Transact... Too Expensive.

The problem with Transact cable is that it is NOT laid out all over the city.
In Harrison we get a daily laugh from the big sign at the had of Nullabor Ave that says “Latest technology”.

The reality is there is no cable in any of Harrison – one of the newest suburbs in the nation’s capital – showcase of the country.

The fact that the ACT Government’s development arm can’t sort simple crap like that out with the part ACT-owned telecom is absurd.

Meanwhile the Crace exchange is out of ports and one Wells Station resident in a fully-wired ex-display home has been stuck with dial-up for months and will be until February.

Absurd.

I’ll add my vote to Internode – good pricing, good service and they seem to know what they are talking about.

“One thing I’ve never understood; If Transact (and associated ISPs) have this you-beaut fiberoptic cable system laid out all over the city, and dedicated digital connections to the home, how come they can’t offer services that are faster and/or cheaper than good old ADSL systems running over the copper phone network??”

From what I’ve read on the whirlpool.net forums, the official technical reason is because, while the cable is capable of 30mbps+ per person (better than ADSL2+), a lot of that is reserved for the TV service (even if you don’t get it)…

Virgin Wireless Broadband user here, love it, but the plan for new customers went craptacular on Monday…

> but the deals I’ve seen offer less speed than ADSL2, for more money.

I’m guessing TransACT just haven’t kept up with the times in regards to their pricing structure. I used to have TransACT back when it was first available & at the time it was MUCH more cost effective than ADSL (which was around $90 for a very basic service). ADSL prices have dropped considerably, which I’m guessing has made it more difficult for TransACT to remain competitive.

i am about to get the internet put on at home and i am considering mobile broadband with 3. anyone got any feedback or comments about mobile broadband or 3? the real attractiveness for me is that i don’t have to get the landline rental – which i would purely only be getting to get the internet. not interested in downloading a million tv shows, movies or music either – so with taking that into account… comments/advice please! i am so ignorant about the whole setting up internet at home thing.

One thing I’ve never understood; If Transact (and associated ISPs) have this you-beaut fiberoptic cable system laid out all over the city, and dedicated digital connections to the home, how come they can’t offer services that are faster and/or cheaper than good old ADSL systems running over the copper phone network??

I’ve currently got an ADSL2 service with Exetel which I’ve had no complaints with – also use them for my mobile. I can’t get Transact in our apartment anyway, but the deals I’ve seen offer less speed than ADSL2, for more money.

I don’t get it.

I use netspace. $49.95 a month 512/128kb 30gb a month download. 15gb on peak 15gb off peak (0000-0700hrs) shaped to dial up speeds when exceeded.

https://www.netspace.net.au/broadband/plans.php

Other TransACT isp’s are worth a look – particularly cbit (www.cbit.net.au). Their “Left Lane 2000” plan is $50p/m, with 20gb peak, unlimited off-peak, shaped – but you are never shaped off-peak, so even if you hit your 20gb for the month, you can download unlimited data at full speed from midnight-7am.

I average about 170Kb/s down and 25Kb/s up when torrenting. (1.5Mb transact plan).

Internode is eerily good. I was with TPG for a long time and they were adequate, but any time anything goes wrong their responses are woeful: they just don’t tell their tech support slaves enough, so you never learn what’s going on and have to guess. The last straw came when the TPG connection to the Melba exchange died on a Thursday afternoon and they didn’t even acknowledge the problem until the following Monday night.

Now, Internode, Internode… what can I say? Where TPG said I couldn’t have ADSL2+ because I was 3km from the exchange, Internode went ahead and gave it to me and I went from 1.5 kilowhatsies to 6.6 instantly. Any time I had trouble, their techies spoke fluent English and had my previous history at their fingertips as they solved every problem. And the voice of their on-hold recording is Robbie “Adult Themes” Macgregor, aka King Wally Otto In The Soundproof Booth, who makes even waiting on hold an illicit pleasure.

If you check the Whirlpool forums link, you’ll find very few complaints about Internode, and for good reason. Check them out.

(This has been an unpaid advertisement on behalf of a happy customer with no fiscal inducement. Your mileage may vary. Contents may settle in transit. Keep left.)

Internode. I get 500 KBps down and 100 KBps up and I’m 4.5 km from the exchange. iiNet are pretty good and I was with them for years, but lately they’ve got a bit too corporate for my taste. Internode is a bit like the iiNet of old, sort of like a family business but with genuine hard-core techies running it.

On a side note, great to see naked DSL is finally here. iiNet already offer it, Internode are runnning trials at the moment. It will be with real satisfaction I tell those gougers at Telstra to kiss off out of my life for ever.

http://www.internode.on.net

I’m sticking with TransACT because Velocity are the best ISP I have ever used, but if I was forced to move to an area that doens’t have Phase1 TrasnACT cable, I’d go Internode immediately.

I’m still reasonably happy with iinet (ADSL2), but their level of support recently seems to have dropped.

They now offer ‘naked’ ADSL2 plans without line rental (BUT count both received and sent traffic in your usage quota).

noW iinet i meant to say

i’ve shopped around a few ISPs, bigpond (absolutely terrible), TPG (average), no iinet.

iinet are easily the happiest i’ve been, competitive prices, good speeds, good customer service.

Also it is worth checking whether ADSL is available in your area before jumping ship.

http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/

Enter how much you wish to spend etc at the above site and get a list of what is available.