I'm currently on 1500k aapt adsl... the speed is sufficient, but the 15gb limit is brutal.

I'm looking for the best deal with no contracts.

When you say brutal, you mean bad right?
At the moment I'm surviving on a 4g plan, but we're planning on switching to this TPG plan in the next week or two.
Does 15gb+ plans dry up quick once you get the leverage and go wild?

Also, check out TPG's Heavy plan if 18gb is too small.
You can reduce the contract to 12months with a fee, but I can't remember if they do no commitment periods. Plus you don't have to bundle phone plans with it.

12 month contract, setup cost of $59.95 18 month contract, setup cost of $0

Nope they don't

last edited by Lynx at 19:36:00 07/Feb/07

depends on your nerd levels

When you say brutal, you mean bad right?

Yeah at the moment I download probably 1gb a day, that's not going full out... so I typically have to stop downloading half way through the month to remain uncapped.

No contracts unfortunately :( If there's a fee, I guess that's alright.

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

Stay away from Exetel. Bit-torrent shapers :/

Ten thumbs up for Eds!

Once you find a price you like, jump on the whirlpool forums and see what people say. Just take into mind, they are a bunch of bitches some of them and will complain over things like, OMG, they charged me 1c more!!! f*** them! etc etc.

yes they whine more than qgl.

yes they whine more than qgl.

that's unpossible!

the site was called whingepool for a reason.

I'm always wary of ISPs that offer really cheap internet plans. Just keep in mind, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Well my area finally got adsl 2 running (Mt Gravatt) and all I can say is DAMM it's fast!

Fwiw, I've been with internode since 2001 and am happy to say I've only had one day of downtime since then, and that was Ziggy's fault.....

I'm on 1500/256, shaped after 20gb for $59.95/mth, and most torrents are at 50k odd.

and yeah, check whirlpool.net for the horror stories and the two thumbs......

Hope this helps

Das Meat/-\xe

Fwiw, I've been with internode since 2001 and am happy to say I've only had one day of downtime since then, and that was Ziggy's fault.....

I'm on 1500/256, shaped after 20gb for $59.95/mth, and most torrents are at 50k odd.

and yeah, check whirlpool.net.au for the horror stories and the two thumbs......

Hope this helps

Das Meat/-\xe

Tanaka so you have Adsl/2? Im in Mount Gravatt too, what isp are you with and how much a month is it?

Internode ftw, i am also on 1500/256k, with 20gig limit, i can download at 160k/s off internode gaming site and still view websites at the same time pretty smooth, also there internet radio channels which are all unmetered are sweet as.... i just make the 20gig a month with torrent downloading most nights...

Have a look at an ISP survey here (a year old):

http://whirlpool.net.au/survey/2005/

It basically shows:

iiNet: Good speeds, low price (only for ADSL2+), somewhat lacking reliability and customer service satisfaction.

Internode: Good speeds, competitive prices across all plans, very reliable and good customer service satisfaction, high number of game servers and free download mirrors (e.g. Steam content server).

I can confirm this as I've been with both over the last few years. I'd definitely go with Internode for 1.5Mbps and only consider iiNet if ADSL2+ is available at the house.

High quota is good and all, but eventually reliability starts mattering more.

I'm always wary of ISPs that offer really cheap internet plans. Just keep in mind, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

I know a genuine panafonic when I see one!

another vote for internode

im on the 1500 10gig plan, and they are AWESOME to the millionth degree

node+1 got all my friends/rellies on them

DW, I'm with Internode. $119.95 a month for an 80 gig limit. DL/UL Max: 24000k/1000k shaped after that (but you can usually get an extra 10-15 gig off them before they slow you down if you plan it right...hit your limit Friday night and you're clear to Monday morning).

Edit - The funny thing is, ADSL2 plans are cheaper than regular adsl plans, so even if your area isn't adsl2 ready, select the adsl2 plan and you get the fastest non adsl2 and still pay the cheaper price.

http://www.internode.on.net/adsl/pricing/home.php

last edited by Tanaka Khan at 00:35:26 09/Feb/07

I live in the Toowong exchange area (st. lucia) so the only ADSL2 I can get is iinet.

I'm currently on bigpond cable.

What's better, BPA cable or ADSL 24Mbit? The cable in st. lucia probably isn't nearly as good as other areas due to all the uni students...

so the only ADSL2 I can get is iinet.

And TPG, and Internode (either now or within a couple of weeks).

iiNet: Good speeds, low price (only for ADSL2+), somewhat lacking reliability and customer service satisfaction.

I couldn't disagree more with that survey after having many various isp's for different workplaces. I've been with iinet for about 1 1/2 years now (switch from netspace for adsl2) and I can only remember 1 occasion that we went without net, and that was at a time when pretty much every isp had an issue due to the Southern Cross cable problems. I'd choose iinet over many other isp's, even ones with service level agreements.

^ I've had many, many experiences with iiNet at so many places I've lost count (I was moving around a lot in those few years).

At some houses the DSL connection was absolutely fine and rock solid, couldn't complain! On others there were occasional line faults, where we pretty much had to twist iiNet's arm to get Telstra to fix it. What was worse was that they'd almost NEVER get back to us about it, despite asking for our number and telling us they'd call back. Many, MANY times. Pretty crap customer service at several locations.

Add to the fact that iiNet doesn't have too many redundant links, whereas Internode runs a pretty reliable network of their own around Australia. I remember last year there was a problem at PIPE Networks that affected many ISPs, but Internode wasn't affected as they just worked around the problem with their redundant links. Too bad I was still on iiNet suffering downtime.

Also, google "iinet dns problems", as an example of flaky services.

Seriously, how can you "disagree" with a survey of 16000 people? Granted there probably would have been a few biased or clueless people, but that's why it was a survey with a large sample size and not an interview.

And TPG, and Internode (either now or within a couple of weeks).

Oh I didn't realise they were that soon to enabling...

So is 24Mbit adsl2 better than cable? (im a noob)

Seriously, how can you "disagree" with a survey of 16000 people? Granted there probably would have been a few biased or clueless people, but that's why it was a survey with a large sample size and not an interview.

I disagree based on my own experiences as I posted, 80/80 grandfathered plan that gets hit hard month after month with no downtime. Like I said, Ive had to deal with heaps of different isp's over the years for work and my home is with the one I've liked best. Your own mileage may vary, isn't having your own opinion great?

So is 24Mbit adsl2 better than cable? (im a noob)

It's all based on how far away your house is from the exchange. Its Up To 24Mbit and unless your extremely close to the exchange you won't be getting that, I'm about 1.2km's from the exchange and get 20Mbit. I haven't had cable for years but if you want a decent download limit adsl2 is the way to go, if you want speed, check how far you are from the local exchange first :)

i reckon chub downloads them parkour videos and wanks off to them, you could stop you know then you wouldnt have to download so much

latest apc mag has listing of all isp's with adsl and that..with pricing and b'width listing.

i reckon chub downloads them parkour videos and wanks off to them, you could stop you know then you wouldnt have to download so much

That would be funny... except it's not.

Thanks a lot guys, I got all the information I need to change to a larger plan.

Your own mileage may vary, isn't having your own opinion great?

Yes your own mileage may vary, but you can't dismiss the "average mileage" just because you're one of the few lucky people.

This average is statistically what someone should expect if they sign up with iiNet. Some will get better reliability, some worse .. but it's not all as flowery as you put it. If you want to have a higher chance of receiving a reliable service, then Internode and Westnet are the best bet .. again: statistically.

So is 24Mbit adsl2 better than cable? (im a noob)

You've got your own point-to-point connection that runs at the same speed all the time, unlike cable which is shared with other people in your neighbourhood varying your speeds at any moment in time.

And generally with ADSL2 (non-Telstra), you get to upload at 1Mbps. I think cable is capped much lower than that.

last edited by parabol at 21:53:48 09/Feb/07

I just got back home tonight to find my ADSL1 with internode is now at 8mb/s. Get around 500k/s which im really happy with, because im a reasonable distance from the exchange

whats considered a 'long' distance from an exchange?

more than two suburbs over?

http://members.iinet.net.au/~davidbroughton/adsl2.jpg

I'd go internode...

anyone know where the toowong exchange is located exactly?

anyone know where the toowong exchange is located exactly?

I did some poking around, apparently on the southern end of Jephson street:

http://wikimapia.org/#y=-27487687&x=152990080&z=17&l=0&m=h&v=2

whingelpool has all exchanges in australia with their locations

Thanks for the graph Spook.

I was gonna go with iiNet using the Newmarket exchange. But being nearly 3km's away, i think its rather pointless....might go with optus broadband for the moment.

The dang “Bulimba” exchange is situated in Norman Park, almost 4kms away.
So much for ADSL2+…

So how do u measure the distance to the exchange accurately? Or do u just get in the car, check the speedo, and drive there?

call your isp, they will tell you

I used Google maps, it can calculate the shortest distance from point to point by road.
The path from my house to the exchange is fairly straightforward and obvious. I doubt the line would take many twists and turns.

Doh, Internode don't do Bulimba yet

last edited by Lynx at 17:02:55 11/Feb/07

I used a refidex. Would have done the googlemaps way, but it was obvious i was over 3km's away....so yeah no point =\

Ive done some searching and im thinking of getting iiNet ADSL2+.
I live in mount gravatt around 2 k's from the exchange so according to that graph id get 18mbps, what is that speed like compared to my current isp? (Optus Cable)

well, i ditched optus cable, just coz the upstream was so s***

we get about 1400k/s down from sites like apple, thats also s*** loads faster than we ever got on cable, but apparently cable lifted its downstream game slightly

u wont get anywhere near that upstream on cable

i having been wondering so long whether to ditch optus cable, i have been with them for long time and was happy when they increased the upstream but adsl2 seems so superiors and camp hill exchange has just been enabled.

do node bust your hump over upstream usage like optus does?

do node bust your hump over upstream usage like optus does?

Nope, they offer the standard unrestricted 1Mbps upstream for residential accounts.

For SOHO/business customers they were either the first or one of the first to offer [up to] 2.5Mbps upstream based on the latest technology and tests. Pretty amazing stuff. Read here:

http://www.internode.on.net/adsl2/faq/annex-m.php
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=628529

They're usually the first to offer the latest technology and plans, while the other ISPs sit around watching each other.

last edited by parabol at 01:33:44 12/Feb/07

just out of interests sake, for SOHO plans they reference SOHO shaping, I assume this is different to 'standard' shaping, how so?

I am not coming home for a while, BUT when I do go home, I'll need a decent plan, after being on 24/1 unlimited adsl2+ I'll cry if I have to go back to a smallish cap, it's just so nice not having to worry about your useage. The SOHO Elite would be the plan I'd go for I rekon!

Normal shaping results in speeds of 64kbps
SOHO shaping results in speeds of 128 or 256kbps (can't remember)

google maps says i'm 2.8km from the exchange which equates to 10 000kbps.

beats my current telstra cable which is only giving me 4 600 kbps according to http://www.ozspeedtest.com/

not to mention BPA has really become s*** recently with packetloss and ping spikes.

the only thing bigpond has going for it is all the gaming related files that trog/et all provide, even then, having uploads counted and only 10gb it's not value for money.

it really gets back to price for me i guess. 40gb on adsl2 with inode is $80/month.

optus is $69.95/month for 36gb but every third or fourth month is free so it is really like $50/month. this is bundled to their phone system though which i don't care about cos i never use it. i suppose if i add in the phone line rental of $30 month the deals come out evens.

What kinda pings in games u guys getting on adsl2 ?

usual, its no better than a 1500/256 account for pings

the only thing bigpond has going for it is all the gaming related files that trog/et all provide, even then, having uploads counted and only 10gb it's not value for money.

Internode FTW

http://games.internode.on.net

Internode FTW

http://games.internode.on.net

Not only that, but free node 3dgamers mirror links:

http://www.3dgamers.com/

what u ping to internode servers in internode dsl?

On ADSL1, behind a mini-mux on the Tingalpa exchange (ie: not the best line):

qldcss-01.games.internode.on.net (Brisbane) :: 18ms
nswcss-20.games.internode.on.net (Sydney) :: 35ms
www.gamearena.com.au (Sydney?) :: 36ms

The latency would be better closer to the exchange/inner-city obviously. For example, my first hop to my ISP is 18ms. At somewhere like Toowong it'd probably be about 12ms, driving down latency to every other site too.

The one good thing about node is that things are only a few hops away, take for example (latency omitted):

traceroute to qldcss-01.games.internode.on.net (150.101.183.82):

1 loop0.lns1.bne1.internode.on.net (150.101.180.16)
2 gi0-3.cor2.bne1.internode.on.net (150.101.180.115)
3 150.101.183.82 (150.101.183.82)

last edited by parabol at 10:28:14 13/Feb/07

What is the command to run a trace route?

I was with iinet for 3 years at Bray Park (Warner exchange) and only recently moved away from them because they were changing my connection from 1500 to a 512 conenction. Moved to Optus 20/40 for $69.95 (same as iinet) and have not had problems however I am on the identical network just with a different biller.

My iinet plan was 20/20.

I don't download much so limit is not a problem.

I would still be with Iinet if they were not changing my connection.

last edited by CaPt0 at 11:00:25 13/Feb/07

What is the command to run a trace route?

In windows: tracert
Under linux or logged into a hardware router that runs linux: traceroute

also, i play on gamearena server as well, my ping about 10 higher then telstra customers or if not the same...

Spoke to Internode this morning, and their not planning on enabling Bulimba exchange for at most a year. Kinda slack for a popular area that has had so much development happening recently.
TPG it is