Peter Brookman wrote:
I have just got off the phone to Activ8 support and they have
confirmed that the subsidy scheme is still available for eligible
subscribers, in broad terms anyone who can not access ADSL or ISDN.
The Government's new Australian Broadband Guarantee subsidy is only
available where commercial Terrestrial services are not available and
Terrestrial services is defined to also include wireless services. With
wireless networks such as the Bigpond Next G network already covering 98
per cent of the Australian Population, the part of Australia that is
eligible for the current subsidy is getting smaller and smaller.
Assuming that Chris McDonnell who started this thread with the comment
"Sad for those of us who only get dial up at 19kbps and nothing
better is available."
is actually in Mt Barker Springs SA as per his signature then he is in
area that has full strength signal from the Next G Network.
While the Next G Network is in my opinion, very expensive for broadband
Internet, it will generally work out to be a better option that getting
satellite, regardless of lack of subsidy. Note: With this you can not
only have the Internet at home but bring your laptop with you to the
gliding club and carry on using the Internet while waiting for the
thermals to come out!!!
I sent Chris a separate email detailing costs several days ago. For
those interested in this, I have placed a copy of most of this email below:
"You have good signal in Mt Barker Springs SA. There is a few poorer
spots in Highland Valley South of you but even there you can get it with
an aerial. If you want it, please give me an email. I am a broker of
a number of Internet Service Providers including Bigpond.
Within their plans there are two plans that I believe are very good
value for money. Both of these plans use the PC Card modem which is a
mobile modem that doesn't require you to have a power point
Their best plan gives their current maximum speed (which is typically
between 550kbps and 1500kbps download and 384kbps upload), allows you
download as much as you like, yet is only $54.95 per month. Its
limitation is that it only gives you 20 hours usage per month.
The other plan that is good value for an occasional user is one that
only costs $34.95 per month. This gives you 10 hours per month and is
at a download speed of 256kbps with an upload speed of 128kbps.
Actually, with both the above plans, you can exceed the hourly limit but
you are then charged at $0.80 per 5 min additional usage.
It should also be noted that for the remaining plans, the prices when
using their modem which requires a power point, are a lot lower in cost
than their plans using their PC Card modem.
Available plans using a PC Card (PCMCIA or ExpressCard) modem are as
follows:
At 256kbps download speed /128kbps upload speed:
200MByte Usage: $54.95
1 GByte Usage: $84.95 per month
At Current Fastest Speed - 550kbps to 1500 kbps download/384kbps upload:
400MByte Usage: $84.95
1 GByte Usage: $114.95 per month
3 GByte Usage: $184.95 per month
The PC Card modems cost $299.00
Available plans using a modem which requires a power point are as follows:
At 256kbps download speed /128kbps upload speed:
200MByte Usage: $39.95
1 GByte Usage: $49.95 per month
At Current Fastest Speed - 550kbps to 1500 kbps download/384kbps upload
400MByte Usage: $49.95
1 GByte Usage: $79.95 per month
3 GByte Usage: $149.95 per month
The modem used with these plans costs $249.00
With all the above plans there are often specials. At the moment, the
main special is getting the first 6 months at half price by taking on a
3 year contract.
**By signing up for the plan through me as the reseller, you get the
same price as if you directly phoned up Bigpond to sign up but you get
additional support. More information on the additional support that I'm
able to offer is found on my website at http://OzValue.com
To sign up, please phone me any afternoon or early evening other than
Wednesday or Sunday or email me.
Regards
Ken Dawber
http://OzValue.com For Internet Service Providers and VoIP Information
http://AusValue.com For Website Design and Website Hosting
Information.
ph (03) 9809 2083
Mobile 0409 790 802"
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