Finally, getting more for less!

The introduction of competition in Australian overseas data cables has improved pricing of Internet services in Australia. Costs are going down and these savings are being passed to consumers, most notably ME!

Early this August, I found out that Australia was getting a new undersea optical cable that connects Australia to Guam (and from there to USA and Asia). Before this cable was introduced, there were only two companies providing overseas connections, and the prices reflected this duopoly environment. Introduction of the third competitor has already pushed the prices of an overseas connection down by 30%.

My interned provider (Internode) had announced that they will be offering larger quotas as soon as the new cable is light up. The official start for the new plans was October 8th, which means that as soon as my new monthly billing cycle starts, I will be eligible for the new quota. I have already chosen the new plan that I am switching to. Take a look at the picture below!

10GB more for $5 less a month?! Sure, I'll take that!!!! Ahhhh, I love competition. 40GB was just not cutting it, so 50GB might do the trick. Another good thing about Internode is that they don't count uploads. Since I am backing up my pics and docs to an online server (JungleDisk), it really helps that I don't have to pay for uploads.

Unlike in North America and Europe, where you primarily pay for the speed, in Australia you pay for the size of your monthly quota. You get the same speed as others, but pay differently based on your download profile. As such, I get a 20Mbps download link, and a 1.5 Mbps upload link. FAST! It is amazing to see downloads come at blazing 1.5MB/sec (the server can't give it to me faster even though my connection can take it). Crazy, I tell ya! The trouble is that even though the prices for Internet access have come down, they are still pretty high, as witnessed by the picture above. Oh well, I think my 50GB should last me through the month. If not, I can pay $15 for extra 10GB. At least there is that option.