from http://whirlpool.net.au
Unfortunately, instead of backing away from the bandwidth caps, Telstra is
moving towards making them permanent (eg the renaming of the different plans).
Anyone who's got Telstra ADSL or Cable should read the full article on the URL
above, but here a copy and paste:
Leaked: New Telstra Broadband Pricing
EXCLUSIVE | According to reliable sources, Telstra will be introducing new
BigPond Broadband plans and pricing on the 1st of February 2002. In general,
residential plans will become even less appealing than they are now, whilst
business-plan users will see a dramatic increase in value.
* All cable-based plans (residential and business) will become full
speed, including the 3GB plan. All ADSL plans stay at their existing speed.
* The 250MB Blast Off plan will become 300MB Residential. For ADSL, the
monthly fee will drop by $13; cable pricing remains the same. Excess MB will be
reduced to 15.9c per meg.
* A 1GB Residential plan will be introduced; though the pricing will
represent extremely poor value.
* Freedom Deluxe will be renamed 3GB Residential 3GB plan will increase
by $6 for ADSL users, and $15 for cable users; whilst the excess MB rate will
drop down to 13.9c per meg.
* The 5GB Residential and 10GB Residential plans remain the same,
although the excess MB rate will drop to 12.9 and 11.9c, respectively.
* New Business plans will be introduced, mirroring the residential
line-up (300MB, 1GB, 3GB, 5GB and 10GB). The plans appear to be identical in
price, speed and spec. The advantages of business over residential were not
clear from the documentation I was given.
* The loyalty discount of $5 will be scrapped; it was previously given to
customers who were no longer on contract.
A summary of the new plans is attached.
Given the wording of the contract, it's highly likely that Telstra will have to
give users on existing contracts the ability to leave the service without
penalty, although that was not specifically mentioned by my source.
Possibly the worst-affected users are those currently on Freedom Deluxe Cable.
Subscribers will see their monthly fee rise as much as $20, if they were
previously eligable for the loyalty discount.
On the other hand, business users will appreciate the marked reduction in their
monthly bill. In fact, Business users currently on the 500MB ADSL plan will be
able to move to the 3GB Business plan and still save over $20 per month.
These two examples neatly reveal Telstra's underlying motive: ignore the messy
residential broadband arena, and focus on business customers. Considering the
superior values available from companies like Netspace and XiS, residential
BigPond users who are no longer on their contract should seriously consider
changing their ISP.
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Phillip McGree Web: http://www.phil.net.au
Perth, Western Australiahttp://chat.iinet.net.au
Mobile Phone: 0418 922 500 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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