and Internode, and no doubt others, start to offer their plans in coming months.
I’m shocked we haven’t seen the iiNet guy wearing nothing but an ADSL router! C’mon, iiNet, the joke needs to be done. Actually, lets hope they hold a press event at a strip joint. Hey, it’s a better excuse than some I’ve heard!
[Full naked iiNet plan details] More »
Networks
9:58AM Seamus Byrne | Want naked DSL now, now, NOW? Okay, you can’t order it today, but you can apply to Internode to be a part of their trial. You’ll have to wear your own costs to disconnect, etc, from any current services, but Internode has put their trial participant price at $40 per month – that’s ADSL2+ with nothing else to pay because you no longer need a voice line. Phase one of the trial is in Adelaide (home of Internode), followed by Internode-enabled exchanges nationally. They aim to launch the full service, Internode Ultra, in Q1 2008.
Read on to see if this trial is going to meet your needs.
More »
Internode announces Naked DSL trial: applications wanted
9:58AM Seamus Byrne | Want naked DSL now, now, NOW? Okay, you can’t order it today, but you can apply to Internode to be a part of their trial. You’ll have to wear your own costs to disconnect, etc, from any current services, but Internode has put their trial participant price at $40 per month – that’s ADSL2+ with nothing else to pay because you no longer need a voice line. Phase one of the trial is in Adelaide (home of Internode), followed by Internode-enabled exchanges nationally. They aim to launch the full service, Internode Ultra, in Q1 2008.
Read on to see if this trial is going to meet your needs.
More » 
Naked ADSL coming as soon as November
7:48AM Seamus Byrne | Asher Moses at the Sydney Morning Herald has a nice update story on the state of ‘naked’ ADSL. It seems iiNet has plans to launch next month, Engin early next year, and TPG and Internode both are using the ‘near future’ catch all to keep things close to their chest (TPG has been saying ’soon’ since July).
iiNet even offers pricing on their entry level plan: 4GB at $44.95. There’s no direct match to that plan (if it is just 4GB with no on/off-peak allowances) but, for comparison, iiNet sells 2GB+4GB plans at $39.95.
Damn, I promised to put some beefcake up here the next time I mentioned naked ADSL, didn’t I? There you go, ladies! Enjoy! [Sydney Morning Herald] More » 
TPG close to launch on ‘naked’ DSL
9:04AM Seamus Byrne | We heard new plans from Virgin last week for their HSDPA-based phone + broadband boxes, and TPG also threw down some good news for the “I don’t want no stinkin’ landline” brigade. Over on the Whirlpool forums, a TPG rep announced they want to introduce two naked DSL plans. Lovely naked ladies not included, except here now and then when we get the lamest excuses – next time we’ll run a guy with ripped abs, okay?
From the forum:
TPG would like to introduce ADSL2+ ULL plans.
ULL Plan includes data line and customers don’t have to subscribe Telstra copper line.
ADSL2+ All in One Basic | 25GB* (18 Peak+ 7 Off Peak) | $59.99
ADSL2+ All in One Super | 150GB* (35 Peak+ 115 Off Peak) | $79.99
*Speeds will be shaped to 64k/64k when download quota is reached.
Your opinion would be greatly appreciated.
Needless to say opinion is being shared. All I can say is I’m moving house very soon and I hope this goes live before I’m in need of a new hook up. -Seamus Byrne More » 
