Independent telecommunications research organisation Telsyte, found that most providers are touting asymmetrical DSL (ADSL) -- designed for residential users - to business clients, when SHDSL, HDSL and SDSL would be more appropriate.
Of the 28 companies surveyed by Telsyte, 85.7 percent target SMEs as either their sole market or one of their few markets, Telsyte MD Shara Evans told ZDNet Australia. However, although 89.3 percent offer ADSL products only 35.7 percent offer HDSL, she added.
-Most of these providers offer asymmetrical services, even though most experts in the telecomms industry maintain that ADSL is a flavour that is more suitable for the residential sector. Residential users tend to download more information than they upload. SHDSL or other symmetrical services are more suitable for business and government since users in that sector tend to download and upload a similar amount of data," Evans said.
Telsyte also found that many companies don't know how much data they're consuming and sign up for the minimum/cheapest plan, again more appropriate for residential users, unaware that hidden costs apply if they surpass data restrictions.
-It depends how much information you send/receive as to whether the published price is what you pay," Evans said.
Using the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Internet activity figures, Telsyte found that on average businesses were using 363.3 megabytes per month, and proceeded to model that on different DSL tariffs.
Based on 363.3MB, one particular plan with a speed of 256k/64k and a published price of AU$89 would actually cost AU$108 per month, Evans said.
Another plan, with a published price of AU$110 would actually cost AU$129 once hidden usage charges were added to the tariff. -Price changes dramatically, the higher you go over plan," Evans said. "Use three gigabytes per month and it'd cost you AU$365 - that's a huge difference."
Although businesses themselves have to take responsibility for understanding their own requirements, Telsyte's tariff analysis suggests that Australian DSL service providers still need to develop and offer a product that that is truly designed for business and government, according to Evans. "The service must be reasonably costed, have no hidden usage charges and have high levels of availability, backed by a strong Service Level Agreement."
Of residential plans, Evans said very few are under AU$100 a month for a 256k/64k ADSL service. -It's hard to justify that type of expenditure for residential users," Evans said.
-Current pricing strategies, at both retail and wholesale levels, serve to make DSL a more expensive technology than it has to be. This is seen as hampering the widespread adoption of this broadband technology in the business sector and in Australia," she said.
Participants in the survey included: AAPT, Activ Australia, Agile, Australia Internet Solutions, Blue Net, Cyrus Technologies, Davnet, Dolphin DSL, e-Talk, Global One, GPM Internet, Highway 1, iiNet, Intelligent Public Network (IPN), NetComm, Netspace, NEXTEP Broadband, Pacific Internet, Primus, Pulsat, Request DSL, SmarterDSL, Talent Internet, Telstra (Retail and Wholesale), TPG, TransACT and XYZed (an Optus Subsidiary).
ADSL Pricing for the residential market is still way to high. Plus the fact that you need to be within a certain distance of the exchange for it to work. Another point is that Telstra are slow in upgrading exchanges to ADSL standard. Broadband choices in Australia are poor and expensive. Seeing the major Telco's stopped the rollout of cable, even to newly developed areas (where it would be much easier to lay the cable while the development was laying the phone and electricity cables), broadband choices have suffered as well. Most people are now being told that you should go satellite, but what they don't tell you is tht you still need to have a phone line dedicated to your internet usage for upload (eg: sending emails) purposes.
Even when you query their respective websites for broadband availability, the answer you get back is either "Yes, it is available in your area" or "Broadband MAY be available in your area" ... it either is or it isn't .. what is "May be" ???