Bigpond "Elite" Cable Broadband ???

[bigdazzler]

Anyone connected ?? How do you find it ??

[Remorhaz]

Note: In the interests of open disclosure I do work for Telstra (not anything to do with BigPond or in fact any customer services) but the below is my view as a customer of the service...

I have BigPond cable (have had so for almost 15 years) and have had the Elite version since it became available. It's fast and I have no real issues with it - my speedtests usually give me something like 32meg down and about 1.1meg up so I find it quite speedy. I guess peoples experience may vary depending on how many other customers might share the "segment" with them. I'm in a location which is reasonably far from my exchange (over 3km's) so from that point of view ADSL (2+, etc) would very likely be much slower for me.

[Philr]

We can't get the cable here but bigoponds adsl 2 is pretty good. Super fast and not had too many issues and the samall ones we have had the customer service team seem to get fixed asap!

[bigdazzler]

mmmm theres a couple of reasons Im looking into cable.

At the moment I only have a Three Mobile Broadband USB internet key. I use it at home and when Im on the road with the macbook. Im happy with it. Its a little $$$$ at $49 per month for 8GB but I suppose youre paying premium for the mobility factor, which is OK, considering I dont do much downloading and never top out my limit anyway.

I dont have a static telephone landline, but I do have cable Foxtel, which the broadband can be connected through.

Now my best mate and his bother in law own and run Digital Products Group, the company that imports and distributes SlingBox products. This SlingBox connects to your TV/Foxtel/etc and allows you to watch, streamed from home, over the internet. Now for this to happen for me, I will need to keep my USB key for mobile internet connection on the macbook, and have the SlingBox connected to an internet connection at home.

It is also a hassle for Bella when I take the USB modem with me, and she is stuck without an internet connection at home.

So I guess Im saying I would like to avoid the hassle of having to connect a telephone line for ADSL2, when the cable is already there from my Foxtel connection. Im just trying to justify the cost of paying about
$80 per month for the cable internet on top of the $50 I already pay for my USB connection with Three.

[Remorhaz]

This SlingBox connects to your TV/Foxtel/etc and allows you to watch, streamed from home, over the internet. Now for this to happen for me, I will need to keep my USB key for mobile internet connection on the macbook, and have the SlingBox connected to an internet connection at home.

Ok - for this use you've got a couple of things to think about
- it's mostly the upload speed you'll be concerned with (for the home broadband connection) - I'm sure the slingbox will automatically adapt to the available upload (and download speed of the client end) - but if you can find out what the "ideal" data rates are that should give you an idea whether you need the 1Meg upload speed or not
- BigPond counts uploads towards your monthly usage (i.e. this slingbox outbound streaming traffic) - given your more limited 3G broadband monthly limits (which will also be consumed by this streaming traffic) this shouldn't be a problem but is something to consider