Getting internet in Australia for a newbie

[SAman4Aus]

We will be moving to Sydney from SA in July and I need to get connected to the internet ASAP. So what are my options?

I am renting a temp furnished apartment for a few weeks so getting a phone connection internet is probably not the best option (?)

I guess this leaves 3G. So what do I do to get it quick? Can I apply from here before I leave, can I bring by current 3G mouse and just use a sim card from Australia? Whis the best service provider?

I dont mind signing up for a year and wont need more than 1 Gig a month.

[HouseInOz]

We will be moving to Sydney from SA in July and I need to get connected to the internet ASAP. So what are my options?

I am renting a temp furnished apartment for a few weeks so getting a phone connection internet is probably not the best option (?)

I guess this leaves 3G. So what do I do to get it quick? Can I apply from here before I leave, can I bring by current 3G mouse and just use a sim card from Australia? Whis the best service provider?

I dont mind signing up for a year and wont need more than 1 Gig a month.

Whilst on holiday in Sydney, we sorted the 3G internet connection at the airport, took hubby about 15 minutes. Vodaphone(?) is the sevice provider. (? spelling)

[21yearsoutofrsa]

Since you will be renting I would suggest that you opt for a wireless option.

The fixed broadband guys tend to want to sign you up and charge you when you move. This is not unreasonable as they have to do a bit of work in the exchange if you move. To the best of my knowledge you cannot get a pre paid version on fixed broadband.

I don't know if your South African "dongle" will work in Australia, but most places will probably help you out by checking with their local store connection. Dongles are not hugely expensive though.

The major players in Australia are

Telstra http://www.telstra.com.au/bigpond_internet..._broadband.html

Telstra has the fastest network by far (you can get speeds of 42mbps, which is faster than a lot of fixed services, note the comment at the end of the post). Your dongle will not work with Telstra as to get the high speed they use special modems. Telstra's coverage will be the best but if you plan to be in the cities most of the time this will probably not be a big advantage.

Vodafone http://www.vodafone.com.au/personal/mobile...dband/index.htm

Voda are a worldwide organization, so your dongle may well work with them

Optus http://www.optus.com.au/home/broadband/ind...||S||5730765976

Optus is an subsidiary of Singapore Telecom. Your dongle may well work on their network.

3 http://www.three.com.au/cs/ContentServer?c...d=1154931041257

3 are a worldwide organization, so your dongle may well work with them.

These are the major players. There are a few less well known players that will offer wireless broad band.

This is a telecommunications topic. Company policy requires that I declare that I am an employee of Telstra.

[Dereko]

This is an option if you need to connect more than one computer/laptop. It is a 3G WiFi modem that can connect up to 3 computer at the same time. Only cost $149 and it is prepaid so there is no contract. You will need to show your some form of identification when purchasing it, we used our passport.

http://www.virginmobile.com.au/Shop/Produc...e-Broadband-3GB

[SAman4Aus]

Thanks guys.

So can I walk into a Telstra, Vodafone etc on a Saturday morning, sign up for a years contract and walk out with an internet wireless connection? Is it that simple?

Were staying in Milsons Point for the first few weeks. Can I hop on a train to Sydney North, find a mobile shop and get internet?

On that note, I know absolutely nothing about North Sydney, so would that be the most convenient place for me to go to sign p for an internet connection from Milsons Point?

[Theophilus]

If you are sure that all you'll need is 1GB/month, then 3G broadband is probably your best option to get going - prepaid will cost about $30 a month for 1GB. Post-paid is cheaper per GB, but obviously you are tied to a contract.

When we arrived in Perth in December 2009, I thought we could easily get by on 1GB per month and did not want to be tied to a contract, so went for a prepaid 3G USB modem from Three. It worked great at first, but when we moved into our current rental several days later, we could only get a 2G connection via Three. So, we started to use Optus pre-paid 3G. We were paying $70 for 4GB with 60 days expiration, but were using that in just over a month, so now we have just got a Vividwireless http://www.vividwireless.com.au/ home gateway.

I'm happy with Vividwireless. The gateway was not cheap ($299), but it supports 802.11b/g/n for wireless LAN connections, has 2 wired ethernet (10/100) ports and has 2 RJ11 ports for using a couple of normal telephones via a VoIP service. The gateway connects via 4G to a wireless tower that has a fibre-optic connection to the backbone. You can buy the bandwidth pre-paid, or get a better deal on a month-to-month contract (which is what we are using). To terminate the contract, you just need to give 7 days notice.

I'm impressed with the bandwidth. Recently I downloaded the Fedora 13 ISO image (3.1GB) from a mirror in Sydney and got an average of about 10 megabits/sec.

Happy hunting.

[Theophilus]

P.S. You can walk into Dick Smith or Harvey Norman, buy the Vividwireless home gateway or USB modem (which is cheaper than the home gateway and fine if you only have one PC) and sign up to Vivid via the gateway when you get home and have instant access. Very quick and simple.

[Rosa]

Hi. I know nothing about connections and providers and all that. What I know is that we use the service provider AAPT.

With them it is wireless...no bongels or dongels. We've got 4 laptops and one desktop pc running on it. Unlimited downloads and we pay $100 per month.

I understand that AAPT is one of the best providers. So far there are no problems, the laptops in this house are constantly in use....if you want to, just Google them and see for yourself....good luck.

[Sean Udal]

Hi,

I bought Optus Prepaid Internet and it worked out well.

http://personal.optus.com.au/web/ocaportal...p;site=personal

- The support from Optus is good, unlike Harvey Norman (BLING)

- The product works well.

- It is easy to recharge online.

I use it whenever I leave home, otherwise Bigpond for ADSL.

Cheerio

Sean

[SAman4Aus]

Thanks guys, I'll follow-up on your feedback once I get to Sydney in July!

[Voortrekker]

Thanks guys.

So can I walk into a Telstra, Vodafone etc on a Saturday morning, sign up for a years contract and walk out with an internet wireless connection? Is it that simple?

Were staying in Milsons Point for the first few weeks. Can I hop on a train to Sydney North, find a mobile shop and get internet?

On that note, I know absolutely nothing about North Sydney, so would that be the most convenient place for me to go to sign p for an internet connection from Milsons Point?

You should be good in North Sydney (please note, not Sydney North ) We live in the vicinity, and reception here is reasonably good. We have broadband in the house, but I use 3G for work, so I tested my modem just the other day.

Reception really depends on where you live. When we returned from Canada to Australia last year, we stayed with my in-laws for a couple of months. I first bought a Crazy John's modem (= Vodafone), but the reception was non-existent. Switched to Virgin (= Optus), and the reception was fine. "3" is reportedly good, but apparently it doesn't work in many places outside the cities (an issue if you travel with your laptop). Telstra works in a lot of places, but is an expensive option. Some other cos. have bad reps for customer service, esp the "unknowns".

Another issue you may want to think about is what kind of contracts they offer. How much data, and how long for. I prefer pre-paid, but with some companies, unused prepaid expires after 1 month.

Virgin offers a 12-month pre-paid voucher, which suits my requirements. At $149 for 12GB, it costs me just over $10 per month - @ enough bandwidth for business travel, and it doesn't expire.

Oh, btw. Not all the telcos have outlets in North Sydney, but you can go the the local electronics store (Dick Smiths) or go downtown.

And btw, from Milsons Point you can easily walk to North Sydney - even to downtown. You don't have to take the train.

Good luck ;-)

[SANZOZ]

We needed mobile internet so that we could send out birth announcements from the hospital when our son was born and we got a USB modem from Dodo. Its prepaid and we used it at the time but we can top it up anytime and use it again. I think its pretty convenient.

[JacquesV]

WOW, I hope they have some good uncapped ADSL options available....guys are talking about using 1 - 4GB/pm when I use on average 200GB/pm in SA.

[21yearsoutofrsa]

This is a typical aggressive ADSL plan avaliable from a second tier telecomms provider.

http://www.tpg.com.au/products_services/ad...lus_pricing.php

I think the thing to note is the shaping speed ie the speed that you get once you've reached your GB limit, note they are still broadband speeds!!!

There are a lot of providers and a fair bit of reseach needs to be done before selection.

Company policy requires me to disclose that I am an employee of Telstra.

[Voortrekker]

WOW, I hope they have some good uncapped ADSL options available....guys are talking about using 1 - 4GB/pm when I use on average 200GB/pm in SA.

Yes, but we were talking about 3G/wireless access. Personally I don't have the patience to sit and wait for 200GB to download over 3G mobile broadband.

Not that I need that much.

Having said that, access it not so cheap and plentiful in Australia as compared to North America, where we lived for 5 years until recently.

Generally over here you get less GB for more money. And over there you have more choice, eg. ADSL, cable, satellite.

Maybe it full improve with the government's national broadband network roll-out. My ISP is already offering cheaper, but faster access over optic fibre in areas where the NBN will be available soon.

[SAman4Aus]

Thanks for all the feedback guys...... heres my understanding of the advice given to get wireless internet on my laptop:

Telstra - the best but too expensive

Vodafone - the best option of all of these companies

Optus - Web site too complicated to figure out the best option (okay, maybe Im technicaly challenged and dont get it!)

Virgin - Web site too complicated to figure it out the best option (okay, maybe Im technicaly challenged and dont get it!)

I guess the best would be for me to go to each one of these agents in Sydney when I am there and get all the details. What I really want is to land in Sydney from SA and then the very next day go to a shop and go home with internet ready to use.

Do these dongle things sold by each company all work on every network? i.e. once the sim card is installed.

Will my SA dongle from Vofocom work on these Networks?

[Dereko]

We did all the research and finally went with Virgin because they have a USB modem that connects up to three computers via wireless and we have two laptops. We bought the sim card through them because their highest package of data only expired after 365 days (prepaid)...see below, and because we want to get ADSL in the future, the 3G will be used as a backup. We walked into Virgin and by the time we got home we were able to connect. One problem with the 3G wireless modem, it does not have a long battery life and it does not charge while you are using it and if you let the charge run down, it has problem connecting. We leave it to charge everynight and keep it plugged into the laptop during use. The battery indicator light does show that the battery is low after a few hours of use, but it stays connected and never turns off.

FOR JUST YOU GET EXPIRY

$15 0.5GB 30 days after recharge

$30 2GB 30 days after recharge

$50 4GB 60 days after recharge

$100 6GB 90 days after recharge

$149 12GB 365 days after recharge

[woodag]

. . .

Do these dongle things sold by each company all work on every network? i.e. once the sim card is installed.

Will my SA dongle from Vofocom work on these Networks?

I'm no authority on this, but I think you could be heading into a minefield.

For a start, not all carriers use the same frequency bands, and modems, particularly older ones, might not cover the required bands.

Then there is the complication that modems are sometimes sold at reduced price, but locked to a particular network.

I also hear that sims are sometimes locked to certain modems. For example, I have seen the claim that Bigpond sims cannot be used in Telstra branded modems, despite that fact that Bigpond is run by Telstra. However (so goes the story), a Telstra sim will work just fine in a Bigpond modem. Talk about complicated! ( see "Telstra USB modem with bigpond sim?" http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1418272 )

[21yearsoutofrsa]

My skills aren't in the technical side of telecommunications, so I don't know. Woodag raises good points.

My attitude would be to bring the thing and ask one of the shop guys to see if it works. They can use one of their shop SIMs to try it. I'm pretty sure (80%) that it will not work on the Telstra network. These dondles don't weigh much, or take up much space. I'd also try a Voda shop as my first point of call.

If it doesn't work, so be it, you are in no worse a position than you were before.

Bring it and try it, there is no downside risk. It will probably cost you less than $5 to post it back to RSA if you want to let one of your mates there use it if it doesn't work.

Company policy requires that I disclose that I am an employee of Telstra

[Dereko]

I would suggest to take it to a Vodacom/MTN shop and check if it is network locked. If it is, ask them if it can be unlocked because I remember an earlier post about someone bringing their 3G modem from SA and it worked here. My Australian Virgin Mobile 3G modem is network locked, but they will release it from the network after you have spent $80 on prepaid airtime.

[Voortrekker]

New Prime Minister? Soccer team out of the WC? Oh well, life goes on.

Dereko 's point about modem's (and phones) being locked by some Telcos is a good one. I brought my DSL modem here from Canada, and had to throw it out for that reason. Doesn't matter if the brand is compatible. Telus Canada would NOT give out the password to unlock the modem.

As for Virgin (and many other Telcos in Aus). By law in Aus, you can switch between different Telcos quite easily. Sometimes you will have to pay to get your device unlocked from the old Telco. Having said that, there are some compatibility and network issues.

For example. Last year I bought a second-hand Nokia cell phone in a dusty town in the Free State for less than R200 (No, in a shop, not on the street). Just needed a phone while travelling. Used the SA Vodacom network.

Brought it back to Australia, and Bingo, it worked at Crazy John's (= Vodaphone), Got fed up with Vodaphone, tried "Three", they told me it would not work on their network. Three and Telstra use the same network, as far as I know.

Went across the road to Virgin (= Optus), and I was up and running within an hour on my R200 Free State phone, same phone number, $2 for a SIM. Still using it now.

I reckon the same should apply for modems, because modem and phone SIMs are interchangeable (taking into account network frequencies). Now, Virgin's website is about clear as mud about "Bring Your Own Modem" here: http://www.virginmobile.com.au/broadband/p...-broadband/byo/ - not that hard to find - they even tell you a little about hardware & frequency compatibility. Scroll down.

My Virgin-branded modem is a Huawei. I haven't had problems with the battery running out. See the latest models here: http://www.virginmobile.com.au/broadband/p...bile-broadband/. If I was buying now, I would get the Wi-Fi model - its new. Of course you can also go post-paid. Different web-page.

No worries. I am sure you will face other issues which are harder to solve.

[woodag]

. . .

My Virgin-branded modem is a Huawei. I haven't had problems with the battery running out. See the latest models here: http://www.virginmobile.com.au/broadband/p...bile-broadband/. If I was buying now, I would get the Wi-Fi model - its new.

Is that a USB stick modem you have? I'm trying to understand why it would need a battery. I gather that the Wi-Fi model is indeed battery powered, but that is a different story.

[Voortrekker]

Is that a USB stick modem you have? I'm trying to understand why it would need a battery. I gather that the Wi-Fi model is indeed battery powered, but that is a different story.

It is just a USB stick-thing. Like you, I am not aware that it even has a battery, I would have assumed it is USB-powered.

It does a have a micro-SD slot which you can fill, then use it as a normal USB-memory stick.