Michael Farrell, managing director at Hostway, told ZDNet Australia he was surprised that Telstra had pitched their latest Web hosting plans as being low-cost. "It's at the high end of the market for what they offer," he said.
"I object to the way they're positioning their place in the market as the champion of SMEs," said Farrell, adding he didn't think Telstra understood the needs of the SME market. "Historically, they don't have a great track record for customer service and support," he said.
"When SMEs move into the [Web hosting] market for the first time they need a lot of handholding and support, because they often lack experience in that area," said Farrell.
Telstra spokesperson Kerrina Lawrence refuted the allegations, saying that Telstra's position as the largest ISP in Australia indicated a good level of customer service and support. Lawrence said the price of Telstra Web hosting was competitive given the plans were riding on the coat tails of the BigPond and Telstra brands, and the value and security provided by them.
"In terms of targeting the SME segment...the product price point is competitive with similar offerings," said Lawrence, adding different companies offered different products.
There are a number of Web hosting providers who offer very competitive plans and the customer should look at the provider not just by their brand, but by what they provide," said Farrell, saying price, reliability and the level of support offered should all be taken into account based on individual customer needs.
Farrell suspects Telstra is reselling WebCentral, since the plans are almost identical to those offered by WebCentral and one of its resellers, OzEmail.
A small example of Web hosting solutions that provide similar features to Telstra's entry level plans follow:
If Telstra's support as "Australias Largest ISP" is so good, how come they are racking up more and more complaints each month?
Why, after 2 months, am i still awaiting replies to issues i raised with them?
But noone is allowed to say anything nasty about Telstra until the sale is finalised.