Tuesday 11 September 2007

The need for speed

I'm a Telstra fan.
I can hear all those cries for supporting the big capitalist and 'where's my loyally to the underdog' etc.
However, I value a consistent service and also dealing direct with a supplier that also manages and services the surrounding infrastructure. I've had very mixed experiences with other providers over the years, but have always found Telstra the most consistent supplier. And I don't mind paying to maintain such an essential service.
I know a lot have their gripe and will be more than willing to share why or why not Telstra has done them over. When there was a billing issue or a difficulty, they have always refunded or discounted a bill when I had a legitimate concern.
As the net is such a large part of our personal telecommunications these days, with most of us spending at least $2,000 a year, including hardware costs etc, it's something that needs serious consideration. Who would have thought a few years ago, we'd be spending such a large amount of our take home pay on communications. In fact, besides the fixed line telephone, all of our other devices are a new addition to our lives when most of us were kids.
The mobile. The Internet. A myriad of features of the home telephone line. Text messages. Now Voip (or Voice_over_IP) is gaining traction for those who've done their own homework. You won't find any of the primary providers promoting it nor even telling the story for fear of undermining their primary fixed line business.
I rarely make a telephone call anywhere, besides my mobile, using a conventional telephone call anymore. Even when away home, I still have remote access to $0.01c / minute calls anywhere in Australia. Most of the rest of the world, I can call for around $0.02c.
And it's all got to do with speed. Every year since we've had the net, we've sought an increase in access to our telecommunications, more places to use the net, and a faster online experience. More and more, our tools and work are moving away from our physical hard drive to a web-based system for activity, storage and fun.
If we only stopped for a few minutes and marvelled at the amazing things we now are capable of doing on line, we'd surprise ourselves. The net has become as common as a television set in the corner of the lounge. I would guess that most households primarily use it for things other than entertainment and it not only opens up social boundaries, but also restricts them.
At Yorkeys I'm blessed with ADSL2+ and being close to the Wattle Street exchange, I often get between 10 - 15 meg download bandwidth. I've included the link above, make sure you click where your servicer is. My main onne for Telstra is in Sydney. I'd be interested to hear your internet provider and the speed you get and if indeed speed is a factor.
Surf away.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

In regards to communication technology and the need for speed-the technology I appreciate, the growing epidemic of impatience with a bit of a wait for things, bothers me somewhat and has no better exemplar than the communication industry. An important element of my work as a Youthworker is to slow the ones I work with down(most want everything to happen yesterday)and it's difficult when all the social messages encourage the reverse-more, quicker, bigger. They reckon if one puts instant coffee in the micro-wave, one can go back in time!!
I've only just been turned on to this site by a friend and I'm really enjoying the commentary and the chance to contribute-keep up the good fight!