Bigpond "Elite" Cable Broadband ???

[bigdazzler]

Anyone connected ?? How do you find it ??

[Remorhaz]

Note: In the interests of open disclosure I do work for Telstra (not anything to do with BigPond or in fact any customer services) but the below is my view as a customer of the service...

I have BigPond cable (have had so for almost 15 years) and have had the Elite version since it became available. It's fast and I have no real issues with it - my speedtests usually give me something like 32meg down and about 1.1meg up so I find it quite speedy. I guess peoples experience may vary depending on how many other customers might share the "segment" with them. I'm in a location which is reasonably far from my exchange (over 3km's) so from that point of view ADSL (2+, etc) would very likely be much slower for me.

[Philr]

We can't get the cable here but bigoponds adsl 2 is pretty good. Super fast and not had too many issues and the samall ones we have had the customer service team seem to get fixed asap!

[bigdazzler]

mmmm theres a couple of reasons Im looking into cable.

At the moment I only have a Three Mobile Broadband USB internet key. I use it at home and when Im on the road with the macbook. Im happy with it. Its a little $$$$ at $49 per month for 8GB but I suppose youre paying premium for the mobility factor, which is OK, considering I dont do much downloading and never top out my limit anyway.

I dont have a static telephone landline, but I do have cable Foxtel, which the broadband can be connected through.

Now my best mate and his bother in law own and run Digital Products Group (http://www.digitalpg.com.au/dpg_index.asp), the company that imports and distributes SlingBox (http://slingmedia.com.au/) products. This SlingBox connects to your TV/Foxtel/etc and allows you to watch, streamed from home, over the internet. Now for this to happen for me, I will need to keep my USB key for mobile internet connection on the macbook, and have the SlingBox connected to an internet connection at home.

It is also a hassle for Bella when I take the USB modem with me, and she is stuck without an internet connection at home.

So I guess Im saying I would like to avoid the hassle of having to connect a telephone line for ADSL2, when the cable is already there from my Foxtel connection. Im just trying to justify the cost of paying about
$80 per month for the cable internet on top of the $50 I already pay for my USB connection with Three.

[Remorhaz]

This SlingBox connects to your TV/Foxtel/etc and allows you to watch, streamed from home, over the internet. Now for this to happen for me, I will need to keep my USB key for mobile internet connection on the macbook, and have the SlingBox connected to an internet connection at home.

Ok - for this use you've got a couple of things to think about
- it's mostly the upload speed you'll be concerned with (for the home broadband connection) - I'm sure the slingbox will automatically adapt to the available upload (and download speed of the client end) - but if you can find out what the "ideal" data rates are that should give you an idea whether you need the 1Meg upload speed or not
- BigPond counts uploads towards your monthly usage (i.e. this slingbox outbound streaming traffic) - given your more limited 3G broadband monthly limits (which will also be consumed by this streaming traffic) this shouldn't be a problem but is something to consider