Broadband
What is Broadband and what can it do for me?
‘Broadband’ is an umbrella term for a number of high speed Internet access options.
ADSL, Cable and Satellite* all fall into the Broadband category, giving you a number of options for enjoying an amazing online experience.
You see, the thing that all Broadband access methods have in common is incredible speed. These are among the fastest ways for you to surf, share, download, upload and play games online.
BigPond Broadband is an ‘always on’ service so that you don’t have to dial-up each time you want to access the Internet^, giving you full use of your phone service. So you can keep calling, chatting and faxing while you’re connected.
Sound good? It is. So let’s have a quick look at your broadband options, and see why you’d choose one over the others.
Know your Broadband options:
ADSL
Shares the same ‘twisted pair’ copper wire as your telephone connection, to bring you super-fast Internet without affecting your phone services. High speed Internet. Connects easily to existing phone outlets. Not always available, depending on the local exchange and your distance from it. Many urban locations.
Cable
Shares the same Telstra cable as your Foxtel Pay TV, to give you one of the fastest Internet services possible.
High speed Internet. Doesn’t affect your Foxtel or your phone services. Only available in cabled areas. Foxtel subscribers or cable-ready households.
Satellite
Uses a satellite dish, to deliver Internet services at incredible speeds. High speed Internet. Available almost anywhere in Australia. Requires a properly installed satellite dish. More remote locations.
Things you should know -
- Type of Broadband technology depends on a customers location.
- Subject to network faults, outages and routine maintenance that may occur from time to time.
- Excludes one-way Satellite which requires a dial up connection for the return path.
ADSL
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line)* is a new broadband technology that lets you enjoy super-fast Internet access without the need for lots of mind-boggling equipment.
In fact, ADSL uses everyday copper phone lines to deliver broadband Internet at super fast speeds.
For example, on the 500MB Plan, you can surf the net at speeds of up to 256kbps (kilobits per second) and on the 10GB plan, up to 1.5mbps (megabits per second). As a comparison, most computers come with a dial-up modem that can only cope with speeds up to 56 kbps (kilobits per second).
So to put it simply, the potential top speed of an ADSL connection is up to 20 times faster than a standard dial-up connection^. Fasten your seatbelt – you’ll be gaming and downloading at blistering rates. ADSL lets you enjoy some exciting differences
You can download large files fast. ADSL makes super-fast broadband Internet access easy. Even large downloads take a lot less waiting. And the ADSL connection is far more robust than dial-up, so you won’t have to start again because the line dropped out.
You can still use your phone lines while you’re on the web. Have a chat, answer calls, send faxes, whatever. Everything works just like it did before.
You can save on call costs and extra line rental. With ADSL, you only need one phone line. And forget about busy signals, drop-outs, call costs, or renting an extra phone line just for the Internet.
You don’t need to dial-up and wait. Because ADSL doesn’t affect your phone, there’s no need for you to turn it off. And there are no time limits from our end either, so the Internet can be there whenever you want it. Just leave your ADSL modem set up to connect from the moment you turn your computer on.
Things you should know
Connection speeds are shown in downstream/upstream format. For example, 256/64 represents the max. speed achievable in the Telstra access network of up to 256kbps downstream/ 64 kbps upstream. The actual speeds for a customer are slower and vary due to many factors including the plan selected, the capacity and popularity of web sites and computer configuration.
- ADSL is not available in all areas.
- When downloading from Australian sites. Speeds vary according to plan selected, Internet traffic server
capacity and other factors.
Satellite
What is Satellite and what can it do for me?
BigPond Broadband Satellite is a great way for you to enjoy Amazing Broadband Internet almost anywhere in Australia.
Because 2-Way Satellite Internet doesn’t depend on land-based phone lines or cables, it can reach places that are far beyond the range of Broadband ADSL or Cable services.
BigPond Broadband Satellite uses the enormous bandwidth and geographical coverage of orbiting satellites. So even if you live in a community far from the nearest city, you’ll still be able to surf the net at amazing speeds.
There are two options for you to choose from – high speed uploads and downloads with a 2-Way Satellite Service, or a hybrid 1-Way Satellite service that gives you fast downloads with either cost-effective (but slower) phone-line uploads or somewhat faster ISDN uploads provided by the Broadband Regional Connect package.
The 1-Way system is usually an ideal solution if you’re a home or small business user. The 2-Way solution is really a better option if you upload a lot of data – either as a professional or specialist Internet user.
Both options will let you download large files fast. The amazing download speeds of either BigPond Broadband Satellite service means even large downloads take a lot less waiting. And the Satellite connection is far more robust than dial-up, so you won’t have to start again because the line dropped out.
Cable
What is Cable and what can it do for me?
If you live in one of Australia’s major cities, you’re probably already familiar with the concept of getting Pay TV through a cable.
What you may not have realised is that the same cable that carries the Foxtel Pay TV signal also has masses of bandwidth available for a carrying internet data.
And that, in a few words, is what the BigPond Broadband Cable service is all about. The cable can deliver huge amounts of internet data to your home very quickly, so you can download music and movie files far more quickly than you ever could over the fine copper wires that carry normal phone and dial-up internet services.
So if you live anywhere with access to the Telstra/Foxtel cable, you also have access to the blistering speeds of Cable Internet. All you really need is the special cable modem that manages the data flow, and one of our technicians to hook you up.
Cable lets you enjoy some exciting differences
You can download large files fast. Cable gives you access to super-fast broadband Internet. Uncapped download speeds mean you’ll enjoy best-available speeds all the time, so even large downloads take a lot less waiting. And the Cable connection is far more robust than dial-up, so you won’t have to start again because the line dropped out.
Your internet access doesn’t interfere with other services to your house. You can still watch Foxtel while you’re online, as well as making and answering phone calls, having a chat, or sending and receiving faxes. Everything works just like it did before.
Your Internet connection is always on. Because Cable doesn’t interfere with your phone services, why would you ever turn it off? It doesn’t tie up the lines like dial-up, and there are no time-out limits from our end. So you can leave it set up to connect instantly, automatically. Just turn on your computer and go like the wind.
You can save on call costs and extra line rental. With an ‘always-on’ Broadband Cable connection, you can forget about the busy signals, drop-outs, call costs, and connection delays of dial-up Internet.