Telecom shoots back

When Chris Barton mocked the lack of real competition in the New Zealand broadband market in his column in the NZ Herald, he was aiming directly for Telecom. Looks like he aimed right. Because a week later, Telecom's CEO Paul Reynolds was shooting right back from the same space. "New Zealand on the front foot in the world of fast broadband." Ha, ha, ha, well let's call that a slight overstatement giving current standings, but the rest makes for interesting reading. Both columns linked below.

Chris Barton: A kinder, gentler Telecom? Yeah right
Paul Reynolds: Seizing spirit of separation

Welcome to the world - Unbundled Broadband

Finally, unbundled broadband has arrived in New Zealand!

Orcon are the first to bring us broadband without the need for a telecom line. And they were good enough to skip ADSL (up to 8Mb/s) and start with ADSL2 (up to 24Mb/s) straight away.

However, there's two major issues, straight away:
* You have to be lucky enough to live in one of the initial five Auckland suburbs (Ponsonby, Glenfield, Ellerslie, Mt Albert, Browns Bay). And it may take a while (if ever) before the rest of the country can enjoy it.
* The standard datacap of 10GB is downright laughable. At the promised speeds, you'd reach that in 2 to 3 hours. What's the use of speedy broadband if you can't use it all the time?

So, Orcon, good on ya for bringing us the speed that the rest of the world enjoys. Shame on ya for that laughable datacap.


* Sign up with Orcon
* Read the article in the NZ Herald

Twice as much - Woosh discount coupon

Woosh have changed their offer again. They are now offering 400Mb ($24.95) and 2Gb ($29.95) plans, twice as much data for the same price. The $29.95 plan is now looking like a pretty good offer, and should be sufficient if you're not a heavy user. Plus woosh are now waiving the $99 sign-on fee AND giving you a month free. The catch: you have to sign up for 18 months.

You can still get an extra $20 off if you email us for a coupon code.
Offer valid until the end of November

Woosh discount 20$ - 8 weeks free broadband

Woosh are now offering 8 weeks of free broadband if you sign up with them for a year. Plans start from $24.95, but that only gives you 200MB/month, so the $29.95 (1GB) and higher plans are a bit more realistic. Woosh is wireless, so no phone line required, but coverage only extends to central parts of Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington. Normal activation fee is still $99. Looking for a discount coupon? Simply send us an email and you'll receive a coupon-code for additional $20 off.
8-weeks free deal expires 14-OCT.

Looking for Joost

Now here's an application that will really test if your kiwi broadband is any good. You've probably heard of Joost already. From the guys that brought you Kazaa and Skype. They are now revolutionising the world with internet television. The channels are still somewhat US-centric, but then again so is television. Be warned though, you need a pretty good NZ broadband connection to make it work. And as you know, in New Zealand these are hard to come by. And once you're hooked, you'd better upgrade to that 40Gb data package, because you will need that too.
Right now Joost is only available for download if you are a friend. But simply send us an email and we'll add you to the invite list. So you can enjoy it too.

Woosh coupon - get $20 discount

Woosh now offers broadband from $17.95/month. Normal activation fee is $99. Looking for a discount coupon? Simply send us an email and you'll receive a coupon-code for $20 off.

Vodafone / iHug - twelve months free broadband

Vodafone currently have an offer for free broadband. Well almost. You need to enroll on their line/call plan, at $61/month. Contract term is 12 months, which is less than their normal (and ridiculous) 18 months. You'll probably have to buy a modem (@$99) and you will want to upgrade to one of their other plans, as the offer is for the basic 1Gb plan, which is unlikely to be enough. Still, a discount is a discount. Just make sure to read all the small print.
offer ends 31-OCT-2007