New ADSL1 Plans

[yvonnegee]

We have also begun the belated ‘Spring cleaning’ of some of the older non-current plans and we have moved some 10,000 current users to more recent plans. As far as we could see when very carefully carrying out this exercise NO individual user has been disadvantaged – all moves either gave more downloads for the same price or the same downloads for a slightly lower price. Please check the user facilities to see if these changes have affected you....bearing in mind that the changes only affected around 5% of users.

Hi, Just want to return to the original query. We now seem to have a problem with the time that peak and off-peak cuts in for WA.
We didn't appear to have any problems until 01/01/10!!
Have been grandfathered over from the old 2007 TELH plan. Don't know if the "Spring Clean" applied to us or not. Have checked each time new plans have been offered, but this has always remained the best plan for us (cannot receive ADSL2 in our area). As located in WA, appreciated the option to change our off-peak time to 2am-2pm EST, which then became midnight - noon WDST. Great when we were given reports in local time too. Remained on these times when the off-peak time was reduced, thanks heaps.

But since then WA has opted out of daylight saving, so back to 3 hours time delay. On our member facility it gives off peak as 2am-2pm. (That would be 11pm-11am EDST!) Is that correct? The stated usage meter server time is correct for WA time. In the past it has shown changing from off-peak to peak at 1pm WST.

However for this month the meter has recorded unusual levels of peak downloading which we cannot explain. Is this likely to be due to confusion over time differences? Can someone please clarify what our peak download time is on WA time? THX

Edit: OK, I am REALLy confused now. The main page of our Member Facilities shows we are on off-peak until 2am WST (at least),:

Usage Meter Server Time is 2010-01-05 01:18:10 PM.
Downloads are currently being metered as offpeak usage

But if we enter the details usage from "view detailed" it shows the peak period as "12noon to 2am" and there is already some peak period downloads and uploads recorded.

On the other hand if we get to ostensibly the same place via a usage search query (2010 is not on the drop down list on the front page!) the peak period shows as 12 noon to 12 midnight, and again peak usage has already commenced recording (true before 1pm WST). Any clarification, please???

[Legend]

If you elect yourself to change plans, then you get whatever plan inclusions (or lack of inclusions) the new plan has. As always, you need to weigh up the pros and cons of changing plans.

This doesn't appear to be correct. I wasn't migrated (Lucky me, missed out again!) so I elected to change from the old TELG plan to the TL-C2 plan. Instead of getting the $0.50/GB excess charges as advertised, the shaped $6/GB followed me as did the off-peak period being 2am-12 noon instead of 12-12 as advertised for that plan. After several emails in both directions I'm now on the $0.50/GB excess but I just received an email stating "If you want your peak and off-peak hours to be changed back to, 12 to 12 please request the same and reply. So we can check if it is possible to do so." I wonder what else followed me.

[CoreyPlover]

I elected to change from the old TELG plan to the TL-C2 plan. Instead of getting the $0.50/GB excess charges as advertised, the shaped $6/GB followed me as did the off-peak period being 2am-12 noon instead of 12-12 as advertised for that plan.

The shaped $6/GB is easy to explain because even though new plans have one flat rate and no shaping, if you had shaping active on your old plan it follows you and so does the $6/GB shaped rate above the 2GB free buffer. As you discovered, an email to residentialsupport@exetel.com.au and you can request the shaping carry-over to be removed, hence get the intended, unshaped and $0.50/GB rate.

The off-peaks times seem strange though. There was a period of plan modification around the time of the midnight to 2am off-peak push back. I know that for ADSL2+ all plans at that time (PTL, NAK2, and INC2DSL) got their off-peak start pushed to 2am and then new plans (NF BYO Line, NF No Tel and NF IncTel) appeared with off-peak reset to 12-12. So for ADSL2+ you actually had (and still have) to apply for a new plan to get the 12 hours off-peak reinstated. Perhaps there is a confusion in ADSL1 plans because they retained the same plan name throughout the changeover

[Legend]

Perhaps there is a confusion in ADSL1 plans because they retained the same plan name throughout the changeover

Whatever the reason, it's all fixed now so I'm happy.

[ozkidzez91]

Not very happy about the removal of the heavy user 8Mb/s plans. Still on TELO but I'd like to move to a new plan to get back on 12-12 offpeak (I'd be happy to take 2am-2pm offpeak instead). Also, what drop in speeds? Here in QLD I still get the exact same rating from speedtest.net as the day Exetel got connected, 5.7Mb/s.

Also, absolutely NO chance of Optus or anyone else giving us a DSLAM on my exchange as I'm in a small town with a population of around 500. We only got ADSL1 in 2006 I think it was, and that was only because Telstra had a hissy fit when a Wireless provider from Toowoomba started giving us broadband. We can ADSL2+ through a Telstra DSLAM (what a joke) but I'm not stupid enough to do that.

So, my only option is 8Mb/s ADSL1 for the forseeable futured, and I will be extremely unhappy if it gets cancelled. I will admit though, Exetel hasn't touched our plan yet so I'm assuming we can keep it for as long as we want it (which is gonna be until the NBN comes out (without filtering) ie forever).

[LordS]

So, my only option is 8Mb/s ADSL1 for the forseeable futured, and I will be extremely unhappy if it gets cancelled. I will admit though, Exetel hasn't touched our plan yet so I'm assuming we can keep it for as long as we want it (which is gonna be until the NBN comes out (without filtering) ie forever).

Can 100% agree.

I don't understand why we weren't offered the 'organicly growing' off-peak like the other speeds?

If there's a limit what does it matter if we get there relatively quickly or steadily over a month?

[Llian]

So, let me get this straight.
I lose my Voip and SMS's I had for free.
OK. Not commercially viable to do that. Fine.
Now it costs me $90 to change plan to a newer one? That's alot to ask when my plan now is the same except I get less downloads per month in peak, pay more excess when I go over (I rarely do and am happy to pay if I do) and I pay the same per month as this new plan.

Is there any chance this can be rectified for those of us losing those extras we stayed on these plans for?

[Gidget]

So, let me get this straight.
I lose my Voip and SMS's I had for free.
OK. Not commercially viable to do that. Fine.
Now it costs me $90 to change plan to a newer one? That's alot to ask when my plan now is the same except I get less downloads per month in peak, pay more excess when I go over (I rarely do and am happy to pay if I do) and I pay the same per month as this new plan.

Is there any chance this can be rectified for those of us losing those extras we stayed on these plans for?

Why is it going to cost you $90 to change plan to a newer one? Are you moving locations? What plan are you on now and what one are you thinking of changing to?

Gidget

[jokiin]

Why is it going to cost you $90 to change plan to a newer one? Are you moving locations? What plan are you on now and what one are you thinking of changing to?

Gidget

a few people now have reported a $90 charge showing up when they go to change plans (same speed etc)

[James]

Why is it going to cost you $90 to change plan to a newer one? Are you moving locations? What plan are you on now and what one are you thinking of changing to?

Gidget

a few people now have reported a $90 charge showing up when they go to change plans (same speed etc)

That's what the current plan change fee is.

[jokiin]

That's what the current plan change fee is.

reading between the lines of the post by Forum Admin it may not stay this way, possibly to discourage people from changing just now while they are busy with other things (that's how it reads anyway)

Perhaps you should wait and see whether the plan change fee changes, as it often does, and becomes lower than the current charges.

If you have been an Exetel customer for a while you would probably already realise that we regularly change activation fees, and in this instance, plan change fees to either encourage or discourage new and current users from doing various things if we think the anticipated volumes of transactions will be difficult to deal with.

Right now the very rapid increase in new applications is something we want to slow down.

Similarly we want to re-align many aspects of different plans to avoid growing confusion. In the past we did this by 'forcing' current customers to move from previous plans to new plans to avoid having different conditions - for the past almost two years we have not done this which has resulted in to may old plans with too many different different 'inclusions' and disparities between the off peak periods and the allowances in those periods.

We apologise for any inconvenience this causes/is going to cause but it is a necessary 'clean up' that, hopefully, when it is concluded, will be of equal benefit to all users.

I would say given it is so early in the month to not worry about changing plans at this stage

[Gidget]

Why is it going to cost you $90 to change plan to a newer one? Are you moving locations? What plan are you on now and what one are you thinking of changing to?

Gidget

a few people now have reported a $90 charge showing up when they go to change plans (same speed etc)

That's what the current plan change fee is.

Thanks, James - I only just caught up with today's posts I must say, though, that such a charge generates rather than lessens work for Exetel, not to mention fostering prickly customer relations, so I hope it is not there for long.

Gidget

[Llian]

So, let me get this straight.
I lose my Voip and SMS's I had for free.
OK. Not commercially viable to do that. Fine.
Now it costs me $90 to change plan to a newer one? That's alot to ask when my plan now is the same except I get less downloads per month in peak, pay more excess when I go over (I rarely do and am happy to pay if I do) and I pay the same per month as this new plan.

Is there any chance this can be rectified for those of us losing those extras we stayed on these plans for?

Why is it going to cost you $90 to change plan to a newer one? Are you moving locations? What plan are you on now and what one are you thinking of changing to?

Gidget

As mentioned above it is what's appearing in (atleast my) members area for change of service on same speed. On a different speed it is $115 ($90 + $25).
This may be an error, or it may not. As stated above it's early in the month, so whilst the error, if one, has plenty of time to be fixed, I just know with the kids and full time work and everything a single dad of 3 has on his plate, that I am unlikely to remember to change before Feb 28, hence why I am looking at it now.

[Tazz]

What I see is this...

I've changed plans a few times since joining, not any more! I'll stay put until this changes back to $0

[ozkidzez91]

I'd personally really like if the offpeak on my TELO plan could get put back to midnight to noon, as I don't really appreciate the fact that all the new plans have this offpeak time, all the old ones did, and just because my speed plan was dropped during the shorter 2am to noon offpeak period, I'm stuck with it. A bit harsh, with no equivalent plan to move to now.

Also, never appreciated that those people who opted for 2am to 2pm offpeak got to keep their 12 hour offpeak when those who didn't got 2 hours knocked off. How is that fair? Just because I like midnight to noon.