Last billing period with the BIG FISH was nearing the cap of 25G after 2 weeks. So I upgraded to the 60G plan so I didnt get shaped. Thinking i had 60G to smash in 2 weeks before the next billing cycle I started smashing the d/l's to make the most of my $149. Turns out they only gave me 30/60G for the remaing 2 weeks of the billing cycle. I only found this out as I logged in to check my usage and saw some fineprint that i had entered chargable usage on the 26th. Luckily my billing cycle starts on 27th. Switched off the router for about 8hrs and checked usage this morning chargeable usage was at 1237MB for the previous billing peroid which works out at about $185.55 extra.

24 month contract with overpriced POND was up in NOV 28 and I always said i'd move ISP after the contract and now a month overdue I am looking for new ISP. Any recomendations? I was checking out www.broadbandchoice.com and was considering:

TPG ADSL2+ Super 2** PEAK - 40 GB OFF PEAK - 110 GB OVER CAP - Shaped UPLOADS - Free IP - Static $69.99 /mo

Could i use my ADSL router and upgrade to a ADSL2+ router later?

Yeah when I switched plans on BPA there was something severely dodgy that didn't make sense to me about my usage allowance in that first month... I can't even remmeber what... but basically I thought I would have a lot more than what I really had.

hell yes, and yes.

I'm on tpg adsl2+ and it rocks. I was syncing at 20Mbps but i think that dropped to 17 or so recently. we orriginally used my adsl modem as well (till we bought an adsl2 router) and that went fine.

Internode goes pretty well for me. No complaints.

excellent...

i like iinet, their naked plans sound saucy and look like pretty good value, and im always happy with iinets products

I'm thinking of changing in the near future also..

so it's 'node and iinet as the top two, with TPG as third?

I heard TPG wasn't nearly as good for gaming pings. Anyone confirm/deny?

Does iinet provide content for Steam? free downloads for the bigger games when they come along helps.

didn't mean to derail - I figured this is all prevelant stuff for the OP anyway =)

Does iinet provide content for Steam?

No they don't. Internode do. They are probably one of the best gaming-friendly ISPs around, in terms of latency, number of gaming servers, server know-how, and players who join.

The last two points, I mean that out of say Gamearena and Internode servers, you'll probably have the best experience with Internode servers. I can't figure out if there are less lamers joining the 'node servers, or whether they know how to lock down servers better to stop people from ruining the experience (TK, etc), but I imagine it's a combination of both. They just have a more private-server feel to them. I've noticed this trend across many different games (CS, insurgency, TF2, ET:QW, etc).

last edited by parabol at 14:09:09 27/Dec/07

you're not [AP]Parabol by any chance are you?

Internode provide a good service and reasonable plans imo. I've been with them for a while.

Westnet is up there too (not so much for gaming though?)

you're not [AP]Parabol by any chance are you?

nah not me. also, capitals are over-rated.

I also forgot to mention that 'node has all of the Australian Steam content servers on a free-traffic whitelist. That is, if Steam connects to a non-node server in Australia for whatever reason .. it still won't count towards your quota.

last edited by parabol at 14:21:45 27/Dec/07

No they don't. Internode do.

However, 'node are part of the PIPE peering network. If your ISP is in it you probably get free / unmetered DL from member networks.

Is very cool!

If your ISP is in it you probably get free / unmetered DL from member networks

Ignoring the fact that it's only free within the same state, free peering is not the general case anymore.

Many major ISPs have gotten rid of unmetered PIPE, as it still costs them heaps to get the data through Teltra's infrastructure. It wasn't a big deal before but with ADSL2 speeds and such it can send an ISP broke. They still peer with PIPE to reduce internal costs, but it's just not free-for-all anymore.

There are many ISPs still offering it though, but they're not really worth changing to as they're not competitive on other fronts (price, service, etc). I mean seriously I haven't heard of most of them:

( List )


last edited by parabol at 14:47:35 27/Dec/07

I'm currently with Comcen / Spin - they have been quite good, and on that list.

They have the best / as good as best product for the 'heavy' 20G+ user for my exchange. I'm pretty remote here in Cairns though so I don;'t have the luxury of broadband choice that you big city folks do!

trying to update my firmware on speedtouch 536 does anyone know if THE POND password protects from this? Ive tried all my passes...

Apparently it supports adsl2+ too so i don't need to upgrade hardware.

http://whirlpool.net.au/index.cfm?a=h_view&model_id=280

Alcatel / Thomson SpeedTouch 536
Default admin username: Administrator
Default admin password: none for generic, "admin" for Bigpond firmware

Give Telstra a ring. If you get someone nice and pitch a good story they'll sometimes give you credit for the usage. Worth a shot.

Telstra Bigpond...

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/neda85/trap.jpg

ahhaha d[o_0]b wins :)

£14, 16mb, 2 static ips, now download upload limit. : )

Give Telstra a ring. If you get someone nice and pitch a good story they'll sometimes give you credit for the usage. Worth a shot.

Beat you to it... Rang earlier to say I was considering d/c THE POND and what could they do for me.

All i could get was my existing 25G Unlimited from 99 down to 79. I said "Forget about it!"

Then I was checking over TPG plans and found a page that said there was no ADSL2+ in my area 'til FEB 08. So I might just take the $20 cut until ADSL2+ is in action.

I also said I had a problem with being charged for excess MB usage and she said put something like you didnt see nothing about "pro rata" when you changed plan and THE POND would more than likely give me credit.

CLOSE ONE!

I'd still be with Internode if they had more adsl2 coverage, as a result I'm with Telstra. When I first signed up with them my first billing period was like 3 weeks, so I took that as being I had 3 weeks to use 60 gig, my mistake!!! I recieved a call from some company who work for telstra telling me that I had downloaded over my limit and that I owed $1100 extra. I was f***ing floored!
I contacted telstra and ripped s*** into them telling them this was absolute bulls*** etc. They had me sign a statutory decleration with all my details and 4 weeks later they removed the $1100 from my account. Ever since then I watch my downloads like a hawk!