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Fuzzy Logic Optus boosts cable speed but 'lowers' Fusion download limit
Fuzzy Logic Optus boosts cable speed but 'lowers' Fusion download limit | Optus boosts cable speed but 'lowers' Fusion download limit |
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| Written by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Tuesday, 18 December 2007 | |
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Page 1 of 2 Ever since Telstra made their ‘Cable Extreme’ plans available, boosting their speeds by several megabits, the tech press and Optus customers have wondered precisely when Optus would do the same for their cable customers. Well, yesterday it happened – the Optus cable network has been upgraded in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, delivering speeds of ‘up to 20Mbps’, with a poster called Me11o at Whirlpool saying claiming the upload speed of the upgraded network will be 512kbps. Having a fast upload speed in today’s world is crucially important, whether it be for legitimate (or otherwise) file sharing, accessing the ‘High Quality Video’ mode of video conferencing programs like Skype, getting good performance when connecting to one’s computer over the Internet using ‘remote control’ software like LogMeIn.com and any time you are sending information to anyone else online. Unfortunately, according to press reports and Optus’ own press release, only customers on the MyHome Broadband Cable plans (which are standalone broadband plans) and the Optus ‘yes’ Fusion Cable plans (which are bundled with an ‘unlimited’ home phone calling plan) will be automatically upgraded to take advantage of the Optus cable network’s faster speeds, while customers on older, more generous plans will remain stuck on the slower speeds until Optus changes its mind and makes the faster speeds available to all cable customers. Michael Smith, the Group Marketing Director, of the Optus Consumer division said that: “This upgrade means that even customers in Brisbane on the Optus Cable network will now be able to access faster speeds than what has previously been available”. Mr Smith then goes on to say that: "Optus is not charging its customers a premium to receive this additional speed with existing and new customers experiencing the upgrade automatically. The faster speeds available on the Optus Cable Network will make internet browsing, streaming music and video and email use much faster”. This part of Mr Smith’s statements neglects to mention that customers on plans other than the MyHome and Fusion plans will NOT receive the “additional speed”, so the promise that the “faster speeds available... will make [the] internet.... much faster” doesn’t apply to many Optus customers, some of whom have been with Optus for years. So, it is really another example of Optus bringing choice and competition to Australian consumers, as their press release claims? Please read onto page 2... |
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