Broadband Providers

Originally there was a fairly limited list of companies that supplied broadband internet access. The perception exists that this is still the case, probably due to the influence of the advertising dollars spent by the larger companies. Nothing could be further from the truth. Over 230 ISP’s (Internet Service Providers) now exist and the vast majority are able to service the Hunter market (subject to specific availability).

Some of the major ISP’s include:

AAPT

www.aapt.com.au/smartchat/internet.asp

Big Blue

www.bigblue.net.au

Dodo

www.dodo.com.au

Exetel

www.exetel.com.au

iiNet

www.iinet.net.au

Internode

adsl.internode.on.net

iPrimus

www.iprimus.com.au/broadband.asp

Netspace

www.netspace.net.au

OptusNet

broadbandsales.optusnet.com.au

Ozemail

homesite.service.ozemail.com.au/products/broadband

Pacific Internet

www.pacific.net.au/broadband

Swift

www.swiftdsl.com.au/

Telstra BigPond

www.bigpond.com/broadband/access

TPG

www.tpg.com.au/

TSN

www.tsn.cc/prices/adsl_domestic.asp

WestNet

http://www.westnet.com.au/products/broadband/adsl

What To Look For
While there are a large number of suppliers for anyone interested in broadband internet access, it doesn’t mean that they all offer the same thing. In fact you’d probably find that no two are the same. All offer different packages to cater for a wide range of potential users.

The obvious things to look for are:

Price

What is the price of the package (normally expressed as a monthly fee)? Also, what is the initial cost to setup and install? What are the fees for excess usage?

Speed

Does the package have download and upload speeds that you require?

Usage

What amount of usage is included in the package?

There are also a lot of less obvious things to look for when comparing plans for your business or personal use, such as:

• payment options
• reduced speed if data levels exceeded
• any charges for data in both directions (i.e. download and upload)
• spam filtering
• technical support
• email addresses included
• ease of transfer
• cost and ease of installation
• modem requirements
• game servers included
• any free content included
• costs to change between packages/levels
• free web space included
• history of any connection or service problems
• specific business plans
• requirement to use a specific phone company

Resources are also available to research and compare the different available packages. Check out this great site bc.whirlpool.net.au. Despite sounding like a washing machine company, it’s actually an independent community website that provides information about broadband internet. It has a "Broadband Choice" section that provides detailed information on most ISP’s and their various plans. You can also search for a specific plan type to suit your requirements. The discussion forum is also a valuable tool to see what broadband users say about the various ISP’s and their service.

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