Netspace Press Release
20th May 2000 - 20th March 2003
Flat Rate and Premium Plans
4 December 2002
Just over 12 months ago Netspace launched our Home Broadband ADSL Service and in this time we have made a number of upgrades to the service including:
- Billing for data received, not charging for both ways.
- Free same-state peer to peer traffic.
- Introduction of a reduced-price HomeADSL 1.5Mb plan.
- Removal of surcharges for regional customers.
Extra Value Again
Effective immediately a number of further upgrades offering extra value to customers have been made.
- Home 256 Lite (was 450 MB of transfers) now 650
- Home 256 (was 1000/2000MB Peak/Off-Peak) now 1500/2000
- Home 512 (was 3000/7000MB Peak/Off-Peak) now 4500/7000
- Home 1500 (was 5000/5000MB Peak/Off-Peak) now 6500/5000
- Home 1500 (was 5000/12000MB Peak/Off-Peak) now 6500/12000
All excess megabytes are now always 9 cents (was 9–16.9 cents). Monthly prices remain the same.
Off-peak times still remain as is (Midnight–7am, Monday to Friday and all weekend).
Connection fees have also been reduced for customers connecting to us for the first time, which already have an approved ADSL Modem and filter, down to an amazing $29 for an 18 Month contract, $49 for a 12 Month contract and $99 for a 6 month contract.
Existing customers will find that the number of megabytes available for use in the current billing period has also increased!
Home ADSL Flat Rate
The big addition is that we are now offering a Flat-Rate option to existing plans where once a customer hits either the Peak or the Off-Peak Limit during a billing period, the customer will be shaped to modem speeds until the beginning of the next billing period. This allows customers (or parents!) to ensure that they do not end up paying more for their HomeADSL access than they have budgeted (no rolling limits, just keeping it nice and simple and easy to understand).
In addition to this, we no longer charge for Modem dialup access as long as the customer has logged out of ADSL (transfers however are included towards the HomeADSL Usage Limits, and connections have a 15 minute idle time and a 4 hour maximum session time). This means that if a login session is up on a modem connection, the ADSL connection will not be able to login until the modem is disconnected, and vice versa). This also means that if a customer has an ADSL outage or is waiting for the ADSL to be installed (after the wholesaler has acknowledged that the service can go ahead) then they will still have Internet access.
The prices and the plans are the same for the Flat Rate or the Premium Option (Non Flat Rate—as is now) and the addition and removal of the Flat-Rate option can only be performed online. Switching to the Flat-Rate option costs $19.95 and can be done any time in a billing cycle providing that the customer has not exceeded any of the Usage limits. For technical reasons, we can only offer flat-rate connections to customers who are connected to L2TP infrastructure. All HomeADSL customers, excluding Melbourne have been completed—with all Melbourne customers expected to be ready to go by January. For technical reasons we cannot offer multiple PPPoE connections for customers who choose the Flat Rate option.
Of course the sites on the Free Traffic list will still run at full speed!
On the horizon for December (yes–there is more!)
By January 1 we will be extending the free peer-to-peer to include traffic being received from the local peering points that are in the same state as a customer. Netspace are connected to:
- QLD: PIPE & Ausbone
- NSW: Ausbone (and PIPE when available)
- VIC: VIX
- SA: SAIX
- WA: WAIX
Unfortunately there are no peering points in ACT and Tas. A word of warning—just because a traceroute shows that sent traffic from a customer goes through a peering point, it does not mean that traffic will come back the same way! (if it does not come back via the peering point it will NOT be treated as free traffic, but will be chargeable).
Additional Megabytes Topup
Introduction of a top-up facility for Flat Rate option customers reduced to modem speed. These customers will be able to go to a website and purchase top-up megs by credit card. They will then have the connection reset to full-speed again until the megs have run out. We believe that this is a first for Flat-Rate HomeADSL plans in Australia.
Full details are available on our website at www.netspace.net.au or via email at sales@netspace.net.au