What is the best Internet and phone deals ?

[mal]

We got the lock stock and barrell with AAPT
They have been OK
But about a month ago we have been unable to send of Emails, we only recieve cant send or reply, the emails live in the outbox.
My other half, who is PC whizlike and 2 IT experts could not solve the prob
Our Hotmails are OK
We have been on the phone with AAPT several times, no luck

Anyways what is done is done, we have decided to look for the best deals now
We will concentrate on Adam as perhaps our Internet provider and whatever phone mob to align Adam with

Unless
Someone is getting a great deal

[GWW]

I'm wondering the same thing in relation to Mobile phones. Specifically, is Virgin Mobile worth a risk? They're very cheap, but do they provide poor service? I"ve heard Optus who own them over ride them as far as Optus customers having preference as far as text msgs and phone calls getting preference over Virgin Mobile?

I'd be interested to hear anyone's first hand experience with Virgin Mobile..

Also "3" as well, is their internet coverage poor on their mob phones?

[dedja]

I've used Virgin mobile for years ... haven't really had much of a problem.

I use their Bean Counter pre-paid plan .... for my call use there is no other plan on the market (that I know of) that gives better value.

[GWW]

I've used Virgin mobile for years ... haven't really had much of a problem.

Whats their customer service back up like? I"ve heard it can be poor, call centre overseas etc.

[dedja]

I've used Virgin mobile for years ... haven't really had much of a problem.

Whats their customer service back up like? I"ve heard it can be poor, call centre overseas etc.

Yeah that's true, it's not the best, but are the others any better really? Virgin are now 100% owned by Optus and obviously use their network.

Once things are setup there's no real hassles ... if you need to port a number that can be a pain, but Virgin (Optus) aren't orphans there.

[dedja]

We got the lock stock and barrell with AAPT
They have been OK
But about a month ago we have been unable to send of Emails, we only recieve cant send or reply, the emails live in the outbox.
My other half, who is PC whizlike and 2 IT experts could not solve the prob
Our Hotmails are OK
We have been on the phone with AAPT several times, no luck

Anyways what is done is done, we have decided to look for the best deals now
We will concentrate on Adam as perhaps our Internet provider and whatever phone mob to align Adam with

Unless
Someone is getting a great deal

I have used Internode for many years and can't fault them.

I use them for broadband and use voip (voice over ip) for my fixed line phone calls. My Telstra bill is $20.90 because I never use the copper phone network but still have to pay their ****ing line rental ... all my phone calls are via my broadband connection.

Voip is through PennyTel ... customer service is virtually non-existent but calls are very cheap. Voip isn't trivial to setup though but once you get over that it's definitely worth it.

I pay $0.016c per min for local calls and $0.105 c per min for mobile calls (no flagfall). My average cost per call (to fixed line and mobiles) is less than 8c.

[Psyber]

I'm using Internode Ultra - an integrated ADSL2+, VOIP, and landline, package on Optus lines.
I've had a few problems with the VOIP dropping out, but that is a local exchange line quality issue still being worked on.
It has been improved but not fully resolved.

My prepaid mobile plan on iSIM is cheaper for me as a low user than the Virgin Bean Counter - mainly because the minimum spend is $10 every 6 months rather than $20 every 45 days on the Virgin plan, but Virgin have just bought iSIM. The only better option for me when iSIM is phased out may be Slimtel running on Vodaphone, which I am still checking out..

[Wedgie]

Dodo have a mighty fine offer at the moment. For $29pm you get a sim for your phone with calls and SMSs, a mobile Internet modem with 250mb mobile broadband download a month and a EEE Pc! Check out dodo.com.au. You can add to it as you need too.

[Psyber]

Here's a summary to help you compare a few of the cheaper options.

DODO:
Standard National & Mobile Calls 75c (per min)
Standard National & Mobile Flagfall 49c
SMS 25c
Billing frequency per minute

That makes any phone call a minimum of $1.24

- iSIM - Virgin Mobile Bean Counter [See my post above about iSIM being phased out.]
Rate Per Minute (calls to Australia) - 39c a minute calls - 10c a minute calls
Billing - Billed per second - Billed per 30 seconds
SMS (SMS to Australia) - 15c - 10c
Flag Fall - No flag fall on national calls - 25¢ Flag Fall
Voicemail(inside Australia) - 19c per retrieval - Free
Top Up Flexibility - Any amount you choose - Must be $25 recharge
Credit Expiry Period -180 days - 45 days

SLIMTEL
$0 per month - SPEND ONLY WHAT YOU USE
No contract, stay as long as you want.
NO FLAGFALL
1 Second billing
11c per 30 seconds to any landline any time
11c per 30 seconds to Vodafone Mobile any time
17c per 30 seconds to Non-Vodafone Mobile at any time
18c per SMS to any phone in Australia, or anywhere else in the world! (when sent from Australia)
Voicemail deposits and retrievals 7.5c per 30 seconds
Data is available on the Vodafone 2G and 3G Broadband Networks. GPRS Internet access for web browsing and emails is charged at 25.3c per Megabyte billed in 50kb increments.
To be eligible for this plan you must bring an existing number from another service provider AND provide an invoice of that mobile number showing the amount and the mobile number on it. If you want a new number or port from Pre-paid you can go on the Global Promo OR pay a $4.95 monthly access fee with VIP low call rates
There is no cost to join or monthly charges (if you take email billing and direct debit to credit card or bank account), only charges for the calls you make and a $11 fee if you port out on this plan

[smac]

Pennytel are a winner for me - 8c per call to 70 countries (including UK, US, Canada, which covers me nicely). $0.27 (I think, somehwere around that anyway) per minute to mobiles, $5 per month which includes a stack of free calls (about 60 or 70 from memory).

[mal]

Lads
quotes for best deal on per month
for
Landline
Foxtel
Internet

Dont use a mobile anymore


Otherwise Im just gunna send some emails to the companys to see who has the best deal soon

Thanks

[Lunchcutter]

i use voip for my home phone (av about $20 per month) and 59.95/mth bigpond internet

[Punk Rooster]

I have used Internode for many years and can't fault them.

I use them for broadband and use voip (voice over ip) for my fixed line phone calls. My Telstra bill is $20.90 because I never use the copper phone network but still have to pay their ****ing line rental ... all my phone calls are via my broadband connection.

Voip is through PennyTel ... customer service is virtually non-existent but calls are very cheap. Voip isn't trivial to setup though but once you get over that it's definitely worth it.

I pay $0.016c per min for local calls and $0.105 c per min for mobile calls (no flagfall). My average cost per call (to fixed line and mobiles) is less than 8c.

I am currently weighing up the VOIP opion- I'm already at the point where technology bypasses me these days, but from net research, it appears VOIP is the way to go.

Now, what I don't understand is-
Is VOIP independant from my Net Connection? (ie are these sourced separately, or as a package?)
I'm probably thnking about getting away from Bigpond, & their poor value.

My monthly spend for Net is currently $70 with a 12gig limit
My last Phone Bill was $150 for the month! (pregnant missus)
So, my cost was $220 for the month.
I was looking at Pennytell Crazytalk plan for $18 per month http://www.pennytel.com/call_plans.html
Are there Telstra charges on top?
I would assume Net connection would be separate, so would need to look around?

[smac]

Pennytel $5 per month plan is good as well, we pay about $7 per month (including the plan as they include a ridiculous number of free calls) for telephone calls from home - mobile, internation, STD as well as local.

We also pay $21 to Telstra for the honour of having a phone line and about $50 to Adam Internet for ADSL 2+.

[Punk Rooster]

Pennytel $5 per month plan is good as well, we pay about $7 per month (including the plan as they include a ridiculous number of free calls) for telephone calls from home - mobile, internation, STD as well as local.

We also pay $21 to Telstra for the honour of having a phone line and about $50 to Adam Internet for ADSL 2+.

so I need-
(Line Rental) Telstra
VOIP (Pennytel)
IP (?)

[dedja]

Pennytel $5 per month plan is good as well, we pay about $7 per month (including the plan as they include a ridiculous number of free calls) for telephone calls from home - mobile, internation, STD as well as local.

We also pay $21 to Telstra for the honour of having a phone line and about $50 to Adam Internet for ADSL 2+.

so I need-
(Line Rental) Telstra
VOIP (Pennytel)
IP (?)

You need:

1. get off BigPond as they're screwing you (ask Dutchy)
2. shop around and get a better ISP deal (I use Internode Easy Broadband $49.94pm for 50Gb)
3. get Telstra's HomeLine Budget line rental plan ($20.90 per month)
4. subscribe to a VOIP provider (ie. Pennytel)
5. a VOIP device - either an all in one adsl modem/router/voip (around $200) or add a voip ATA ($50-$100) to your existing adsl modem/router

You can do all this seperately or get a bundle deal. Internode can supply the broadband plan (Easy broadband), voip plan (NodePhone), and VOIP device for example.

The financial benefits are massive and based on your current costs you will save an absolute packet. The sting is that its not easy to set it up. I've been in IT for 20 years and it took me a while to get it working perfectly, but I did everything myself.

If you stop posting Bay rumour threads and offer a slab I'd consider setting it up for you!

[Lunchcutter]

I have a VOIP phone through http://www.engin.com.au

[dedja]

I haven't heard a lot about engin lately ... are you happy with them?

[gadj1976]

I recently got the naked ADSL working at home. No line rental from Telstra or Optus, $69.95pm through Internode with $10.00 free calls per month. Not sure of flagfall but I know the amount we use our home phone we're lucky to get anywhere near that amount.

The reason I left Optus was that I was pi$$ed they were trying to slug me $49.95 per month line rental (but softening the deal by including x amount of free calls). We were paying more in line rental a month than three months worth of calls!

[Lunchcutter]

I haven't heard a lot about engin lately ... are you happy with them?

yep have used them for 2 years without issue