Compare Westnet’s ADSL2+ Option 2 Broadband Plan

Westnet, a prominent West Australian based internet service provider, offers super fast broadband to customers throughout the country. Since its inception in 1994 it has won several awards for providing a fast reliable broadband service to over 200,000 members. It has won the 16th and 17th A.C.Nielson ‘Consult Australian Online’ surveys as well as the ‘Best ISP’ awards for reliability and service from the PC Authority magazine in both 2007 and 2008. It provides a wide range of affordable ADSL and ADSL2+ broadband plans as well as satellite and mobile broadband packages. A feature of Westnet products is their short term contracts of only six months. These are affordable because of their low contract prices. A typical Westnet ADSL2+ broadband plan is the Option 2. This particular plan boasts 20GB of data downloading, super fast ADSL2+ speeds and it is able to be bundled with your home phone or VoIP.

Westnet’s ADSL2+ Option 2 Broadband Plan Details:

• This is a stand alone plan. This means it does not have to be bundled with anything else in order to acquire it. This does not stop you from adding further features to it if you wish to do so, such as VoIP for cheap internet telephone calls, or adding your home phone for cheaper rental costs.
• Six month contract. The contract for this plan is only over a six month period which is in line with most Westnet broadband plans. The full cost of the contract is just $319.65 which means it will cost you a minimum of $39.95 a month to pay it out over the six month term. There is a set up fee of $79.95 to take into account that must be paid up front. Once this is out of the way however there are no further charges involved, apart from the monthly cost, over the next six months.
• Total data allowance of 20GB. The data allowance is split between peak and off peak periods, 10GB allocated to each. If you exceed your allowance in any month your connection speed will be automatically reduced, or shaped, until the next monthly allocation comes around. If you find the 20GB too restrictive you are able to upgrade to a higher allocation.
• The ADSL2+ speeds can be super fast. This will depend on the type of exchange from which you are connected to the network. If the exchange has been upgraded to accept ADSL2+ speeds and your phone line from the exchange to your computer is also capable of carrying this more recent broadband technology  you should enjoy your connection immensely.

How Westnet got Started

The story of how Westnet came into being is an Australian ISP success story like no other. In the early days of the internet there were many small ISPs delivering a dial-up service to its customers throughout the country and Westnet was doing this in the remote country town of Geraldton, Western Australia. The brains behind the business were that of a Geraldton local, Chris Thomas, who in 1994 , began the enterprise working out of a spare bedroom in his home. In 1996 he caught the attention of another local Geraldton company, Mitchell and Brown Communications, who bought him out. The business continued to grow rapidly providing ISP services to the local population. As it grew it became obvious that Westnet would have to relocate to Perth in order to access a larger building to work out of for its growing staff and placement of its infrastructure.

By 2004 it was also in the business of  providing telephone services to its still growing consumer base. This eventually became such an important part of its business that it began referring to itself as being a telecommunication service provider rather than simply being another ISP. It was to be in 2008 when the really big change occurred. On May 8 of that year it was announced that Westnet had been acquired by another West Australian ISP, iiNet, for an amount of $81 million. It was decided to keep the two brands operating as separate identities because of their successes to date. Westnet was to gain from inheriting more broadband products to add to its already wide range. At this time an employee posted on YouTube the following testimony:

“If you didn’t work at Westnet you probably wouldn’t understand what all this is about. The culture at Westnet was always like family. We didn’t work there for the money – there weren’t any bonuses or incentives apart from what you got at your annual pay review. Everybody who worked at Westnet did so because they were working for something they believed in, treating people like people. Working at Westnet has been a once in a lifetime experience. I am truly honoured to have been a part of that.”

A company could get no better promotion than that and it explains why Westnet stood out from all other ISPs at that time and continued to prosper while others fell by the wayside. Westnet today have a lot to live up to and it appears, by all accounts, that they are doing so.