Mar 5, 2009 12:12 PM | 11 Comments

The results from Whirlpool’s annual Australian Broadband Survey are in, and as always they make interesting reading.

Of course, the demographics of the survey very likely don’t represent the public at large. But it is a good sampling of the opinions of those who are best informed about broadband issues – readers of Whirlpool.

As you might expect, the proposed censorship regime isn’t popular, with nearly 90% of respondents saying they will turn off their opt-out filters if they are ever introduced.

And thanks to his handling of the censorship regime and National Broadband Network, Stephen Conroy is rated roughly twice as badly as Communication’s Minister than either Helen Coonan or Richard Alston, which is really saying something (and that’s in spite of roughly 59% of respondents saying they voted Labor).

Politics aside, perhaps the most significant part of the survey covers the respondents’ feelings about their own ISPs. As in previous years, Westnet and Internode rated very well for customer support and responsiveness, and Adam, Amnet and iiNet also scored well. Westnet, Internode and iiNet also rated well for connection reliability.

Overall, I’d call Internode the big winner in the survey, with Westnet trailing very closely behind (Westnet, was purchased recently by iiNet, so it will be interesting to see how those figures change next year).

If you want to drill down into more of the details, as well as get info on people’s satisfaction with different modem models (Cisco, Draytek, TP-Link and Billion owners seem happiest with their purchases) it’s definitely worth checking out here.

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Noops Mar 6, 2009 9:15 AM	Well, I'm with Bigpond which I have found to be ultra-reliable with good tech support. I had many years great service with Ozemail, but when iinet bought them it all fell apart. In my experience iinet is worse than useless. Bigpond may be relatively expensive, but it's reliable and if there is ever a problem it is fixed quickly as they can't blame anyone else (such as Optus blaming Telstra and Telstra saying it's not their fault so it takes for ever to get fixed). As with Vista, Telstra has a lot of haters, but these days IMO Telstra has picked up its act and no longer deserves its poor reputation.
ErgoWeSurrender Mar 6, 2009 10:46 AM	I was with Internode, but last year I switched back to Bigpond because Telstra rang to offer me a half price plan as an incentive to go back to them. I took the plunge because I wanted ADSL2+ (not available in my region from Internode because of some embargo on wholesale ADSL2+ hardware by Telstra in Tasmania). It was a mistake -I regret switching back to Telstra Bigpond. Compared to Internode, my Bigpond experience: 1. Internode does not charge for UP bandwidth, but Bigpond does- therefore a 12GB Bigpond Plan is not the same an Internode 10GB plan. 2. Internode answers support/sales calls promptly- have you tried to contact Bigpond lately - do you have time for 40 mins x 3 calls (and they are supposed to be a telecommunications company!- Wait times on calls are woeful with Bigpond compared to Internode. 3. Internode support staff were always polite and knowledgeable and give the impression that they care about the customer's problem - Bigpond support staff were arrogant, read/email their answers from a template - don't try to understand customer problem- have trouble speaking English... must I go on? 4. The Internode bundle is vastly superior than Bigpond. For a start you get 4 mailboxes- whereas you only get 1 with Teltra ($10 extra per mailbox??). Internode's free content and 3rd party free bandwidth is awesome, whereas Bigpond is minimal and geared toward sites/activities that it stands to profit from either through its affiliations (Telstra Sports) or otherwise via copious advertising. If you want any worthwhile content from Bigpond - it's pay-per-view/download'. BTW- I'm not a Telstra hater but I'm still waiting for them to demonstrate why I would ever want to be a Bigpond customer - whereas I will go back to Internode the moment Internode offers ADSL2+ (or better) in my area or when my Bigpond contract expires- whichever comes first.
rudebutt1 Mar 6, 2009 2:38 PM	to ErgoWeSurrender anywhere Bigpond ADSL2+ is available so is Internode TwoPlus (including Tasmania)
Lost-Benji Mar 7, 2009 12:43 AM	rudebutt1: Wrong, just because there is Telstra DSL2, doesnt mean they are wholesaling it to Internode. I myself are with internode on 8000/384 and have been waiting for DSL2 like so many others but Telstra wont open it up so no DSL 2 here unless you want telstra's shit.
carloscomputers Mar 7, 2009 2:48 PM	to Lost-Benji: Actually you are wrong and rudebutt1 is correct. Internode signed a deal with Telstra to wholesale ADSL2+ through Telstra equipment just before Christmas last year. The product is called "TwoPlus" and is available where ever you can get Bigpond ADSL2+. See this: http://www.internode.on.net/news/2008/12/122.php
black Mar 7, 2009 10:00 PM	Well, I've been waiting for someone to say something somewhere and it hasn't been done yet so I'll say it. Yes I'm in agreement with ergo, Telstra sucks ass, worse than any other ISP pretty much. But on the same token, I wouldn't go with Internode in month of Sundays. Is everyone blind??? Just have a look through the "broadband choice" section of the Whirlpool forums, Internode is one of the least competitive ISP's in Australia when it comes to bandwidth and pricing. I don't see what all the fuss is about, aside from their gaming servers I guess. I thought about changing to Internode for a while when I was seriously into BF2, but after a brief look at the amount of bandwidth you get on any of their plans, and their pricing, not on your life. Aside from that, when I sent an email to them inquiring about the flexibility of their plans I was replied to with what I would call a very abrupt and borderline arrogant email which was the last straw for me, after that reply there's not a chance in hell I'd ever go with Node. Nearly all the ISP's in the top 10 on Whirlpool (apart from Bigpond) offer far better bandwidth on almost every speed, and cheaper pricing. Just check out Netspace's plans at the moment, unreal. So have a look around the traps before you pick an ISP just because of hearsay, and hype. I have more than a couple of friends who are sick of Node not upping their bandwidth or lowering prices and are ready to bail out and go with one of far better plans that are available from many other ISPs.
Annie Mar 8, 2009 6:59 PM	Black:If you're really after a great deal you should really consider Dodo. Have you looked at their value? Unreal, man! P.S. Do you think that the thousands of the survey participants are so stupid as to think that their is swindling them? Do you think that those who are with Internode are blind and haven't done their homework? Or from their *experience* judged their ISP to be a fantastic deal? Internode are a great deal, with loads of unmetered content (not just games stuff), reliability and great support. Pay peanuts, get monkeys. P.P.S. I still think you should look at dodo. ;)
TDU Mar 9, 2009 6:02 PM	Internode now has access to all Telstra # or exchanges.Their plans beat the living shit out of Telstra. I used to work for Telsta and brainwashed that Telstra Bigpond was the way to go. Pardon the "FRENCH" "BOLLOX". If you want value for money or bang for your buck, go internode. No upload charges. They stick to their price, Their speed is much faster than Telstra, and if you do go over your bandwidth allocation, you can purchase extra blocks, with Bigpond you cannot. ThunderDownUnder or TDU...
black Mar 9, 2009 6:52 PM	@ Annie. Have you heard the saying sarcasm is the lowest form of wit?. I hope you're not seriously comparing Dodo to Netspace, two entirely different leagues all together I'm afraid my dear, but I would imaging you probably know nothing at all about any of the other ISP's. And apart from that I never said anyone was being swindled. I said Internode is one of the least competitive ISP's in regards to bandwidth and price. They may have a good selection of free downloads but so do a lot of the other major ISPs. And @ TDU, yes I'm aware that Nodes plans beat Tesltra, but they don't compare to most of the others in the top 10 on Whirlpool just have a look at them, and I'm pretty sure there were a couple of other ISPs that had wholesale access to Telstra exchanges before them. I think I remember Westnet being one. They have an almost 1 million strong customer base and are now owned by iinet. So anything from iinet mirrors is free for Westnet customers. Most of Their plans beat the shit out Internodes for price and bandwidth and they have polled top in customer service for quite a few years in the broadband survey. So there you go, that's just ISP from Whirlpools top 10 who I would take over Node any day of the week. All I'm saying is, look at your options. For sheer value for money I just don't think Node is that great anymore with ISP's dishing out more and more bandwidth for less money they are sitting stagnate in that regard. And as I mentioned, don't just take my word, I have more than a few friends who are leaving now or thinking of leaving Node for greener pastures. Don't take my word for it, as I said I have more than a few friends who are with Internode and are absolutely fed up with their non competitive plans.
black Mar 9, 2009 6:55 PM	Soz for the double sentence at the end there :/
black Mar 9, 2009 7:11 PM	@ TDU I missed the last part of your post. Nobody else charges for uploads either and buying extra data blocks is an option with most ISP's and once again a lot of them offer extra data cheaper than Node :D