Which Internet provider

[paulheath]

Ok so i use TPG , there 79.99 , reason behind it is, unlimited internet, free calls to any landline and mobile in oz and the clincher was free calls to my home town in UK...BUT......TPG your service is shocking iv been dropping in and out of service , then it decided that it would DL and UL about as fast as snail then just stopped all together, there "techs" have been working in on it all week...... well iv just got my internet back and its working ok ( for now)
so i was wondering , which provider do you guys use and why

[ricktas]

I am with iiNet.

Where I live did not have ADSL when I moved in. Telstra would not assist at all. I contact iiNet and they were really pro-active and got a DSLAM installed in the exchange and got me ADSL. They then signed up most of the people in my street. Telstra then turned up at my door offering me ADSL. I told them to bugger off.

I have been with iiNet since then. At one point during a storm we (about 10 homes) had our telephone lines ripped from the front of our houses after several trees came down. The next morning a Telstra service guy showed up. he reconnected all of us with iiNet and those with Telstra had to wait about 3 more days. Apparently iiNet have a service contract with Telstra with built in timeframes and where possible, Telstra have to restore iiNet customers within 24 hours of fault being lodged. Not so for Telstra's own customers. The folks in my street on Telstra were not impressed.

Can't really give you an opinion on other ISP/phone suppliers cause I have not really dealt with them at all.

Note that iiNet and Internode although differing companies are now all part of one overall company. Internode gets a good wrap from their users.

[paulheath]

thanks rick, i did look at iinet, but the free calls around the world got me, but im now thinking was it worth it as all i hear are bad things for tpg, good for iinet

[ameerat42]

I have found with TPG over the years - for a friend who uses them - that you are your own tech support most of the time.
When they have assisted they have been quite good and accurate. For service, I cannot fault OPTUS. - I said for service.
All of them make money off yer, one way or another, so... ...Yes, well, so you can only only compare their relative merits.

Take, for instance the recent TV ad that compares the near-equal coverage of the Australian populace between the Big Two.
Yes, it's for a phone+data deal. Yet just 70 Km from Sydney at the Central Coast one of them flails miserably in their coverage.
On the other hand, the other appears to gouge deeply.

Now, it seems to me that this is less a matter of getting a "better" service provider than figuring out what the problem is. Once we solved
the friend's problems - don't ask, it was years ago - the internet service has been trfic! (I hesitate to gush too much.) And I now remember
it came down to poor phone wiring in the house and dropouts - even ADSL - due to faulty and yet filtered phonery. As a result, this person
now has a similar deal to yours with them, and has had no complaints for years.

A(rm waving)m.

[Kym]

Check out Whirlpool for ISP information http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/
It is by far and away the best independent information source.

[davsv1]

iinet for 10 years for me, home and work, fast friendly service, can't fault them.
Not the cheapest but……….

[Kym]

Internode, ADAM, iiNet are all pretty good, they are in the same group of companies now; but operate independently.
'node and ADAM have local support, many other have overseas call centres.

TPG rate badly for support on Whirlpool, but not so much on Roy Morgan. http://www.roymorganonlinestore.com/...2013&country=1

Dodo are the worst

[jjphoto]

I'm also looking to change providers but reluctantly. I've used Optus for about 10 years and have found them absolutely superb for service and reliability with hardly any down time. However, I can't stomach the pathetic UPLOAD speeds any more (download speeds are fine). I find it very limiting as I want to upload large files to various sites or for FTP but just can't do it at a workable speed.

[ricktas]

I'm also looking to change providers but reluctantly. I've used Optus for about 10 years and have found them absolutely superb for service and reliability with hardly any down time. However, I can't stomach the pathetic UPLOAD speeds any more (download speeds are fine). I find it very limiting as I want to upload large files to various sites or for FTP but just can't do it at a workable speed.

can you buy faster? iiNet offer upload options of 256/512/1500 and you choose the plan to include the upload speed you need. Optus may offer the same? Maybe not advertised, but it could not help to call and ask.

All this is probably one of the main reasons I wish Labor had stayed in power, the NBN offers so much more. And whilst the perceived cost was high, the actual infrastructure spending by Telstra etc in the years preceeding the NBN was acually more than the total NBN predicted costs.

http://www.abc.net.au/technology/art...14/3690222.htm

[ameerat42]

I'm also looking to change providers but reluctantly. I've used Optus for about 10 years and have found them absolutely superb for service and reliability with hardly any down time. However, I can't stomach the pathetic UPLOAD speeds any more (download speeds are fine). I find it very limiting as I want to upload large files to various sites or for FTP but just can't do it at a workable speed.

JJ. This sent on on an Optus Bandwidth test hunt.
Here is the site, and just pick Auto Select of server: http://optus.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/52

My results are:

Last Result:
Download Speed: 18996 kbps (2374.5 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 492 kbps (61.5 KB/sec transfer rate)
Latency: 16 ms
2/14/2014 10:11:28 AM

They quietly sneak the download rate up (surprisingly pleasantly) but even double what it used to be, the upload is still a bit slow.

Am.

PS: This is cable.

[agb]

Ok so i use TPG , there 79.99 , reason behind it is, unlimited internet, free calls to any landline and mobile in oz and the clincher was free calls to my home town in UK...BUT......TPG your service is shocking iv been dropping in and out of service , then it decided that it would DL and UL about as fast as snail then just stopped all together, there "techs" have been working in on it all week...... well iv just got my internet back and its working ok ( for now)
so i was wondering , which provider do you guys use and why

Contrary what many have found I have been with TPG for many years, more than I care to remember. i have an old plan, lots of download and the VOIP phone included. I have always found their tech, though difficult to understand at times, very helpful and any problems I have had have been resolved. I got a loan modem so that we could check whether it was the modem I had or not that was the problem, it was. The connection is a bit iffy but that is not their problem, old Telstra copper in a humid climate I suspect.

Would you have to pay a lot to get out of the contract?
Have you tried the whirlpool forum, TPG and asked the reps there about your problems. They can often help.

[ameerat42]

...Have you tried ... TPG and asked the reps there about your problems. They can often help.

Yes, as Graham says, it would be good to know what they found as your problems, Paul.

[paulheath]

said is was the phone line, and had a tech come out too look at it, not at my property but the exchange!!

[jjphoto]

can you buy faster? iiNet offer upload options of 256/512/1500 and you choose the plan to include the upload speed you need. Optus may offer the same? Maybe not advertised, but it could not help to call and ask...[/url]

Yes and no.

...
My results are:

Last Result:
Download Speed: 18996 kbps (2374.5 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 492 kbps (61.5 KB/sec transfer rate)
Latency: 16 ms
2/14/2014 10:11:28 AM

...

PS: This is cable.

Same here.

[griffljg]

I have been with Internode for about 5 years now. Bit pricey, but ultra-reliable and with great and knowledgeable customer service on the very few times I have used it. I think that I'll stay for the moment.

[Allie]

Often it does depend on your exchange - we are really close to our exchange and have used TPG for about 10 years - any minor problems were in the beginning but now using ADSL2 and wireless we cannot complain. Friends not too far away from us but still away from the exchange have had dismal performance from Telstra and are changed quite a lot more (almost double) for the privilege. My mobile phone is on a separate contract with Optus and I am not too happy with the dead spots and "no sim" error messages I get in the house but outside coverage is acceptable. I also was looking forward to the NBN .........

[ameerat42]

said is was the phone line, and had a tech come out too look at it, not at my property but the exchange!!

So helloo-oo TPG!

[Warbler]

Telstra ADSL2+

http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3306879090

<a href="http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3306879090"><img src="http://www.speedtest.net/result/3306879090.png" /></a>

[wanderer51]

I was with TPG for well over 10 years and never had any problems with them. Always found their tech support helpful (even if they were hard to understand as has been pointed out!) in the few times I needed it. We moved from Cairns to Vic and cancelled the Cairns service, bought a house here in Bacchus Marsh, rang TPG, told them I was an old customer, they looked me up and couldn't have been more helpful. Was connected to ADSL2+ in a day and had no problems for the next 6 years. Only reason I am no longer with them is because the NBN was rolled out here and TPG has no NBN plans and doesn't seem to interested in changing their mind so I went with iinet. Can't fault them either. No longer have a home phone and make so few mobile calls so I can't comment on the phone side of things.
Got to say that the NBN is great. Being 3km from the exchange I was lucky to get 8-9Mb/sec (but usually around 7) on ADSL2+ but with the NBN I get (on average) 95.8Mb/sec!

OK, just did a speed test....a little slow tonight!