We'd like to think our complaining about the lack of basic
broadband in our inaugural issue had an influence on Telstra, but
more than likely it has been just a happy coincidence!
Whatever the case, in November this year, Telstra cut it's
prices on it's Next G wireless broadband service, and extended the
top monthly usage up to 10 gigabytes (10GB).
New Offers, Better Value
To sweeten the deal, Bigpond customers can sign up for 36 months
of service (if you already have another eligible Telstra service
like a home phone or mobile) and get the first year for half price.
This means prices as low as just $6.49/GB for the first 12 months,
comparable with popular cable broadband fees.
Under this latest offer, Johns River residents who log on to
mainly collect e-mail and do some light browsing, can now buy
reliable and fast broadband service from just $14.97 monthly, which
gives you 200MB of throughput (and $0.25 per MB beyond that).
For more middle-of-the-road users, a full gigabyte monthly
starts at $29.95 monthly for the first 12 months (again with $0.25
/MB beyond that 1GB).
The Liberty Plans
But it's the 5GB "Liberty" plan for $44.97 where the real value
starts, which over the 36 month contract works out to $14.99 per GB.
Most local businesses and students can easily chew through 2 or 3GB,
making the 5GB plan a good solution for a growing family.
If you like watching online movies, downloading music and
videos, and spend a fair amount of time online, the 10GB Liberty
plan offers those gigabytes of surfing at just $10.42/GB (on the 36
month offer), a perfect plan for home offices and households with
heavier demands.
Equipment Rebates on Now
Currently, Telstra Bigpond is offering a $299 rebate on the
modems needed to pick up the service from Middle Brother Mountain.
Each modem – whether the small USB plug style, or the full Wireless
Router – has a normal SIM card in it, just like a mobile phone
(Telstra also offers Next G service for mobile phones of course,
available separately).
Internet in Your Car
If you just have one computer, the USB version would work fine,
and has the added benefit of being easy to pop into your laptop when
you're on the road (or you can plug in the router to an adaptor in
your car if you prefer).
Several Johns River residents have reported excellent
coverage driving between here and Taree, and very good (about 95%
availability) driving north to Laurieton and Port Macquarie.
Wireless Internet
+ Network in One!
The home router unit allows multiple computers to log on
wirelessly and form a normal network for file sharing and printer
sharing too. This added benefit is free of additional charge,
and makes the wireless router an attractive option.
The router in your house picks up the signal of the internet
from Middle Brother Mountain, and then distributes it in the house
to the computers, as well as linking those computers together on a
wireless PC network.
A Warm Reception
Surprisingly, reception is very good in most of Johns River
(with 5 out of 5 bars of signal strength showing on the wireless
router. This would be the envy of many people in the city
suburbs, who struggle to get 1 or 2 bars of signal. Some
locations (particularly in valley pockets on the south side of
Middle Brother) can benefit from a $199 antenna which Telstra will
install free for you if their test says you need it.
One Wharf Road resident reports that she and her husband get great
reception at home, and also use the service to get some work done in
the car between Johns River and Sydney, with very few drop-outs.
Solutions at Last
In sum, it's a pleasant surprise to find Telstra has "come to
the party" to better service smaller communities like ours with
reduced pricing and rebates making wireless broadband more
accessible.
Plans by Telstra to include their Next G wireless broadband as part
of the Government's Australian Broadband Guarantee program have been
widely rumoured. The subsidies bring pricing to
“metro-equivalent” levels. Whilst subsidised satellite
is already available, adding a government rebate to the NextG
service would be a great value for villagers needing service at an
even better price!
