iiNet’s Naked DSL
February 4, 2008
After recently moving into a rental property I was faced with a dilemma of enormous proportions: what ISP to go with? At first it seemed like quite a daunting task. Being in a rental, cable is ruled out, as it requires a physical installation, meaning lots of real-estate related bureaucracy. ADSL looked like a possibility, except that it requires an existing land line connection which I neither have nor am willing to pay for. Even wireless broadband is still well on its way to becoming a viable alternative, as it offers neither the speed nor download capacity ( unless one is willing to pay excessive amounts of money) that fixed connections offer. It seemed that my chances of obtaining a useful and affordable broadband connection were rather slim.
It wasn’t until well into my search for an ISP that I stumbled across iiNet’s Naked DSL. And while im sure some of you are conjuring up images of a broadband connection with certain…let’s say…benefits…the idea is actually a spot of genius. iiNet physically switches your phone line at the exchange to their 0wn equipment, meaning high speed broadband (ADSL 2+) with no messy installation problems and no line rental.
To get started, all I needed to do was check the availability through the website (Naked DSL is available in most areas of all the major capital cities) and purchase a modem. Its then a 10-20 day waiting period whilst Telstra reconnects your phone line to iiNet.
Despite it being costly to set up ( there is a $150 connection fee, which is waived if you subscribe to a 24 month plan, plus the cost of a modem), iiNet has quite an affordable array of no obligation plans to choose from, starting at $49.95 a month for 4gb of download (2gb Peak/2gb off-peak). All Naked DSL plans come with a free VOIP account ( including free local and national calls as well as very reasonable international rates), access to unmetered sites (including iTunes) and fantastic online and phone based support. There are also no extra download charges if you exceed your quota, they just stream your connection to 64kbps.
As a broadband consumer (who am I kidding, junkie!) with limited finances , Naked DSL really is the best solution, and by far best value broadband service I have seen on the Australian market. In what is a market dominated by a few key players, iiNet have done very well to provide such a fantastic product.
- No line rental
- Well priced range of plans
- No contracts
- Great Speed
- Free VOIP
- High upfront costs
- Need to purchase modem from iiNet to access VOIP (from $169)
- Currently only available in capital cities
- iinet.com.au
I really like the idea. It’s definitely what I would look for with a new house. I don’t get why they don’t offer phone with it though, surely the ADSL still uses a copper phone line? How come you don’t need to pay line rental….
They don’t offer phone with it because that’s the point of naked dsl. If you wanted phone you would get normal A/DSL.
However I’m also a happy iiNet customer, ADSL2+ works brilliant, as does voip. Additionally I enjoy the fact that when I call support I can understand the person on the other end.