Wanted: broadband ISP recommendations

On Friday night I discovered my ISP had arbitrarily decided to disconnect my DSL. No warning, nothing. No letters, no email. The account I had been using was a VIP account given to me by the former CEO of the ISP, who were since taken over by another company and... well... I guess the new owners don't consider me that VI. I'm sure if they got to know me...

Anyway, thank god for my NetConnect card! It's my only lifeline. I need some recommendations for a good broadband ISP. Suffice to say, if I find one, I will sing their praises high on this blog and the G'Day World podcast. I will need at least 512/128 and would prefer 512/256. I'll need 10-20Gb a month. And I'd prefer not to have to sign a long-term contract. I've been to Whirlpool but they aren't a great deal of help. It's all too complicated. You can't really compare apples to apples. So, as usual, I am looking for word-of-mouth recommendations.

Meanwhile, I have no XBOX Live, no podcasts, it's like coming down off crack.

Update: Thanks for the recommendations folks. I ended up going with Netspace, mostly because they have a 40Gb plan with no set-up fee. I hate set-up fees. Oh and the ISP who cut me off without warning was Big Blue (recently acquired by iiNet). How's that for customer service.

Comments

[Tony Goodson]

Telstra Cable?!! It's stable now, unlimited download option, unlimited bandwidth (but it's highly variable). You'll never guess the most annoying thing against Telstra Broadband......you can't pay by BPAY!!

[Cameron]

nah, I refuse to give Telstra anymore of my money. Once they are
totally privatized and Ziggy & Ted have left the building, i might
reconsider them. They are a blight on the ICT landscape and have been
deliberately holding this country's infrastructure back for the last
decade.

[Damian]

I'd take a look at Internode,they are a little pricier than some of the others, but their service is meant to be second to none.

I'm considering a move over to them.

[William Luu]

Just offering you a few more choices...

Cameron, have you considered a wireless ISP? (Such as iBurst - http://www.iburst.com.au). Or perhaps go for that 2mbps iPrimus ADSL? http://www.iprimus.com.au/broadband-pricing.asp (Only if you are near one of the exchanges they have installed their own DSLAM equipment in a Telstra exchange). Or maybe Alphalink? They have a wireless option, and are available in Sunbury (which from memory is close to/is where you are). Veritel also has a nice offering: http://www.veritel.com.au/freetochoose/index.php

[Michael]

Just started with Swiftel, switched from Telstra, they have been great. They seem to have a range of reasonable plans. (That is as long as they aren't your "current ISP".

[Paul]

Yeah, I'm with Damian, Cam. Can't recommend Internode enough. Been using them for 18 months, couldn't be happier. Not the cheapest option, but still bloody good, technical service is OUTSTANDING -- there's not much they don't know, and they won't just tell you to 'reboot' if you need some techie point sorted out. Class act all 'round.

[Daniel]

Last time I moved, I switched to Netspace ADSL. It's been good for me, even if nowhere near as fast as Telstra cable was on good days.

[Royseph]

Tiscali have always been good for me very good connection unlimited downloads and unlimited bandwidth. Stay away from one pertcular ISP ... AOL! sucks so much with its own browser eating your ram stay away!!!