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Oops, sorry Gene...I didn't mean to keep it a secret, just didn't wish to bore anybody.
Okay, my original ISP was Dodo...strange to name a modern technology which relies heavily on speed after an extinct, flightless bird...but I digress. Been with Dodo ever since I've been connected the the net...starting off with dial up and on to DSL (ADSL in Oz). I knew there were better around but the thought of any down time and having to change my email address at all those sites, subscriptions, EBay, PayPal put me off....what a prospect!!!
I recently decided to up my connection speed from 512kbps to 1.5mbps and, of course, that involved a new plan.....the only one which suited me split my download limit into On Peak and Off Peak....5gb x 5gb. I wasn't terribly happy with that but decided to give it a trial. Last month I uploaded some quite large photo files to an online sharing service so family could view/download from there and, all of a sudden, my 5gb On Peak download limit was in excess. I discovered that Dodo include all uploads in that figure...I was flabbergasted. How on earth can uploads be counted in a download limit...surely those terms are exact opposites. Also, Dodo do not 'shape' when in excess, they charge an exorbitant rate for every MB over the limit so I was forced to to be very frugal with my internet time or I would receive a huge bill. The silly thing is that I still had some room remaining on my Off Peak limit so, if the two were added together, I was not in excess of the total 10gbs.
There were other less consequential matters, like throttling P2P for example and charging for their spam filtering service...in the end it was the upload/download thing and additional charges for excess use which broke the camel's back.
I am with Internode now who are a dinky di Aussie company based in Adelaide, South Australia. Even though I remain on the same speed I have experienced a noticeable increase in download and surfing speeds since making the change. There is no split download limits with Internode, my 20gb is 24/7. (yes I did increase it....lol). They do not include uploads in the limit and there are no extra charges if in excess...they 'shape' to dial-up speed. This is all the norm rather than the exception so Dodo are way out of line.
Thems da reasons mate...hope I didn't bore anyone too much,
Cheers.....JIM
Hey Zig - Yes, I think we may be a long way behind you guys in terms of overall broadband services. DSL2 and cable are only available in the capital cities, everywhere else is restricted to DSL or dial-up (mostly DSL). The major cities account for a fairly large share of the population but only a very minor portion in terms of overall area (coverage).
There are no longer any 'unlimited' plans available at all and the slower plans (up to 1500/256Kbps on DSL) only go up to around 30-40gigs maximum. The faster DSL and DSL2 plans go up to 150gigs but they are very expensive (around $180.00 per month for 150gigs).
The average plan here would involve around 2-5gigs download limit and many, many people are on 400-500mb plans. My 20gigs is considered huge! Cost is the major factor and I can understand how that would be much higher here than in a country like the U.S. where population density in much greater (no offense intended )...Australia has an estimated 6 people per square mile, the U.S. around 85. Imagine laying a square mile of cables just to service just 6 people!!
cheers mate....JIM
Well, for what it's worth, things are very different up north (NO! not the North Pole), but in Canada. My provider offers a basic DSL 25gig (d/l &u/p) package for around $30 CDN. For a mere %5.00 CDN more, that 25gig rises to 100 gig a month, and that's for a home user account. The only downside is the top speed you can use (and this depends on the distance between you and the major junction where the fibre lines exist. I've been able to clock over 400k/s, but not for any extended time.
I'd say that living in a major city is key too, but with cable companies offering package deals, I'm surprised that other countries are slow in this competive area (go figure), Mindblower!
"For the needy, not the greedy"
Hey MB - You are spot on about 'living in major cities being key'...that is particularly true here. Cannot really blame the providers, I'm not sure of the exact figures but something like 65% of the total population live in just 15% of the total area. When it comes to the cities all providers are tripping over themselves to offer the best deals but when it comes to 'the bush' nobody is really all that bothered.....it all comes down to the setup cost to income ratio.
The cities have; DSL2, naked DSL2, cable, fibre optics, the whole gamut available...we, in the rural areas have either DSL or dial-up. I can't see that situation changing in the foreseeable future.
cheers mate....JIM
[size=150:2wwjf1hq]A before thought - might not this and similar posts be moved to a new topic???? Food for thought.[/size:2wwjf1hq]
Just a silly question here ozbloke, but could you share some light on these various terms for us poor layfolks?
DSL2, naked DSL2, DSL, cable, fibre optics, etc.....
Thanks a bunch, Mindblower!
"For the needy, not the greedy"
Hey MB - Yes I agree, this thread has gotten off topic and these unrelated posts should really be re-titled and moved....I shall look into how to do that.
[b:3dj2a1hh]DSL [/b:3dj2a1hh]= Digital Subscriber Line and is a technology for bringing high-bandwidth information to homes and small businesses over ordinary copper telephone lines. In other words, broadband internet via existing telephone lines.
[b:3dj2a1hh]ADSL[/b:3dj2a1hh] (which is the standard here in Oz) = Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line and is broadband via copper telephone lines which reserves much more bandwidth for receiving data then sending.
[b:3dj2a1hh]ADSL2[/b:3dj2a1hh] is the same as ADSL except it supports much higher data rates (speed) in both directions. The extra speed is achieved by various methods including increasing the frequency band from 552 kHz (ADSL) to 1.1 MHz.
[b:3dj2a1hh]ADSL2+[/b:3dj2a1hh] Doubles the downstream data rate, in comparison to ADSL2, by increasing the downstream frequency range to 2.2 MHz.
[b:3dj2a1hh]Naked[/b:3dj2a1hh] - In 'naked' services, there is no separation of broadband and voice band via a splitter. So, there is no dial tone on the line and the customer uses VOIP (voice over internet protocol) for telephony. Combining these services makes the overall charges quite a deal cheaper.
[b:3dj2a1hh]Fiber Optics[/b:3dj2a1hh] is a completely new system for transmitting/delivering data. It uses glass/plastic threads (fibers) to transmit data digitally at a much greater bandwidth and is far less susceptible to interference. This obviously involves all new cabling to replace existing copper lines and is therefore a very expensive proposition (for the provider) and will most likely be, initially, limited to areas of high population density. Most agree however that eventually almost all communications will employ fiber optics.
[b:3dj2a1hh]Cable[/b:3dj2a1hh] - Well you guys probably know more about cable than I. My understanding it that is 'shares' the local Pay TV cable line as opposed to any telephone line. Here in Oz, cable is limited to high population city areas only, Pay TV to all other areas (including Bundaberg) is provided via satellite.
I suspect many people in the big cities here would be using cable internet but, as explained, that option is not available for us 'country' folk. All the DSL services mentioned above require progressive upgrades to local telephone exchanges before they can be enabled....those places with the largest populations (or where a local MP resides ) get upgraded first, and so on down the line. I'm expecting Naked ADSL2+ to be available to me around 30th February in the year dot!!!
cheers mate....JIM
Boy! Am I ever glad I live in an area where I can get cable. I had so many problems with ADSL where I am now (dropping connections, slow speed, and completely unreliable when it rained) that I switched to cable. My *average* download speed at peak usage times is over 8Mbps. ADSL would be a significant downgrade for me at this point.
Jim, thanks for the very elegant rundown on the broadband terms.
Zig - See you soon then mate. I'll keep a coupla cold ones in the fridge just in case you decide to visit our cave.....oh damn...I forgot...no electricity!!
Ken - ADSL here provides for speeds up to and including 24,576Kbps; ADSL1 up to 8.00Mbps and ADSL2 up to 24,576Kbps. Of course, they are the theoretical maximums and seldom, if ever, achieved....it is very stable, efficient and reliable though. The efficacy of ADSL relies heavily on the age/condition of the copper cables and connections...I guess our system must be a fair bit newer than yours and/or our suppliers maintenance program more efficient? Perhaps because it is the only system available for the majority and there are lots of providers competing?
Anyway, for whatever reason, it is very reliable.
cheers....JIM
They just upped my connection to 12Mbps for no charge. I can (literally) pull 1.35Kbps all day long. My previous cable was 6Mbps, but it would have huge fluctuations depending on neighborhood traffic.
I am glad that Jim is with a more reliable carrier and is in the upper tier as far as limits go! We love Jim and he needs all he can get!
Yes, I am a bandwidth glutton!
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