Price Increases For Out Of Contract Customers

[ronald]

As insane as it may be from a technical point of view, naked ADSL2+ + VoIP was cheaper overall than the cheapest line rental plus the cheapest ADSL2+.

Anyway, it seems I got some answers to the questions I asked earlier:

1) There are three plans that include free local, national and calls to Optus mobiles.

2) Optus mobiles = any Optus mobile number irrespective of re-seller.

1)
a) Which plans are that?
b) Does this apply to the OCV200 plans?
c) Where can I find more information on those beyond the table under "Change Service" in the member facilities?

2) Is there any way for me to determine for a given mobile number which network it is registered on, before making the call? (Other than asking the person I'm about to call.)

1 a) still no idea which three plans this refers to - I am being offered three variations of the OCV200 plan on my change service page, but that doesn't seem to be what's meant here. Are you referring to OCV, OT and A plans?
1 b) apparently yes, OCV200 does include the mentioned calls. What are the rates for mobiles on non-Optus networks and for international calls, 1300 numbers, etc?
1 c) apparently here - not sure why they're called "naked" as they come with a PSTN.

2) this was a serious question and I'd definitely like to know if that is possible. Any clues?

3) do I understand it right that the OCV200 plans still include VoIP?
3a) do the OT plans also include VoIP?

4) do I understand it right that the current VoIP number can/will be ported to the PSTN number for the OCV200 plan?

5) do I understand it right that by paying an extra $40 I can change to these plans without entering into a new 12 month contract?
5a) would the early termination fee of $100 still apply for the PSTN in case I move before 6 months are over?
(there's another advantage of VoIP: it can be used from anywhere)

Thank you.

Ronald

[gazzaw]

ForumAdmin
Is Optus still willing to provide a cheap HSPA wireless backup solution similar to the old OTAW plans in the future?
OTAW comes in very handy after heavy rain when the pits fill up with water and the connections start to corrode or when some clown digs up the copper.

+1 vote for PAYU plans for low usage customers (hopefully with a bundled HSPA wireless backup solution)

Cheers,
gazzaw

[trk]

If we port our number from our existing PSTN line to OCV200, is it able to be ported out again? As in, it is a genuine PSTN line provided by Optus - no TPG-style tricks of "its actually VOIP from the exchange to your house" style of home phone which always seems to cause problems with porting?

And if we want to move the phone number / service to someone else, it wont be stuck because noone supports porting from Exetel or anything?

[jokiin]

If we port our number from our existing PSTN line to OCV200, is it able to be ported out again? As in, it is a genuine PSTN line provided by Optus - no TPG-style tricks of "its actually VOIP from the exchange to your house" style of home phone which always seems to cause problems with porting?

And if we want to move the phone line somewhere else, it wont be stuck because noone supports porting from Exetel or anything?

it has been mentioned already that the Optus deals are proper PSTN and one of the advantages (not that anyone wants to see you leave) is that they are much easier to deal with churning out as they are a regular phone service whereas the crippled naked service were quite often a hassle for all involved

[autron]

but i didnt pay the Line rentals fees, that was naked, no line rental, if it was just an 'illusion' then who paid the line rental?

All ADSL has to have an active phone line and line rental has to be paid for that phone line. The difference with naked services was that the line rental was paid as part of the ADSL cost rather than as a separate component to a voice service provider.

What naked really meant was that you had no active narrowband (voice) service but the phone line was still there delivering the ADSL component.

[autron]

2) Is there any way for me to determine for a given mobile number which network it is registered on, before making the call? (Other than asking the person I'm about to call.)

There was an answer to that given earlier. There are websites like http://www.smsfun.com.au that give the network that the mobile number belongs to. However, they are not 100% accurate as people port their numbers around.

3) do I understand it right that the OCV200 plans still include VoIP?
3a) do the OT plans also include VoIP?

All the plans include access to VOIP and a DID number. Whether you have a naked plan or an active landline voice service has no bearing on that.

4) do I understand it right that the current VoIP number can/will be ported to the PSTN number for the OCV200 plan?

If the number was originally ported from your traditional phone service then it can be ported back. I don't think you can port an original VOIP only number out.

[evansm]

Hi Admin,

I'm trying to make a comparison of my current plan to the new plans offered. My current plan is as below:-

Plan Type: Z/22NOTEL
Monthly Access Charge: $60.00
Peak Download Limit (Mbyte): 60000
Peak Period Option: 12:00pm - 12:00am
OffPeak Download Limit (Mbyte): Unlimited
OffPeak Excess Downloads per Gbyte: N/A
Service Line Speed: ADSL2+
Service Activation Date: 2008-12-16
Contract Period: 12 Months
Initial Contract End Date: 2009-12-16

The closest new plan seems to be OCV200 with 200GB downloads included and $1.00 excess

I have no problem with signing up to a new plan as I've been very happy with Exetel over the past 5 years or so, however I want to confirm that the following advantages/disadvantages are correct beforehand:-

Advantages:-
re-activated PSTN line with free local, national, and optus mobile (or reseller) calls.
New contract (i.e. no price changes for at least 12 months)
Assumed increase of 60 to 200gb downloads during peak periods
$5 monthly admin fee for old plans removed

Disadvantages:-
new contract (locked in for 12 months) unless $40 fee paid
Assumed removal of unlimited off peak downloads 12am-12pm (i.e. total limit of 200gb)

Also it is not clear whether on the new ovt200 plans:-

1. There are peak/off peak periods (OT200 and OVT200 seem identical except for the off peak and optus/aapt!)
2. Shaping rather than excess fees is available
3. uploads/downloads counted
4. will there be any degradation of services

[trk]

If we port our number from our existing PSTN line to OCV200, is it able to be ported out again? As in, it is a genuine PSTN line provided by Optus - no TPG-style tricks of "its actually VOIP from the exchange to your house" style of home phone which always seems to cause problems with porting?

And if we want to move the phone line somewhere else, it wont be stuck because noone supports porting from Exetel or anything?

it has been mentioned already that the Optus deals are proper PSTN and one of the advantages (not that anyone wants to see you leave) is that they are much easier to deal with churning out as they are a regular phone service whereas the crippled naked service were quite often a hassle for all involved

You'll have to excuse my skepticism, I spent an hour or so trawling through all the information I could find on TPG's "home phone" and was still unable to work out if it was a "real" PSTN phone line or not. It took someone on the Whirlpool forums to clarify that its VOIP from the exchange to your home, which means its succeptible to network issues just like naked + VOIP.

So weighing up my options.... Exetel or TPG offer the best value at my exchange.
TPG Pros:
$59/month for unlimited ADSL2+ so I never have to even think about allowances, and a pretend-sort-of-kinda-of phone line thats not quite as bad as naked but not as good as PSTN and free calls to landlines

TPG Cons:
Probable latency issues, stupid pretend home phone

Exetel Pros:
$59/month for 200GB of anytime ADSL2+, and a 'real' PSTN with free calls to landlines and Optus+reseller mobiles
Known decent network performance, lots of value-add services that I use

Exetel Cons:
Its "only" 200GB (not that I use that much), and the plan will likely change 14 times before the contract ends, have the price upped and lowered 6 times, and there'll be 32 other plans offered in the meantime that I'll "have to" think about swapping to.

Contract ends in 10 days, so I'll have to make a decision relatively soon I suppose.

[benthomas]

Hi,

Regarding these new plans, I'm currently in contract on Naked ONBW. Whilst I realise I don't have to change plans until I'm out of contract I'd like to move to the $60 one. I've tried to do this in the member facilities however when I click on the apply button for the corresponding plan I just get a message saying 'You cannot view details' and nothing else.

Is this a glitch or am I unable to move until I'm out of contract?

Thanks,
Ben

[trk]

We're on the NF/23NOTEL plan, and are able to change to the OCV200 (etc) plans within the members section.... but theres a problem - we've got a "real" phone line already connected. We're not on a naked line.

Are we able to move to the OCV200 plan, and port our existing number? Or does this plan change not actually apply to us after all?

Yes.

Should I be emailing someone specific at Exetel to provide the porting details? It doesnt appear on the form in the members section - I assume because any eligible plan should be a naked line and thus wouldnt have a number to port.

[CoreyPlover]

Is this a glitch or am I unable to move until I'm out of contract?

Possibly a glitch, though I'm unfamilar with the ONBW plan. They are still adding plan change capabilities to some member facilities but you can always try emailing residentialsales@exetel.com.au to effect the plan change instead.

Should I be emailing someone specific at Exetel to provide the porting details? It doesnt appear on the form in the members section - I assume because any eligible plan should be a naked line and thus wouldnt have a number to port.

Same as above. Probably email residentialsales@exetel.com.au to ensure all goes smoothly

[gong_guy]

We're on the NF/23NOTEL plan, and are able to change to the OCV200 (etc) plans within the members section.... but theres a problem - we've got a "real" phone line already connected. We're not on a naked line.

Are we able to move to the OCV200 plan, and port our existing number? Or does this plan change not actually apply to us after all?

Yes.

Should I be emailing someone specific at Exetel to provide the porting details? It doesnt appear on the form in the members section - I assume because any eligible plan should be a naked line and thus wouldnt have a number to port.

So is that possible to go to a OCV200 plan for $60 that is better than an OT200 for $105 if you are on a ON plan (ADSL+phone) ?

[ForumAdmin]

ForumAdmin
Is Optus still willing to provide a cheap HSPA wireless backup solution similar to the old OTAW plans in the future?
OTAW comes in very handy after heavy rain when the pits fill up with water and the connections start to corrode or when some clown digs up the copper.

+1 vote for PAYU plans for low usage customers (hopefully with a bundled HSPA wireless backup solution)

Cheers,
gazzaw

Optus never 'paid' for the free HSPA - Exetel did - and no we can't afford to do that now.

[ForumAdmin]

For people on a pension, every dollar counts! 6 of them... well that's a meal or two!

I'll see what can be done.

[MikeW]

I'll ask again as still not clear.

Have two services both out of contract. One is a Corporate plan (ADSL2) 'INC2DSL C1' and the other ADSL1 'NF/512' across two different service numbers but both attached to the same email address. How do I confirm that the email received re: $10 increase applies to both or only one service?

thanks