Is your internet provider the worst? Consumer group CHOICE rates the nation’s best and worst internet providers, based on connection reliability, value for money and customer support.
To make a comprehensive comparison of Australia’s leading internet providers, CHOICE asked customers about their experiences with their Internet Service Provider (ISP) including any problems they made have had or positive feedback they could make.
Currently, 32 per cent of Australians with internet are on ADSL2 or 2+ connections, 14 per cent are on ADSL, 28 per cent are on the NBN, 12 per cent on cable, eight per cent on mobile broadband and three per cent on fixed wireless.
Around 37 per cent use Telstra as their main ISP, with Optus a distant second at 18 per cent, 11 per cent use TPG and 10 per cent go with iiNet.
Almost half of the respondents have stayed with their current provider for more than five years, with 59 per cent of Telstra customers sticking around for more than five years.
CHOICE also asked people what their reasons for changing providers would be. Around 29 per cent would switch to a cheaper plan, 27 per cent for more data, 23 per cent because of the NBN and 21 per cent due to better connection speeds.
So, which company fared worst overall?
Australia’s leading internet provider seems to lead in more ways than one. Telstra ranked worst or second worst in all categories.
Other key findings of the survey include:
- iiNet (78), iPrimus (75), Optus/OptusNet (75) and TPG (74) perform above average (73) for overall satisfaction.
- Telstra (70) and Dodo (69) received scores which were lower than the average overall satisfaction scores for the category (73).
- Telstra also scores the lowest for value for money (66); significantly lower than TPG (80), iiNet (78) and Optus/OptusNet (74).
Overall, Internode and iiNet were the two highest ranked ISPs in all categories.
Customers using the NBN expressed dismay for the new service, mainly with its connection speeds and reliability. About 60 per cent of those on the NBN had issues with their provider in the past six months – 44 per cent were related to very slow speeds
One NSW customer ribbed Telstra for its poor customer service and unfair charges for an inferior product:
“Telstra sold us a modem and told us when it needs to be repaired that it wasn’t their modem. Since getting NBN, internet connection has been slow and keeps dropping out. Telstra said that they cannot do anything to fix the problem, yet they still charge us when we haven’t had any connection for a couple of months.”
Read more at CHOICE
So, how does your ISP rate? Are you happy with your internet provider? Do you worry about having to switch to the NBN?
Related articles:
NBN broadband or fraudband?
NBN cost blowout
NBN rival to launch
