Australians can now check availability of broadband to their home on a government website. Just don't assume the answer will be right.
 Get Broadbandnow: if you're lucky |
Australians can now check availability of broadband to their home on a government website unveiled today -- broadbandnow.gov.au.
Just don't assume the answer given will be the right one
The website aims to provide information on all the cable, ADSL, ADSL2+, fibre, wireless and satellite providers in Australia in one place.
The main feature of the site is a link to the government's Broadband Service Locator. However, a quick check of the information showed that the database isn't exactly turning up accurate results.
For example, I typed my inner-west Sydney home address in and was informed that I had ADSL2+ access through TSN Internet and TPG -- when in fact, TSN only has coverage in four exchanges in regional NSW. The website failed to identify a key ADSL2+ provider that I do have access to -- iiNet and its network of resellers through the Chime wholesale division.
The government also seems to have some confusion over broadband technologies -- it says that cable broadband in Australia is commonly offered at 256Kbit/s - 24Mbit/s, which is an accurate description of ADSL technologies, but not cable. The fastest widely available cable in Australia tops out at 17Mbit/s -- BigPond Cable Extreme. (Neighbourhood Cable offers 30Mbit/s cable in three regional cities in Victoria.)
The website also says that satellite allows users to "surf the net at fast speeds", when the reality is that satellite performance is not much better than dialup for web browsing -- its speed only becomes apparent when doing large, continuous downloads such as movie downloads. This problem is caused by the extremely long latency in satellite links.
If you're not getting the info you need from the website, try checking the community resource Broadband Choice (which the government website conveniently links to anyway) or call the new government broadband availability hotline on 1800 883 488.