Need Aussie Internet Provider Recommendation (Based in Melbourne)

14 replies
Hi,

Looking for a specific internet provider recommendation from all the Australians out there.

I'm based in Melbourne and have been with Telstra for a couple of years but I want to move on with them as had so many problem with their customer services. To be fair their service is always reliable though and I rely off the internet for income.

So was thinking of switching to either Internode or TPG. Any thoughts?

I was leaning towards Internode as the customer service seems good but then I read a lot of bad reviews about their service. Last thing I want to do is switch and for their to be problems!

Look forward to your thoughts!
#aussie #based #internet #melbourne #provider #recommendation
  • Profile picture of the author AllanWard
    I'm in Adelaide. Used Internode for a few years in my financial planning business. They were reliable with good service.

    We're looking to upgrade our home connection and I'm leaning towards TPG - their bundles look like very good value. Our current provider charges $60 for a Naked connection with 200g data (one option). TPG will offer unlimited data and include a home phone connection for the same price. This means we get to keep our home phone but saves us the $60 pm we were paying Telstra for the few calls we'd make.
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  • Profile picture of the author MattCatania
    I'm in Melbourne and Telstra has been perfect for the few years I've been with them.

    Their customer service is sub-standard, but they are actually one of the best at the moment (all companies have moved their support offshore, and as a result, have suffered a decrease in quality.)

    I was with TPG before that and it was hell. I was on the unlimited plan and when you ran at speeds greater than 400kb, or had more than one connection to the internet at a time, it would disconnect. They were cheap and I guess you get what you pay for...
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  • Profile picture of the author seoster
    I'm in Melbourne -been with Optus ten years no problems, huge bandwidth combined with unlimited phone for $100 a month, its brilliant. Don't know about their tech support, never ever had to use it!
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Silvester
    Telstra or Optus have the worst plans and charge the most.

    I use TPG...never had an issue. Great customer service also!

    Hope that helps?

    Michael
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    • Profile picture of the author dcristo
      Originally Posted by Michael Silvester View Post

      Telstra or Optus have the worst plans and charge the most.
      Maybe their base plans but there is room for negotiation when bundled with other stuff.
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    • Profile picture of the author GlenH
      Telstra, and Optus totally suck.

      They are the worst! (don't know which one is worse though).

      I tried them both when I first went online 10 years ago, and I changed after the first week, because they were utterly hopeless

      And now I have been with the same ISP for 9 years....iiNet (formerly Ozemail), and with a 98 % up-time, they have been amazingly reliable.

      They might not be the cheapest, but price is of no concern to me.

      I'd stay with them even if they were twice the price of the others.

      I need stability and reliability because the viability of my business depends on it.

      If I had tried to stick it out with Telstra or Optus, my business would have gone broke 81/2 years ago.

      --Glen
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      • Profile picture of the author isabellcmoe63
        Thanks everybody!

        I'm thinking of giving Internode a go because they are now owned by iinet as well.

        Telstra has always been reliable for me in terms of uptime but anytime I've had a problem totally hopeless due to their outsourced customer service. I've spoken to them at TPG and they give me the same impression.

        So for me it's between Internode and Optus now...have to decide...I know Internode have their own infrastructure too. Guessing optus uses the same infrastructure as telstra.
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      • Profile picture of the author isabellcmoe63
        Originally Posted by GlenH View Post

        Telstra, and Optus totally suck.

        They are the worst! (don't know which one is worse though).

        I tried them both when I first went online 10 years ago, and I changed after the first week, because they were utterly hopeless

        And now I have been with the same ISP for 9 years....iiNet (formerly Ozemail), and with a 98 % up-time, they have been amazingly reliable.

        They might not be the cheapest, but price is of no concern to me.

        I'd stay with them even if they were twice the price of the others.

        I need stability and reliability because the viability of my business depends on it.

        If I had tried to stick it out with Telstra or Optus, my business would have gone broke 81/2 years ago.

        --Glen
        What do you think Glen! Iiinet and Internode the same? Internode seems more expensive for the same service.
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        • Profile picture of the author GlenH
          Originally Posted by isabellcmoe63 View Post

          What do you think Glen! Iiinet and Internode the same? Internode seems more expensive for the same service.
          I can only speak as to how good iiNet is.

          If iiNet has purchased Internode, there's no guarantee how that integration will work, and whether Internode will have the same focus as iiNet does.

          They may have different plans for it
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  • Profile picture of the author Audrey Harvey
    Been with Internode for years now, I've been really happy with them. The very few times I've had a problem, I called and they successfully talked me through the solution and stayed on the line until all was resolved.
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  • Profile picture of the author infomaniacs
    I am with Telstra/Bigpond too, pay through the nose for it, but have never had any dramas with reliability.
    I have seen some ads for TPG recently, their deals look good, but I am a bit nervous about my bigpond emails, instead of using a web based email from the start, most of my emails come to my server based email. I am worried that I will lose important contacts...
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  • Profile picture of the author goindeep
    Personally I have tried most and I find Telstra to be the best.

    Not sure what you are referring to about the service as I always seem to get through fast, and if all else fails just threaten them to leave and they will give you either a few months free internet or through some free web credits at ya.

    The worst I have had is by far dodo. It was cheap as hell but I would wait twenty minutes to get through and then they would hang up on me... but then again I am a pain in the butt.
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    • Profile picture of the author Benjamin Norman
      I'm with Telstra (Cable which is extremely quick coming from ADSL2). I had Virgin Wireless which was absolute rubbish. I had to wait one hour just to get someone to activate my account! My wife went to school with the daughter of the owner of Dodo.....Dodo is rubbish (most complained about Telco based on percentages).

      The problem with most companies is that their customer service is outsourced to Phillipines, India and Egypt (yes, that isn't a typo). With respect to Telstra, you can request to speak to someone higher. Be adamant on this and you they will put you through to someone in Australia. Telstra plans on paper are expensive BUT as Andre said, you can negotiate free credits or discounts on your plan.
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  • Profile picture of the author bestrendz
    hello isabel,
    i used to be with Telstra and had no issues not till I moved address. it was a month of nightmare. so I was willing to pay the early termination fee just to get out and sign up for another service. I did some research and I ended up with Dodo. The service was great and was taken care of. Support is superb and they commit to callbacks just to make sure all is well when i was on the setup stage. I'm not sure if dodo is offered where you are but it seems to be a good deal with unlimited internet.

    I did a speed test and I am getting superb download speed and upload speed.

    for everyone who is interested to perform a speed test on their isp... I use speedtest.net

    Hope this helps.
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