If you haven't seen the July 09 issue of PC Authority magazine, we have a 10-page guide to Broadband Internet deals, including plans comparisons, and how to traps to avoid in the fine print.
Special deals are being pushed by most major ISPs, and part of our analysis is supplied here:
We decided to do a quick comparison of a good value sample plan - Netspace's ADSL2+ 10GB Anytime plan - with these variations.
The cost comparison between a bundled plan, a naked plan and the base plan is quite easy, and shows clear savings overall without any real difference in the service you get. It works out that for Netspace, at least, going naked is the big winner in terms of cost.
Comparing it to wireless plans is a little more difficult, because the service offerings are quite distinct, with different quotas and different media. We decided to normalise the graph to cost per gigabyte.
Of course, this assumes that you actually use all the available download quota. For example, the Netspace 10GB plan costs about $22 more per month than 3's 6GB 3G data plan, but you get 4GB more. On a cost per gigabyte basis the Netspace plan is a slightly better deal. But if you only use 5GB in the month then the 3G plan works out better.
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| For Netspace, at least, going naked is the big winner in terms of cost. |
You can read more about wireless plans in our Broadband Buyer's Guide: Fixed vs Mobile
If you're interested in our speed tests of each Australian wireless broadband provider, see our Mobile Broadband Group Test