Telstra angers broadband users

ADSL and cable customers who believed industry heavyweight Telstra had sold them an "unlimited" service are soon to face imposed limits and charges for additional usage.

Telstra announced the revised Freedom Plan to users late yesterday -- restricting data download to three gigabytes per month with additional downloading attracting a hefty fee of 18.9 cents per megabyte.

The industry ombudsman received a stream of complaints last night and this morning.

"This service was referred to as an 'unlimited broadband' experience and they [Telstra] advertised widely for customers," one user told ZDNet.

"However, it seems after a month of numerous email server problems, the solution to improve the service has been to now set a limit to this 'uncapped' traffic limit and set a 3 gig monthly limit. Whilst this may seem a lot to some, and indeed it may be fine for a lot of users, it means that many of us will have to think twice before enjoying a streaming video or radio service."

Telstra staunchly denied that its Freedom Plan was ever sold or described as an unlimited service and claims it is simply responding to a "strong request" from customers to have a defined limit.

"It was never unlimited usage, it was always a service that had an Acceptable User Policy," Telstra spokesperson Stuart Gray told ZDNet. "Customers were all the time saying 'what is your limit?'."

Telsta defines five percent of users as "excessive users" -- downloading in excess of 10 gigabyte per month.

"They were using it [the network] the way they thought it could be used," Gray said, but "it couldn't sustain that level of usablility".

However, Telstra denies that network troubles are the reason behind data restrictions, saying its trying to improve services to the majority of customers on a shared network.

Telstra refuted the allegation that it's profiteering from the revised plan, saying it's an attempt to make it "a viable service as opposed to a service that was costing us money".

"I think people have been believing that it doesn't cost us anything to transmit data," Gray said.

The additional usage fee will "cover the cost of data transmission," he added.

Telstra declined to divulge how many Freedom Plan subscribers it has but said it anticipated some would opt to change carriers on the back of the announcement.

Users who chose to cancel their existing service with Telstra will not incur termination fees, according to the telco.

Alternatively, Telstra advised disgruntled customers to move onto a volume-based plan and pay for capacity, thereby "putting money back into developing the network"

When asked if it would consider rolling out a higher capped plan, Telstra said that if there was demand for that kind of service "there's no real reason we couldn't introduce that".

"We did anticipate that excessive users would be angry," Gray said. However, "85 percent of customers are well below the three gigabyte limit -- they'll see an improved service."

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman has confirmed that Telstra is within its rights to slap a price cap on its "unlimited" ADSL and cable plan.

"It appears Telstra has complied to the terms and conditions of its contract," a TIO spokesperson told ZDNet.

"If customers can show that they don't believe Telstra has then we'll look into it," she added.

The ACCC said it has received complaints on the issue and is currently examining it.

Talkback 69 comments

    As an affected ADSL customer I ...Anonymous -- 06/06/01

    As an affected ADSL customer I think this stinks. I doubt that I use the 3GB but frankly as an IT Professional I may need to download large files to do my job.

    When I signed up the plan was unlimited, I'm now stuck in a plan which limits me for another 17 months.

    I am outraged about this annou ...Anonymous -- 06/06/01

    I am outraged about this announcment. I am a customer on a Freedom Plan, although I would probably never use 3gig a month this is apoling.

    They service is horrible, downloads a caped to 56k there are constant interaptions. How about a rebate for all thouse times service was unavailable?

    Why is that if I am don't pay they stop providing service, but if they stop providing service I still have to pay???

    At list uncap the download speed!!!

    Few of my collegues left Telstra for Optus and although service has a limit (Smaller then 3gig)
    when you download something the average speed is 150kB/s.(Broadband the way it should be)

    I would change to Optus in a minute, but I don't have a choice, Optus snobed Strata Titles if you not in a freestanding house you "don't deserve" Optus cable.

    How can Telstra continue to im ...Anonymous -- 06/06/01

    How can Telstra continue to impose fees for limited services. They have stopped rolling out cable, many exchanges have not been upgraded for ADSL. It is ridiculous to think that people are going to be happy.

    I signed up for this service b ...Mick Mills -- 06/06/01

    I signed up for this service because of
    1/ lightening speeds
    2/ unlimited downloads
    3/ 24 hr connection

    none of which is entirely provided...i have yet to see 24 hr connection due to many web / mail drop-outs..the speeds are capped and the unlimited downloads was capped to a mystery figure only know to users as 10 x the average of all users....which is now set at 3 gig

    I have Sourced Optus and they are available in my street.....Many are not so lucky
    So mobile phones x2....home phone ine wil go to Optus..as Protest against the standover tactics that Telstra seem to think is alright
    Lastly I would like to see many others take the same stand with the Mobile phone and home Phone lines as protest against Telstra
    thankyou

    I'm fine if plan changes, but ...Joseph Choate -- 06/06/01

    I'm fine if plan changes, but want to disconnect and be refunded for modem that only works on there network.

    I signed up for an unlimited s ...Anonymous -- 06/06/01

    I signed up for an unlimited service and am paying for an unlimited service, if they limit the service are they going to lower the price ?, I don't think so, if I wanted a limited service then I would have sign up for it, if they say 85% of their users are below the limit then why penalise them for it, I at least know that Optus doesn't penalise everybody because of the few, I know I am below the limit but that is today, I don't know what I will need tomorrow but I do know I will be looking for another ADSL provider if I can find one.

    MAYBE WE SHOULD ALL GO BACK TO ...Paul g -- 06/06/01

    MAYBE WE SHOULD ALL GO BACK TO OPTUS that offers the same stuff however there limit a mth is 5 gig GOD TELSTRA ARE A PACK OF BULLSHIT ARTISTS! i was sold this plan as unlimited.

    The ombudsman is funded by the ...Anonymous -- 06/06/01

    The ombudsman is funded by the Telco industry - why would they want the industry to not make maximum profits. How many complaints have ever been resolved in the customer's favour. I've had to deal with the toothless, clawless tiger once and the final answer - oh, did you really want to complain about that?

    TELSTRA -
    Takes Extra Long Stoppages To Rectify Anything

    Where do you draw the limit bu ...nick m -- 06/06/01

    Where do you draw the limit but? Telstra set the limit at 3gb but whats stopping them setting it at 1 megabyte and make people pay for each meg after that. They will rake it in. Where does acceptable for the user come into play?

    If they say its because 85% of people download less than 3gb i would like to know if those 85% are actually freedom plan users. Even so if they are downloading such minimal amounts how can they be affected by the high network usage of a supposed 5%. Those 85% dont deserve / need broadband if they arnt using it to experience the internet as it should.

    Telstra oversubscribed their network and now they make us pay for it. Rather than fix the network they decide to make it so people dont really use it. This way they get a fast network no one uses yet everyone pays for.

    I unfortunately have Cable an ...Anonymous -- 06/06/01

    I unfortunately have Cable and am also stuck on this service for a while what really gets under my skin is that i pay for two additional users and that takes my monthly bill to 100 dollars australian every month. now if you do the calculations 3 gig divided by 3 users per day equals just over 30 meg each a day Cant somebody stop these pocket lining creeps from ripping us off

    Why has this been applied retr ...Dennis Murphy -- 06/06/01

    Why has this been applied retrospectively to users like myself ostensibly signing up for an unlimited downloads plan ?
    Does the 3Gb limit apply to both Freedom plans ?
    If so, why are there not different limits for each plan ?
    If an additional user is added to an existing plan, does the 3Gb limit apply hence per user or per service (i.e. ADSL modem/telephone number) ?
    If it applies to the service and not the users, why then does it come under the jurisdiction of the AUP (acceptable user policy) and not an ASP
    (acceptable service policy) ?

    I would also like to point out that with my previous ISP (OPTUS) on a dial up plan
    (I had unlimited access - unlimited downloads) I sometimes chalked up more than 3Gb downloads a month and I was never cautioned under their AUP, AND in addition I have calculated I could listen to no more than 1 and 1/2 hours of streaming audio a day (my favourite radio station) on Telstra's new AUP before any other activity is taken into account. Therefore what is the point of
    experiencing broadband if it is to be capped like this and a dial up service will allow me to listen to more streaming audio ? This is ironic in the extreme.
    I can understand the need for an AUP to some extent and in fact I diligently turn off unnecessary internet activity whilst away from the computer, yet I feel these measures are quite draconian in the extreme and are being applied in a carte blanche fashion.

    In todays Internet age where e ...Anonymous -- 06/06/01

    In todays Internet age where every page you go to has high resolution graphics, media content , applets etc -which all count in the "normal downloads" how long do you think it would actually take to get to the 3GB.

    Broadband and the Monthly fee that is paid (in my case $89/month ADSL) is a high cost service that I am willing to pay to get access to the supposed unlimited download capabiltiy (not that I abuse this) , and constant service.

    Since I hooked up what I have found is that the service is unreliable, constant outages, slow download speeds compared to the so called "advertised benefits".

    When has Telstra offered a refund or allowance for these outages ???

    This is just typical of Telstra. They actually remind me of the Antitrust suite of Microsoft in many aspects. The whole deal with Microsoft was that they were a Monopoly, well isnt Telstra a monopoly in this country ?? Think about it how else could they get away with doing this and maintain customer base - they own the infrastructure , most if not all ISP's feed through the Telstra internet backbone - so they can screw everyone and it wont matter.

    I would change from Telstra but there is no other option where I live.....

    Check out www.broadband.org.au ...Anonymous -- 06/06/01

    Check out www.broadband.org.au for all the latest news not only about all things broadband in Australia, but there is also the official petition which will be printed out in hardcopy form and posted to Telstra, TIO, ACCC, and the media.

    I am going to cancel my contra ...Adrian -- 07/06/01

    I am going to cancel my contract with them. I also expect they refund me part, if not all of my connection fee as I have only been connected for a few months. They should also pay back the percentage of money that I had payed towards the modem. I urge that other users demand the same.

    Should anyone be expecting tel ...Anonymous -- 07/06/01

    Should anyone be expecting telstra to keep it's promises on anything enymore? After the sell-off of a large percentage of telstra it soon became apparent that they were no longer there for customers, but shareholders instead. Money Money Money as the song goes...

    By the way, does anyone else find 'telstra' more difficult to type than 'telecom', or is it just me?

    Where’s The Enlistment Office ...Mark Harrison -- 07/06/01

    Where’s The Enlistment Office – I wanna fight!!

    I download Movies and SHNs

    I am a regular collector of legitimate concerts - those bands that allow taping – (just go to http://www.etree.org/) these are done via SHN (shorten) files and are in the order of 400 to 500 MB each. Not hard to do 3GB in a few days.

    I beleive that Telstra are using a 1998 model of what an internet surfer does. (Some of us are deep divers not surfers!!). I would imagine it takes years (1 or 2) for people to catch onto things and it seems Telstra are anticipating this - movies on demand can't be far away!! Get the picture.

    Come On Telstra - if I download 10 Grateful Dead Concerts in a month (God or whoever bless Jerry ‘cause he must be rolling in his grave) do you mean to say I have to pay extra?? Are you serious?
    Anyway - who's organising the battle? i want to enlist - quite happy to be a foot soldier here. Come all you deadheads this is the battle cry!

    This is an arbitary decision that doesn't reflect what is currently happening in PC usage. For example I am a happy DV Video hobbyist - my scratch drives total 100GB. I make a highlights movie of my son's footy match on Saturdays 3 or 4 times amonth - the avi files are 4.5GB (this is 20 mins of video each) - I want Granddad who is a competent PC user to FTP these files in the UK. This 20 min DV avi (4.5GB) - is a normal amateur usage of a PC these days. Telstra know this and want to capture the horse before it bolts. Tranferring these sort of NEW home videos will be the norm very soon.

    Anyway enough of my raving, Where's the Enlistment Office?
    I wanna fight.

    This news is very dissapointin ...Nicholas Enrico -- 07/06/01

    This news is very dissapointing to me. I just got Telstra's Freedom Deluxe ADSL on Thursday, 31 June. That's last week. The next day, I got an outage which last from midday Friday to about midnight Saturday. And then on Monday I receive this news.
    Just 3 G...it's very small. Just for browsing, chatting, e-mailing, and downloading some new songs on the chart will eat up 100 M quickly.
    Maybe most customers don't use 3 G, but eventhough they will not reach that limit, there must be a pressure for them to watch themselves to stay in the limit. Has Telstra even considered that users will be uneasy?
    This is a broadband service, we excpect, people expect to use it utilising its speed performance. Like streaming movies, music, browsing graphic intensive sites...and that means data transmission. Even in dial-up we can download large files, visits graphic intensive sites, but it's slow. In broadband it's fast. Faster download speed means user can use it for another thing.
    The bottom line is, broadband is meant to be used for heavy traffic content, that's why people use broadband and not dial-up. Moreover, Telstra's limit is based on download AND upload!
    What I wish is for Telstra to cancel this change or at least increase the cap to 6+ G. Limits always mean uneasiness of mind for internet users.
    Telstra should have known what it means to be a broadband service provider, it should expect that broadband will cost a lot of data. This late change means Telstra just want to earn more money.

    85% users below the 3 gig limi ...Anonymous -- 07/06/01

    85% users below the 3 gig limit ?

    I wonder where Telstra get that mighty figure from

    You got that right .. I hereby challenge Telstra to prove that figures

    It's sad to see a 'premium' broadband company outraging users with a vague statement like that and yet limit our access to broadband

    IF there is another broadband access, you can be damn sure I will jump company in an instant.

    Take a look sometime at the broadband offer States wide and you will find that your promise of hightech internet access is a joke

    Burn All Christians.......the ...Ted Turner -- 07/06/01

    Burn All Christians.......the pricks are now rooting Barbarella

    Ozesurfer.com is worse than Telstra Con Spirolsy -- 29/05/06 (in reply to #120003630)

    Dont trust anything from Ozesurfer. You will be taken to the cleaners or pay a lot for. But worth the battle...

    Ozesurfer.com is worse than Telstra Con Spirolsy -- 29/05/06 (in reply to #120003630)

    Dont trust anything from Ozesurfer. You will be taken to the cleaners or pay a lot for. But worth the battle...

    I knew this would happen, in o ...Anonymous -- 07/06/01

    I knew this would happen, in one form or another. I've never trusted Telstra. I decided against their cable/adsl services sometime ago. It looks like I was on the money.

    The 3GB/month limit is totally ...Anonymous -- 07/06/01

    The 3GB/month limit is totally unreasonable.
    I have done 3GB a month using a 56K modem with a $20/month dialup account. With a broadband connection this 3GB limit can be achieved easily within a day. Also people should consider that the 3GB limit applies to uploads and downloads, so for users running any kind of file sharing software (Napster, Aimster, Gnutella, IRC) should be extremely careful. You could have your limit reached in a day without downloading 1 byte.

    When I signed up for ADSL is was advertised as "unlimited downloads", I do not care what small print they had regarding acceptable usage. There was no defined limit in there and even if it was, it was advertised as "unlimited downloads".

    Telstra claim that subscribers can cancel their service without disconnection penalties, this is also unacceptable. What about the connection fee that subscribers had to pay when they signed up ? Also most ADSL users have no other broadband options available. Telstra & Optus cable is not available to most people who live in units, even if they have cable in the street.

    Telstra claim that users wanted a defined limit, this is as unfair statement. The only time users asked for a defined limit was after Telstra introduced the Green Light, Red Light system for monitoring your usage. You got your red light 2 days after the fact, so it was virtually impossible to calculate what the cut off point was. Only then did people ask for a defined limit.

    Australian Consumers : You are being ripped off !!! When speaking to friends in the US, they laugh at our so called broadband connections, they pay a fraction of the cost that we do, get increadible connection speeds, and usage limits are a thing of the past dating back to early dial-up connections.

    they sould improve the speed m ...mark l -- 07/06/01

    they sould improve the speed more than anything
    i only get 25 k/sec on the 256 plan.. is that right is have i got somthing wrong

    I have had this service(or so ...Anonymous -- 08/06/01

    I have had this service(or so called)for 2 months and have had nothing but trouble.I, in this time have been told by three different Telstra staff members that 10-12 gig per month is acceptable under the aup and now HEY PRESTO lets cut it by 3/4 just to make every body happy.......I DONT THINK SO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Telstra are full of GREED! The ...Anonymous -- 09/06/01

    Telstra are full of GREED! They are already making booming profits and it doesnt seem as though any of it goes towards their most valued assets, THE CUSTOMERS! All Telstra care about is themselves. "Making life easier"? HAHA Yeah right! the person who thought up that catch phrase must have been on the drink when he thought it up!

    After having to wait three mon ...Cory Robson -- 10/06/01

    After having to wait three months after I was advised I could have ADSL the first week I supposedly had it THE GREAT CABLE CUT made it unusuable for the first week and a half. Numerous outages in the last two and a half months I've used the service Now I'm told the advertised unlimited account that I pay a premium for is going to be capped... F#$@ OFF take ya bloody modem back and give me a refund on the installation fees. I'll take all of my business elsewhere.

    I may not go over the 3 gig li ...William Sutton -- 10/06/01

    I may not go over the 3 gig limit normally but I joined Telstra ADSL so that I had the flexibility to get something big if needed. Once another broadband provider shows up down here not only will Telstra lose my $100 per month ADSL account but also my mobile and home phone accounts

    I feel the ISP's in Australia ...Anonymous -- 11/06/01

    I feel the ISP's in Australia have been allowed to swap and change at will, the inferred options of their contracts. I was thinking of going to ADSL, but after reading this no way. My ISP when I joined allowed totally unlimited downloads hours etc., till it was bought out by AGL dingoblue then just states they have changed the rules and if you are not happy opt out. When is the ombudsman going to do the job they are supposed to and protect the consumers from the money grabbing ISP's of this country???

    You can't compare Telstra's br ...Anonymous -- 11/06/01

    You can't compare Telstra's broadband services with the Optus cable service. Thats how bad Telstra is. Even before the 3 gig limit Telstra still did not provide anywhere near as good a service as Optus. But the only reason they are raking in the money is because of their wide coverage (since they are a monopoly).

    Telstra Bigpond Dropouts No se ...Anonymous -- 11/06/01

    Telstra Bigpond Dropouts No service No Mail lies and a now a rip off.

    If 5 kids out of a class of a ...Anonymous -- 12/06/01

    If 5 kids out of a class of a hundred are being naughty, is it right to punish all one hundred of them?

    I am a user of Telstra Bigpond ...Anonymous -- 14/06/01

    I am a user of Telstra Bigpond cable for the reason that there are no other compeditors in my area. I would be happy to change to someone else if I could. I wanted Optus at home as the speeds are greater for the same money.

    What is all this stuff about 5 ...tachyon -- 14/06/01

    What is all this stuff about 5% users abusing the unlimited package. Well the idea behind an unlimited scheme is to have no limits...and abuse comes in when u cross limits.
    I am based in Los Angeles, and my Cable Provider has never ever bothered me about such stupid stuff.(i easily download well well over 10 Gigs a month).
    All i can say is Telstra SUX big time !

    I really feel sorry for you pe ...Anonymous -- 14/06/01

    I really feel sorry for you people down there.
    Telstra seems to have you all by the balls
    if you want high speed access. It's their
    way or the highway. The more I read about
    Australia, the more I don't take free enterprise
    for granted...

    Well now, havent Telstra done ...Anonymous -- 14/06/01

    Well now, havent Telstra done a fine job. They've managed to screw us loyal BPA users and give Optus the leading edge in one decision...

    Now that were paying for less internet downloads and a really shitty connection, why should we pay $70 a month?

    I say we protest not only against the download limit, but if that fails then we should protest against the price. I AM NOT GONNA STAND BY, DOWNLOADING 3GB A MONTH, AND PAY THE SAME PRICE THAT I DID FOR UNLIMITED DOWNLOADS!!!

    Telstra, if I wanted capped service, I wouldve gone with the business plan, not the so called 'FREEDOM' plan you offered.

    I feel sorry for those people who got connected just a few days before Telstra implemented these restrictions.

    Ziggy you basterd, THINK OF YOUR CUSTOMERS, NOT YOUR FRIGGIN WALLET!!!!

    At least you can get ADSL. In ...Anonymous -- 15/06/01

    At least you can get ADSL.

    In Gungahlin (North Canberra) we're lucky to even get a standard 56K connection because the Tel$tra exchange isn't fully digital.

    Ziggy, give me back my gruntle ...Loki -- 15/06/01

    Ziggy, give me back my gruntles!!

    If you are disgruntled by Telstras actions Join the Big Pond Assault and make Ziggy give'em back.

    http://www.ozquake.com/BPA

    Gives you the breakdown of info and options to act, with examples letters and contact details for ITO, ACCC, Telstra execs, the PM, Ministers, Premiers.. hook into it people!!!!!!

    Good one Telstra , and then th ...marty4d -- 17/06/01

    Good one Telstra , and then they wonder why .

    I'm not a technical person..bu ...Anonymous -- 18/06/01

    I'm not a technical person..but shouldn't they rather limit the number of new users or expand their facility rather than indirectly breach current users' contract and upset everybody?
    Yes, the service may improve, but at the cost of the ustomer themselves.
    It's another their gimmick to transfer the infrastructure cost to the customers... because they can do it.
    Wait till we see real broadband competition arise.

    I took ADSL for the speed and ...Anonymous -- 21/06/01

    I took ADSL for the speed and that it was always on. I understood there was no limit at all. When I connected up while the engineer was here the first emails that came in was thet I had a 3 gig limit. I know thats a lot of data but you do have to think about what you are doing so you don't eat it all up. So many sites are aimed at broadband now and what about all them software updates and anti virus patterns. We can all use a lot before we ever do what we want on line. I think let everyone do what they want and we will all find a level that we use. We all go wild when we first get it but soon level off. Give us what every other country seems to have and see how we cope.

    Greedy Telstra. !!! If you say ...Baka -- 25/06/01

    Greedy Telstra. !!!

    If you say there is no termination fees.
    than you also need to SPECIFY YOU REFUND the INSTALLATION FEES. I just enter the contract last month !!!

    Greeedy Telstra, That's why your shares plunge.
    Worse time to come mate!!!

    15-20 Minutes Use A Day Is Ins ...Anonymous -- 30/06/01

    15-20 Minutes Use A Day Is Insulting The Techonlogy And Capabilities Of The Computer Systems And Networks We Use Today !!!!!!

    $$Tel$tra$$ = rip off = nothin ...Anonymous -- 03/07/01

    $$Tel$tra$$ = rip off = nothing they are saying to the papers is in the slightest way true. I signed up about 6 months ago for $89/month (Freedom deluxe ADSL), for the last 4 months I have been getting charged $105/month! I rang them and they "fixed it" and but did not refund me like they said they would. Next bill comes around, still $105/month!!! So I rang them again, there utterly rude service operators diagnosed the problem (once again) and didn't say they were going to refund the amount they ripped me off. NEXT BILL comes around and there problem now stands at $100 / Month... Way to go $$Tel$tra$$ - take us into the future! EVERYBODY CHECK EVERY BILL YOU GET FROM TELSTRA.

    i had to pay $330 for a booste ...Sylvester Ip -- 03/07/01

    i had to pay $330 for a booster for a 4th outlet i am appaulad that i have to have a cap after paying $500+ for setiing it up this is so sad they refuse to refund my money and my mum was pretty much crying on the phone to them but they just hung up on us **** i swear

    ZDnet can stick their macromed ...Anonymous -- 04/07/01

    ZDnet can stick their macromedia flash ads up their backsides if they think I'm paying 18.9c per MB to view ads!

    I signed up just one month ago ...Anonymous -- 05/07/01

    I signed up just one month ago and I registered for two users just because it's unlimited. Now that telstra capped it to 3 gigs and I have to follow it like a volume based customer.

    Although cancelling the contract does not incur any cost, but I lost my installation fee which I won't get back. So I don't have a choice but to stay using the service. Even though I do not exceed the limit with two users, it just sound unfair for me to have 3 gig for 2 users and that if I cancel I lost $189 installation and use it for just one month.

    From reading the article, I co ...Stephen Michael Kuhn -- 24/08/01

    From reading the article, I couldn't believe that TELSTRA would literally say "Our paying customers have asked that YOU LIMIT the amount of stuff we download". Customer's are going to REQUEST 3 gb a month cap? Are you joking? You must be kidding! So TELSTRA is telling us that if I were to walk around the area and question TELSTRA customers about this, that the vast majority of them is going to literally state that they don't want to be able to download more?

    I think not. Firstly - I believe this is yet another "slight of hand" scrap of information that TELSTRA is just handing out because they're unable to maintain a quality serivce and they're looking to place the blame SOMEWHERE - so why not use the excuse of other customer's downloading too much. Secondly, when is TELSTRA and the other providers going to stop playing the same "rates" game as was already played out in the US over two years ago - when the consumers got sick of the capped download limits and "ratios" - the providers hurt themselves - all for a quick buck.

    1 week after I joined up with ...Peter Menelaou -- 24/08/01

    1 week after I joined up with Telstra cable they slammed me with this 3GB limit. I signed up because it was suppose to be an unlimited data transfer service, then they hit me with this. IF Optus did installations in units, I would definately sign right over to them without any hesitatoins. This is an outrage, I am furious over this data transfer limit. telstra even have the hide to say that this is what the majority of their customers wanted... what a load of balony, show me one customer that wants a data transfer limit placed upon them and that want to pay for any data over that limit. Show me one! Signed..
    another dissatisfied customer.

    You can bet your bottom dollor ...Peter Menelaou -- 24/08/01

    You can bet your bottom dollor that if Optus ever starts to install cable into units, i'll be one of the first to sign up!

    I spoke to a telstra installat ...Anonymous -- 24/08/01

    I spoke to a telstra installation person a couple of months ago and he was bragging about his great, uncapped connection.

    He claimed to download 7+ GB a month. Apparently, he "knew" the techo's at his exchange, or something along those lines and they had his capping restrictions "relieved".

    I'd like to know how many telstra employees do the same thing, and just how many of them make up the percentage of excess users telstra claims helped to impose this 3GB limit.

    It's appalling.

    Sn.ALSTON.NO COMPETITON? he ho ...Keith Styles -- 31/08/01

    Sn.ALSTON.NO COMPETITON? he hopes it will propup Telstra's revenue/profit. Once again Telstra fiddles the figures. 85% of users asked for a capped service? I don't think so!! Think about the charge if you EXCEED the capped 3gig LIMIT. $1.89/M is a hell of a lot of money if you exceed the cap. Not only is it a lot of money, but the USEAGE details provided by Telstra aren't accurate and they DON'T guarantee to provide accurate figures. TELSTRA SCREWS US ALL AGAIN.

    18.9C/MegByte. Sorry my last ...Keith Styles -- 31/08/01

    18.9C/MegByte. Sorry my last post put the . in the wrong place. Its still bloody expensive tho. Think about it! 100MByte @ 18.9c/M x 30days/mth is>$54/mth on top of the high charge for the lousy service @ $90/mth is > $144/mth.

    The usage chart is never on time and never accurate, so you won't know for sure how much your bill will be at the end of the month.

    If you think Telstra is going to respond to anyones complaints about being overcharged, think again. I have been argueing with them for 4 months concerning overchargeing on my phone bill and have received no satisfactory answers or credits.

    Hi Telstra has lied to me, che ...Jeff B -- 08/09/01

    Hi

    Telstra has lied to me, cheated me and ripped me off

    I am leaving Telstra for all my phone services and for ADSL

    ADSL Sucks, it breaks down *all the time*, still, after the 3GB limit, it *still* keeps breaking down! Yesterday I had a 3 hour period where I could not get online, Techsupport couldnt help, and after 3 hours "magic" it worked.

    Dont waste your money on Telstra/

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i' ...Anonymous -- 15/09/01

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i've got to say that the whole internet experience is fantastic compared with Telstra Big Swamp broadband cable.
    Telstra cable internet speeds are comparable to your conventional 56K dial up modems or in other words (Slow). I got nothing but constand dropouts and network failures .
    Then i was told that my monthly download limit was 3GB which Telstra claims that the average customer monthly download figure does not exceed 3GB anyway. Well thats the case when the speeds are so pathetic on the Telstra Big Swamp network that acheiving 3GB a month is fair effort.
    Now that im with Optus , worrying about exceeding download limits are a thing of the past and just last month i was able to download 18GB (6 times more than Telstra) and the overall speeds are indeed lightning fast. I with out a doubt recommend to anyone currently with Telstra broadband internet to join the Optus network ASAP.....

    You wont believe the difference.

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i' ...Anonymous -- 15/09/01

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i've got to say that the whole internet experience is fantastic compared with Telstra Big Swamp broadband cable.
    Telstra cable internet speeds are comparable to your conventional 56K dial up modems or in other words (Slow). I got nothing but constand dropouts and network failures .
    Then i was told that my monthly download limit was 3GB which Telstra claims that the average customer monthly download figure does not exceed 3GB anyway. Well thats the case when the speeds are so pathetic on the Telstra Big Swamp network that acheiving 3GB a month is fair effort.
    Now that im with Optus , worrying about exceeding download limits are a thing of the past and just last month i was able to download 18GB (6 times more than Telstra) and the overall speeds are indeed lightning fast. I with out a doubt recommend to anyone currently with Telstra broadband internet to join the Optus network ASAP.....

    You wont believe the difference.

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i' ...Anonymous -- 15/09/01

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i've got to say that the whole internet experience is fantastic compared with Telstra Big Swamp broadband cable.
    Telstra cable internet speeds are comparable to your conventional 56K dial up modems or in other words (Slow). I got nothing but constand dropouts and network failures .
    Then i was told that my monthly download limit was 3GB which Telstra claims that the average customer monthly download figure does not exceed 3GB anyway. Well thats the case when the speeds are so pathetic on the Telstra Big Swamp network that acheiving 3GB a month is fair effort.
    Now that im with Optus , worrying about exceeding download limits are a thing of the past and just last month i was able to download 18GB (6 times more than Telstra) and the overall speeds are indeed lightning fast. I with out a doubt recommend to anyone currently with Telstra broadband internet to join the Optus network ASAP.....

    You wont believe the difference.

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i' ...Anonymous -- 15/09/01

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i've got to say that the whole internet experience is fantastic compared with Telstra Big Swamp broadband cable.
    Telstra cable internet speeds are comparable to your conventional 56K dial up modems or in other words (Slow). I got nothing but constand dropouts and network failures .
    Then i was told that my monthly download limit was 3GB which Telstra claims that the average customer monthly download figure does not exceed 3GB anyway. Well thats the case when the speeds are so pathetic on the Telstra Big Swamp network that acheiving 3GB a month is fair effort.
    Now that im with Optus , worrying about exceeding download limits are a thing of the past and just last month i was able to download 18GB (6 times more than Telstra) and the overall speeds are indeed lightning fast. I with out a doubt recommend to anyone currently with Telstra broadband internet to join the Optus network ASAP.....

    You wont believe the difference.

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i' ...Anonymous -- 15/09/01

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i've got to say that the whole internet experience is fantastic compared with Telstra Big Swamp broadband cable.
    Telstra cable internet speeds are comparable to your conventional 56K dial up modems or in other words (Slow). I got nothing but constand dropouts and network failures .
    Then i was told that my monthly download limit was 3GB which Telstra claims that the average customer monthly download figure does not exceed 3GB anyway. Well thats the case when the speeds are so pathetic on the Telstra Big Swamp network that acheiving 3GB a month is fair effort.
    Now that im with Optus , worrying about exceeding download limits are a thing of the past and just last month i was able to download 18GB (6 times more than Telstra) and the overall speeds are indeed lightning fast. I with out a doubt recommend to anyone currently with Telstra broadband internet to join the Optus network ASAP.....

    You wont believe the difference.

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i' ...Anonymous -- 15/09/01

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i've got to say that the whole internet experience is fantastic compared with Telstra Big Swamp broadband cable.
    Telstra cable internet speeds are comparable to your conventional 56K dial up modems or in other words (Slow). I got nothing but constand dropouts and network failures .
    Then i was told that my monthly download limit was 3GB which Telstra claims that the average customer monthly download figure does not exceed 3GB anyway. Well thats the case when the speeds are so pathetic on the Telstra Big Swamp network that acheiving 3GB a month is fair effort.
    Now that im with Optus , worrying about exceeding download limits are a thing of the past and just last month i was able to download 18GB (6 times more than Telstra) and the overall speeds are indeed lightning fast. I with out a doubt recommend to anyone currently with Telstra broadband internet to join the Optus network ASAP.....

    You wont believe the difference.

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i' ...Anonymous -- 15/09/01

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i've got to say that the whole internet experience is fantastic compared with Telstra Big Swamp broadband cable.
    Telstra cable internet speeds are comparable to your conventional 56K dial up modems or in other words (Slow). I got nothing but constand dropouts and network failures .
    Then i was told that my monthly download limit was 3GB which Telstra claims that the average customer monthly download figure does not exceed 3GB anyway. Well thats the case when the speeds are so pathetic on the Telstra Big Swamp network that acheiving 3GB a month is fair effort.
    Now that im with Optus , worrying about exceeding download limits are a thing of the past and just last month i was able to download 18GB (6 times more than Telstra) and the overall speeds are indeed lightning fast. I with out a doubt recommend to anyone currently with Telstra broadband internet to join the Optus network ASAP.....

    You wont believe the difference.

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i' ...Anonymous -- 15/09/01

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i've got to say that the whole internet experience is fantastic compared with Telstra Big Swamp broadband cable.
    Telstra cable internet speeds are comparable to your conventional 56K dial up modems or in other words (Slow). I got nothing but constand dropouts and network failures .
    Then i was told that my monthly download limit was 3GB which Telstra claims that the average customer monthly download figure does not exceed 3GB anyway. Well thats the case when the speeds are so pathetic on the Telstra Big Swamp network that acheiving 3GB a month is fair effort.
    Now that im with Optus , worrying about exceeding download limits are a thing of the past and just last month i was able to download 18GB (6 times more than Telstra) and the overall speeds are indeed lightning fast. I with out a doubt recommend to anyone currently with Telstra broadband internet to join the Optus network ASAP.....

    You wont believe the difference.

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i' ...Anonymous -- 15/09/01

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i've got to say that the whole internet experience is fantastic compared with Telstra Big Swamp broadband cable.
    Telstra cable internet speeds are comparable to your conventional 56K dial up modems or in other words (Slow). I got nothing but constand dropouts and network failures .
    Then i was told that my monthly download limit was 3GB which Telstra claims that the average customer monthly download figure does not exceed 3GB anyway. Well thats the case when the speeds are so pathetic on the Telstra Big Swamp network that acheiving 3GB a month is fair effort.
    Now that im with Optus , worrying about exceeding download limits are a thing of the past and just last month i was able to download 18GB (6 times more than Telstra) and the overall speeds are indeed lightning fast. I with out a doubt recommend to anyone currently with Telstra broadband internet to join the Optus network ASAP.....

    You wont believe the difference.

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i' ...Bob -- 15/09/01

    GO TO OPTUS.......I did and i've got to say that the whole internet experience is fantastic compared with Telstra Big Swamp broadband cable.
    Telstra cable internet speeds are comparable to your conventional 56K dial up modems or in other words (Slow). I got nothing but constand dropouts and network failures .
    Then i was told that my monthly download limit was 3GB which Telstra claims that the average customer monthly download figure does not exceed 3GB anyway. Well thats the case when the speeds are so pathetic on the Telstra Big Swamp network that acheiving 3GB a month is fair effort.
    Now that im with Optus , worrying about exceeding download limits are a thing of the past and just last month i was able to download 18GB (6 times more than Telstra) and the overall speeds are indeed lightning fast. I with out a doubt recommend to anyone currently with Telstra broadband internet to join the Optus network ASAP.....

    You wont believe the difference.

    Anti-Australian Company. Quote ...Anonymous -- 13/02/02

    Anti-Australian Company. Quote "85% are below the 3 gig limit.. they'll see an improved service" SURE' But they are more than likely ABOVE the 1 gig limit and therefore are penalised like us for being good customers.
    Dont believe a word this mob tells you. They dont know how to run the service and they will lie and cheat to cover up their incompetence. The only solution is Australia wide regulation to bring these thieves into line.

    ZDNET.Com.au Anonymous -- 16/06/06

    Beware all users of ZDNet ,ZDNET is allowing the posting of stupid rubbish comments by all sorts of MORONS & attaching itself to anyone in order to SPAM search results with hundreds of 6 year old stories.
    It is pathetic to think that ZDNet.com.au needs to attach itself to this kind of bullshit forum, in order to further its cause !
    They musn't be doing too well.

    bigpond what a load of S**t Tea Tutaki -- 29/06/08

    LOL ok, ok, I would get it if Telstra where actually using the cash to upgrade the exchange and up grade there info structure but that is Bull S**t they have not.

    I am an IT professional, who can easily use 3Gb a month so I use the cable extreme plan no complaints (lies I have lots of complaints) it dos the trick at about twice the price and half the usage that other carriers can (which I am only with Telstra because there is no exchange available to me).

    i mean i would be happy to stay with them (lies again would not be happy to stay with them) but unfortunately they have no decent capped plan i mean how hard would it be to make a 60 gig plan that is capped instead of having to pay the outrages excess usage charge of 17cents per MB( O' My God) there are other carriers out there that will only charge $4per GB so what give Telstra the right to charge $170 a GB. lets look at it if there are companies out there that can afford to only charge $4 a GB and they are using Telstra’s info structure then lets hold up and add this up is that 4200 percent profit dos this make cense, owe wait how many customers does Telstra have at that bigger profit margin you would think that Telstra would be able to set up an awesome info structure but they can even provide enough exchanges hmm.

    o so where was I o yes if only they could provide an descent capped plan instead of me stressing towards the end of the month wondering have I used to much usage **** half the time I am afraid to use it because of the excessive usage fee's, so most months I am don’t I get to like 40 gig of my usage and start being careful and only use it for what I have to don’t stream video's etc.

    So my previous experience is mainly why I am righting this I would probably not have written this if it wasn’t for the fact that Telstra have pushed me over the line this month. about a month ago I got a nice sincere phone call from Telstra saying that I have not quite been using all the monthly usage also noting the fact that I had gone over 25gig the month that she was talking to me so she was like we can arrange for you to go down to the 25gig plan next month. so me not being an idiot knowing that I i use more than 25gig and knowing that I would probably be using more than 25GB the next month but not 100 percent sure that I would use more than 25GB said "can I change my plan back to the 60GB plan any time I wanted" with a response of yes to my question I then replied of then lets do it. the sales rep on the other end also explained that I would be slowed to 256/54Kbs so I was like o so i will still get broadband speeds I also decided before going through with the plan change to look on the net and confirm cos I new in the past that I would get slowed to 64k and on the net it said that the plan that she was offering would slow me to 64k so once again I said to the sales rep that the bigpond website stated that I would be slowed to 64k she said no that is only for adsl users cable get 256/54 so I was finally convinced that I should down my plan to this 25Gb plan which was cheaper, rather stay on my 60GB plan thinking that if I did hit the 25GB limit of that plan that I could change to the 60GB plan so I change. so the new month rolls around and I am like going hard doing what I am doing 12 days into my plan I relies that I am 21GB into my plan so I am like O' ok I will have to go up to the 60GB plan ahh well I am not going to save any money this month ahh well maybe next month will be slower. so I log onto big pond web site and go to try to change my plan and it says that I can only change my plan once a month " ahh screech "the stress the frustration that I feel " did Telstra lie to me? no, no they wouldn’t have lied to me, they wouldn’t! Have I entered a verbal contract no it must just be an error" so I ring my friendly bigpond rep which informs me that he can not change it and that there is nothing that he can do. I also explained to him that I have been lied t

    STOP WINGING !!! Justin W Walsh -- 17/04/09

    Telstra is a MONOPOLY created with taxpayers money. I's so easy, simply take any cooperative and "hot house" a monopoly. Like say: AMP, NRMA,... then when it is successful, call in the Corporate Raiders, and ... well you know the rest.
    But of course everybody knows that the economics of GREED are better then the economics of NEED. Take this for example : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tendency_of_the_rate_of_profit_to_fall
    according to this article I'm too old fashioned.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxymoron.
    Take a good look in the mirror and choose: Are you the Oxy or the Moron?

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