On Sun, 2002-04-21 at 21:01, Ray Forma wrote: > My nephew has just arrived back from Germany after 11 years. He is horrified > at the cost Telstra has quoted him for getting online here in Perth.
Online with what? ISDN? Sure that can be quite expensive, since you'll be paying for the connection as well as for the data. There are several alternatives. > His needs are the following: > > ISDN for his computer. He moves lots of data often in both directions. ISDN is not a need, it's a solution. (Unless he needs to connect to other ISDN users for the purposes of telephony, audio or video conferencing, still it isn't a need, it's a compatibility requirement. Just so you know what I'm saying, 240V is not a need, it's a solution. If I were to offer you a 12V PowerBook, then your problem may be solved without the need for 240V. Needs, requirements and solutions are tricky words with a specific meaning, especially in the context of asking for suggestions in the IT field. "Lots of data" is not sufficient information to provide a solution. Some people would call 1Gb a month, lots of data, others would consider that too small to contemplate. A better needs analysis could include: 1) The kinds of (Internet) data/applications uses. 2) Compatibility requirements. 3) Connectivity requirements. 4) Static IP requirements. 5) Cost. 6) Speed of installation. 7) Cost of installation. 8) Data use. 9) Data transfer requirements. > Telephone connection > > Connection for his fax machine that has its own number. On the same line, or a separate line. You can share numbers on the same line, just not at the same time. It's called a Fax-Duet service. Your fax machine will need to be compatible with that. If your nephew took his fax machine from Germany, it may not work - I'll leave the legalities of connecting that particular machine alone. > He will be living in Willagee. You may wish to ask Telstra if the Willagee exchange has ADSL equipment installed and find out how far his house is from said exchange. ADSL has a distance limit of ~3.5km wire length. > I would appreciate any suggestions as to what my nephew should do, and will > pass those on to him. Obviously he is not connected to anything at the moment. Suggestions: Separate need from requirement. Look at residential ADSL from Telstra, look at permanent ADSL from Highway1, look at two-way satellite from Optus. Generally you should (almost) ignore initial costs, since over the length of the contract they'll most likely fade into insignificance - instead look at connection costs, data rates, included data and penalty for exhausting the included data. ISDN is an older technology that requires a physical connection through a telephone exchange - as opposed to a virtual one that the (A)DSL services use, thus it is likely more expensive. (Though in some cases the only way to connect if you wish to avoid satellite.) ADSL comes in many flavours, 256/64 (256k downlink, 64k uplink) being the simplest, up to AFAIK 1500/256. DSL is symmetric, eg. 64/64 etc., AFAIK more expensive than ADSL, but you'll need to do your own costing depending on your exact situation. Two-Way satellite comes in many flavours, but 400/72 is a good indication. You can tell that your initial question leaves a lot of scope for answer, I hope that this assists you. -- ()/)/)() ..ASCII for Onno.. |>>? ..EBCDIC for Onno.. --- -. -. --- ..Morse for Onno.. ITmaze - ABN: 56 178 057 063 - ph: 04 1219 8888 - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
