One Apple Mac user -- who requested anonymity -- accused Telstra of ignoring a large segment of the market by failing to re-connect Mac users to the network after a configuration error corrupted the service.
-It's an inappropriate way for Telstra to treat a large segment of the market. It appears that Telstra are not giving the same consideration to its Apple Mac users as it does to PC customers," the user said.
Telstra's spokesperson Kerrina Lawrence, however, denied the carrier treats its two user communities differently. -Mac users are important to Telstra," she said.
-Users have the ability to specify a secondary domain name server in the advent that the first is not available, such as a technical glitch," she said.
-Telstra advises any concerned Mac users not aware of this facility to contact BigPond technical support helpdesk," Lawrence added.
A ZDNet Australia report revealed Apple Mac computer users in NSW, Queensland and Victoria were affected by a BigPond cable dataflow error yesterday which lasted up to three hours.
Telstra's Stuart Grey said the failure had occurred during a network upgrade to enhance the software. The re-configuration was successful for PC customers, however, -a different code was required for Apple Mac users on its DOCSIS routers".
Grey said the carrier did not realise what had caused the problem until the -vendors were called in to fix it".
Apple Computer Australia corporate affairs manager Nyrna Van Pett said the company is disappointed that Telstra neglected to consider the needs of the Mac community.
-It's inappropriate given the growth of the Mac market, not keeping up with the needs of customer's platforms out there," Van Pett said.
Growth in the Mac market? You mean lack of?