Following Telstra's recently announced restrictions on broadband data downloads to three gigabytes a month, customer anger "has manifested itself differently than we expected," a Telstra representative told ZDNet.
Telstra claims that it imposed downloading limits due to the five percent of customers deemed "excessive" users who affect the service for other users.
Only 10 percent of respondents to a ZDNet Survey believe Telstra needs to clamp down on excessive usage, with 90 percent -- or 1386 readers -- claiming Telstra has shot itself in the foot over its decision to restrict broadband Internet use.
Telstra said at the time that it anticipated "excessive users would be angry".
However, "we thought there'd be a few emails," Telstra's spokesperson acknowledged in an interview this week.
Instead, Web sites devoted to the broadband culture are rallying support and boast a range of ways in which disgruntled Telstra broadband users can respond to the change of policy.
One group is organising street protests in Melbourne and Sydney and another site -- www.sitehappens.com.au -- aims to raise money for a full-page colour press advertisement, objecting to Telstra's move.
www.ozquake.com is encouraging customers to hit the telco where it hurts and pull their business out of Telstra.
The site provides users with a cut and paste email to Telstra CEO Ziggy Switkowski, giving him the dollar figure that their withdrawal of business will mean.
"At a time that Ziggy's saying he's concerned about market share and profits it seems a bit of a backward move to limit a medium that's growing," the site's webmaster Blair Ryan told ZDNet.
"It's an economic message we're trying to send."
Telstra maintains that whilst there are those voicing anger, a lot of customers are "looking forward to having a better service".
"Whilst there's this angry response, the percentage of people who've repeatedly made comments are probably around what we expected," Telstra's representative said.
If Telstra were a company with a clue, let alone any idea of service, then they would see the uncapped broadband users as a market that they can sell a needed service to, instead of the Fawlty Towers approach that people who actually USE broadband are causing problems.
There's a need, and people to pay for it: supply the service and make some money.