Quote:
Originally Posted by Exfso
John, the lines were/are only telstra.
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What he said. Almost without exception, if you have ADSL you are dealing with Telstra in one way or another. If you are "Off net" (To use an IInet (I think) description) as JJJnettie posted, then what they generally mean is that you are buying a service retail from whoever (IInet, TPG, whoever, just not Bigpond) who are in turn buying it wholesale from Telstra. Your service is entirely on Telstra infrastructure.
if it is "On net" what that means is your provider of choice has installed their own DSLAM (DSL Access Multiplexer) in the exchange you are connected to and your service is coming from that, but the rub is that it still goes over the Telstra copper from the exchange to your house.
The only ways around that currently are wireless services (Patchy, unreliable and performance dependent on the number of active users in your cell and what they are doing at the same time as you) or Optus HFC services or in some areas TransAct/Naighborhood cable HFC (HFC is Hybrid Fibre Coax, basically coaxial cables delivering the services in nodes with up to a few hundred houses in them and fibre transmission to the nodes) Plus some odd trial areas where fibre was installed that is not immediately handed over to Telstra and perhaps a few lucky enough to be getting services on NBN infrastructure already.
I would dearly love to give the axe to the swamp (Bigpond) but on a Telstra DSLAM in my experience you save some dollars and gain serious difficulties if there is a problem with the service if you go to a wholesale ISP buying service from Telstra. Even if the ISP has their own DSLAm you end up with them blaming Telstra and Telstra blaming them when it goes pear shaped.