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Optus launches naked DSL

Optus this morning announced it would offer naked DSL broadband plans, as well as broadband offerings provided on a "month-to-month" basis.
Written by Suzanne Tindal, Contributor

Optus this morning announced it would offer naked DSL broadband plans, as well as broadband offerings provided on a "month-to-month" basis.

streaker.jpg

(Legoland Windsor -
Wembley Stadium Streaker
image by Rob Young, CC2.0)

Optus is offering naked DSL plans with 7GB of download quota at $59.99 per month or $49.99 when bundled with an Optus mobile plan, although these plans are for a "limited time".

Naked DSL allows customers to access broadband without having to rent a traditional phone line, although it is often bundled with Voice over IP (VoIP) telephony, which runs over the broadband connection. ISPs such as Internode and iiNet were the first to offer the service in Australia, with iiNet adding 50,000 customers since the product's launch in November 2007.

Seeing this success, others have followed but up until now Optus, along with Telstra, did not offer the service.

When asked about whether it would offer naked plans mid last year, Optus said "We've always had a stand-alone broadband product on the [HFC] cable broadband offering." Yet now the carrier has decided to offer the stand-alone product in a broader sense.

Optus thought its naked product would rise above the pack by giving users the ability to bundle their mobile phone with their naked broadband service. "Unlike our competitors, Optus has the capability for customers to bundle their naked broadband with their mobile, providing real value and alternatives to manage their monthly spend," Michael Smith, acting managing director Optus consumer said in a statement.

The month-to-month broadband plans also announced today allow customers to sign up for broadband without a standard 24-month contract. Both naked broadband and month-to-month broadband would allow customers to pay for what they wanted and achieve savings in their budgets, Smith said.

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