[clug] Trump Telstra once and for all

[Ben]

On 10/8/06, Basil Chupin <blchupin at tpg.com.au> wrote:
> Ben wrote:
> > ADSL2+ covers a huge amount of the population. I'm only on a Telstra
> > port because Internode 2+ is not available at my exchange - iiNet and
> > TPG are, but I don't trust them.
>
> Care to elaborate re TPG?
>
> I am on the Deakin exchange and TPG had it on their ADSL2+ rollout plan
> (expected completion next month) when suddenly end of July they simply
> dropped Deakin completely from their ADSL2+ picture but won't tell me
> why. I am now considering other providers but would like to know what
> you mean by what you just said about trust.

I have a history of fighting with telcos. Internode are the only ones
who have responded appropriately. My main arguments were with Optus
and Telstra, I came out ahead in $ but not in time.

When it comes to trust, the problems I have with TPG are:
 * They've off-shored part of their tech support.
 * They have lock in contracts, and have put prices up in the past.

Generally speaking, I stick with Internode because, quality and service wise:
 * when International links die, Internode's is the last to go due to
their added redundancy
 * their tech support knows what they're talking about
 * they support all OSs (anything with TCP/IP) and all modems.
 * NodePhone VoIP works really, really well.

Content wise:
 * unmetered access to updates for many linux distros
 * unmetered access to even more distros for ISOs, including some DVD ISOs.

Feature wise:
 * a little known feature which is really important to me: multiple
PPPoE logins through the one connection, which is now available with
SOHO, so you can delegate your static IP to one router and a dynamic
to another 1-3.

Internode are in build stage at Deakin and Annex M is approaching ratification

I trust Internode to work well and to keep pushing the boundaries.
Internode have not released in-dial support for VoIP, because they
want fully portable numbers, so you can leave their service if you
want, and take your number with you. This takes a lot of doing to
setup, and so far only a couple of others have done this. The majority
of VoIP providers own your number and actually _can't_ transfer it, so
you have to leave it, if you leave them.

Ben