Types of internet service available. There are several different ways to get internet service in Sydney. Standard modem on a phone line Broadband ADSL Broadband cable GPRS Slow and cheap wireless connection Broadband wireless connection Satellite broadband How much do these options cost? The slow and cheap wireless connection generally works out the cheapest per month at about $15. Unfortunately not all of Sydney can get this yet but things are improving. A standard modem on a phone line is a similar price provided you go with a cheap ISP (about $10 per month) and dial in no more than about 20 times (each dialup costs a local call charge on your phone bill). Note that a $10 plan generally does not give you a great amount in the way of data download available before extra may be charged. More complete plans of this type for unlimited hours and downloads with good quality of service can run over $30 per month. If you dial-up often then you can easily generate $10 in local call charges as well. If you use the internet a fair bit then either your phone line will be unusable for phone calls a lot for the time or else you will need a separate line... at over $20 per month extra! Broadband ADSL is the next cheapest, although price depends greatly on your ISP, how much you download, and what speed of plan you choose. Prices range from $20 up over $100 per month. I must stress the importance of being very careful about the cheaper plans. Some only give a small included data allowance and excess fees can be very steep, particularly from some of the more popular ISPs. If your computer gets a virus or worm, or someone hacks into your computer, or uses a p2p application, you can end up with thousands of dollars in bills... and yes, you would be responsible to pay! Look for a plan that is "shaped" (slows down if you use it too much) or has excess usage fees no more than $5 per gigabyte (0.5 cents per megabyte). Such plans range from about $30 upwards. Unfortunately ADSL is not available to everyone. Fast wireless access is the next cheapest. Usually this works out about $10 per month more than ADSL for a similar ADSL plan. The advantage is portability and that you don't need a phone line to use it. Broadband cable is generally faster than ADSL, and usually about the same price as the mid to high range ADSL plans. Unfortunately not everyone can get cable internet and your options are limited. Satellite broadband is still more expensive. This comes in 1-way and 2-way options. If you can get some other form of broadband then you probably don't want this. GPRS is designed for mobile phone access, or plugging a laptop into a mobile phone. Per megabyte it works out about 1000 times the cost of ADSL! You don't want to actually use this except for emergency access, or are dealing with very small amounts of data and know how to keep data levels small. This generally works wherever you can get mobile phone reception. What if I don't need a fast internet connection? If you don't need a fast internet connection and would like a cheap internet option then the best solution is probably the slow and cheap wireless connection. This is almost as cheap as a standard modem deal can get, but has the advantage of portability and not tying up a phone line. In practice it can be about twice as fast as a standard modem connection (until you reach 250MB in a month, which is not much) then the speed halves. You can see the Unwired Plans and coverage area. If this is not available in your area then a standard modem option or a cheap ADSL option are probably the best options. Be very careful of the cheapest ADSL deals with expensive excess rates. ADSL can still be cheaper than a standard modem depending on how many times you dial in each month via a modem (ADSL is always on, no charges to dial in) and if you use a dedicated line for a modem (cost saving of a line rental with ADSL). ADSL does piggy-back onto a standard phone connection... you need to have a phone line to get ADSL, but while using the ADSL you can still use the phone line to make phone calls! What if I'd like something a bit faster there are many options. check broadbandchoice.com.au for a good selection. be careful of excess charges. what about bundling? many ISPs allow you to bundle long distance / local / mobile telephony, which can save you money, depending on your usage What about VOIP Some ISPs (and some 3rd party providers) offer VOIP offerings. The basic idea is that if you have a broadband connection (256KB or faster) then you can use a phone trough the internet. the VOIP line quality varies, and using a VOIP phone will impact on the connection speed of your computer. In addition the data may count towards your monthly quota. A VOIP phone is separate to the standard phone line that you already have if you have ADSL. You generally can't transfer a phone number you have to the VOIP line. Call quality varies between providers with ADSL. Call costs are often extremely cheap, and usually phone calls between VOIP phones are free. some providers give you a phone number that others can call in on, but this costs a little extra. This can be a great solution if you want a second phone line for the kids... with people Telecom you can get the VOIP phone for $5 per month, including an incoming phone number... and call costs are of course very low. with some providers you can plug your own phone into the VOIP adapter. Other's, however, this is difficult. Sydney internet related pages on this site Internet options for people in Sydney Voip choices in Sydney Back to Main Page Comments by visitors: Email webmaster@iliveinsydney.com to contact the webmaster.