Business Internet & Data Information from Aussie Phone Brokers
The Aussie Phone Brokers service has examined Business Internet Plans as part of the three areas of Australian Business Telecommunications.
Three Areas of Telecommunications for Australian Business:
The Aussie Phone Brokers service is unique:
We recommend the best telecommunications solutions for your business. In the spirit of this commitment to our clients, we will display the best path to Internet plans for small and medium business in Australia. For corporate-sized business connections, please contact Aussie directly on 1300 733 565.
Three steps to the best business Internet plans for small & medium businesses:
| 1. | Whirlpool Website | The Australian broadband community website: A. Enter a (PSTN) landline number here B. All available broadband plans are displayed C. Choose a provider from the below list |
| 2. | Nine Major ISPs | Ranked by service standards (estimated and anecdotal): 1. Westnet - the best-service ISP ^ 2. Internode - popular choice for the large & corporate clients; 3. iiNet - the ISP in use by Aussie, and our #1 recommendation 4. Netspace 5. AAPT ^ - commonly bundled with: Best Small Business Landline 6. Optus Broadband ^ 7. TPG / Soul - often the best pricing in the market 8. Telstra 9. Exetel |
| Notes |
I. ^ denotes a requirement to bundle ADSL2+ plans with telephone connection. (Choose another provider; bundling is almost always counter-productive to savings.) II. The above rankings are subjective and users of this page should carry-out their own research before reaching a decision. For legal reasons Aussie Phone Brokers cannot and will not accept any responsibility for any reliance upon the above information. III. We are always keen to hear from anyone who would like to offer an opinion regarding the above providers. |
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| 3. | Implementation | Contact your selected ISP: » More simple & obligation-free service from Aussie » Our aim is to help Australian business |
| If you wish to follow our choice of Internet provider, |
| please fill this form and email it to Aussie Internet |
| Please note that all applications will be reviewed prior to being submitted. No application will be submitted without final written confirmation from the client (via either fax or email). In light of this warranty, please complete all information requested on the forms. Thank you. |
| If you have any questions, you may Email Aussie or call us directly on 1300 733 565. We are here to help Australian business. |
Internet Connection Information and Tips
Find out which providers can supply ADSL2+/Cable/SHDSL or ADSL to your premises:
Please download and read our Finding the Best Business Internet Plans document.
• Generally speaking: choose Service above Pricing.
Bundled Solutions:
Aussie Phone Brokers examine the three areas of telecommunications through bundled offers and separately. Telephone, Mobile Phone and Internet services tend to be a more expensive when bundled. Also Aussie finds that most providers have greater expertise in one particular field, and so bundled telecommunications solutions can leave a client with less than satisfactory servicing in their other areas of telecommunications.
• Generally speaking: it is best to separate each service - for both pricing and servicing reasons.
Common Internet Connection types - ADSL2+, Cable Internet, SHDSL & ADSL
The above have been placed in order of speed; with ADSL2+ being capable of 24Mbps download speeds, and ADSL being capable of 1.5Mbps speeds. Cable Internet is generally operating at 8Mbps. SHDSL connections are specialised connections, with speeds defined on a case-by-case basis. Please see this graph for a description of expected speeds for each link type.
DSL plans work on the traditional copper telephone lines; Cable connections work on optical fibre network connections.
• Generally speaking: If your business currently uses Cable, remain using Cable. If your business uses ADSL, switch to ADSL2+ if possible.
Will changing ISP effect our Email Addresses?
If you own your domain (e.g. user@businessname.com.au) then your email addresses will remain. On the other hand, if your email addresses are bound to your ISP's domain (e.g. user@bigpond.com) then you would lose your email addresses if you changed provider.
• Generally speaking: If your business uses its own domain, it can change ISP without losing email addresses.
Owning a Website (and Email) Domain
Workaround solution for not owning your domain: First, buy a domain. Domains with email are cheap (around $100 per year) and you will always have ownership of your email addresses and website address from this point onwards.
Next, while your Internet connection is still with the original provider, use the Tools » Rules and Alerts section of Outlook (or the equivalent) to create an auto-reply message to all received emails. The message should be short and to the point:
"This is an automatically generated reply to your email. Please be advised that my new email address is: user@businessname.com.au. Please update my details and the details of any other contact persons in our company. Thank you."
And the final step is to switch providers after a few months - not immediately.
• Generally speaking: Creating a domain for your business is necessary for most businesses, and is best done sooner rather than later.
Three pricing traps from ISPs:
1. Bundling Telephones - as a rule, the pricing on these services is appalling.
2. Breaching the Usage Allowance - some ISPs charge extra for usage over the stated allowance; others simply 'shape' the speed at that point.
2. Peripheral Costs - most ISPs charge extra for changes to the monthly plan type, moving premises, additional email addresses beyond the included number, etc.
• Generally speaking: 1. Do not bundle your Internet connection, 2. Use only 'shaped' plans, and 3. Check all peripheral costs.
What is a common contract length?
There are many contract lengths. Month-to-month, , 6- 12- 18- and 24-month contracts are common. Often, hardware is discounted or free with longer-term contracts.
The iiNet contract (our #1 recommended solution) gives a discount on modems/routers for an 24-month contract term. If the account is closed before that term's end, a pro-rated charge is applied. Effectively the user is out of contract; with the payout figures being small or negligible. Simple and fair. • Generally speaking: Choice of contract length will depend whether hardware is required, and the specific offers from the various providers.
Will I have to buy new hardware?
ADSL modems are incompatible with Cable Internet connections or ADSL2+ Internet connections. Cable Internet modems are also incompatible with ADSL2+ services. Therefore, as a rule, yes there will be a purchase cost. Whether it is discounted by the ISP, or whether purchased outright, there is effectively a cost.
Note: If the hardware is purchased externally, the user should try to purchase the same make and model as that recommended by the ISP.
• Generally speaking: There will be hardware costs involved when changing Internet connection types.
How dependable are these connections?
As with most things, you get what you pay for. Business-grade connections are generally far more dependable than residential connections - and usually have a priority help service attached.
• Generally speaking: Aussie always recommends favouring Service before Price.
What is Contention Ratio?
Contention ratio is the ratio of users per unit of a provider's bandwidth. The ideal contention ratio is 1:1. This may be provided through SHDSL connections, most commonly.
The effect of a high contention ratio is that data packets are far more likely to be delayed or lost - and hence Internet connections are 'slower'. • Generally speaking: Service providers with high service standards are also more likely to be using a low contention ratio on their network. Therefore their networks are expected to be faster and 'cleaner'.
Can we use the ADSL2+ or ADSL line for Telephone calls?
Yes, but there are restrictions:
Services which cannot share the line: ISDN services, Faxstream Duet services, Multiple Number services and ULL lines. (And ANT1, Payphones, Siteline Products, Satellite IPSTS services, CustomNet services, 12 kHz metering, 50 Hz metering, InContact services.)
Services which can share the ADSL line are: Normal phone calls, EFTPOS, Faxes, back to base alarms, etc. Please note that there will need to be a splitter placed on the line.
• Generally speaking: mobile cap plans are more cost-effective and are more cost-volatile than traditional mobile phone plans. Be careful what you choose.
Internet Plans by Aussie Phone Brokers
Internet connections (and email availability) through ISP's (Internet Service Providers) have quickly become an essential telecommunications service for business in Australia.
Aussie Phone Brokers recommend dependable Internet connections for our clients.
Aussie Phone Brokers prefer to recommend providers outright, rather than perform a full price analysis.
Internet issues and features are:
- Internet Connection Speeds: Businesses should use a high Internet speed where possible. Aussie Phone Brokers recommend a minimum upload speed of 256Kbps and a download speed faster than 512Kbps.
Unfortunately, some providers state a maximum download speed which will not be achievable due to their customer contention ratio, or distance from the exchange. - Contention Ratios: In general terms, if more people attempt to use a defined amount of bandwidth, there will be a slowing of the network due to contention. A contention ration of 1:1 is the ideal, however this is usually only available through SHDSL connections and the like.
Aussie recommends Internet service providers with low contention ratios. - Cable Connections : These provide a fast, clean network and are usually quite dependable.
- ADSL Connections: ADSL (asynchronous digital subscriber line) connections are prevalent today since they were easier to roll-out than cable connections. These connections use a telephone line, so there is a cost associated with line rental, however lines may be shared with voice traffic through use of a filter device.
- Satellite Connections: Satellite Internet connections are generally only for country customers. The government subsidises these connections.
Aussie Phone Brokers is able to recommend an Internet connection for our clients. We believe that an Internet connection should be fast and dependable.