Internode today announced revisions to its broadband plans, with the Naked plans having VoIP phone bundling (with $10 credit per month) added at no extra cost.
However those looking at Internode’s Telstra-delivered “Reach”-branded services - that is, services in areas where Internode provides Internet connectivity via a Telstra DSLAM - predictably don’t get as good a deal.
The 200GB Easy Reach plan bites the dust, replaced with new 100GB and 250GB plans, both of which also offer an increased discount for phone bundling of $20 per month.
Internode’s not pulling any punches with Telstra this time round, noting that the “Easy Reach’ Plans, delivered via Telstra Wholesale data paths, have been revised to more accurately reflect the underlying costs to deliver these services” and that they’re “ at price points that properly reflect their high underlying delivery cost.”
If you’re only in a Telstra DSLAM area, it gets even more complicated, as the phone bundling discount doesn’t apply if you’re in a Telstra “Zone 2” or “Zone 3” area.
But what does that actually mean? Internode’s got a list up of all the exchanges it can service, and which ones get the bundling discount or not, or if you like very dry tables, Telstra has this official list of which exchanges carry each designation.
It doesn’t seem to be an absolute rule, but by and large Zone 1 exchanges tend to be those areas that are DSLAM enabled for other carriers, and thus competitive; where Telstra is the only choice you’ll more often find the Zone 2 or 3 designation. These also seem to split on population lines; if you live in a big city you’re more likely Zone 1 than someone living, in, say, Euston.
Internode’s Web site suggests that the Zone 1 designation covers “more than 70% of the Australian population”. Which presumably means if you’re in the latter 30% or so, you’re just stuck paying more, and Internode’s not exactly being subtle about why.
