iiNet launches phone service, ADSL up to 8000kbps
The provider has announced the plans as part of the official launch of its iibroadband2 range, which utilises iiNet's newly installed broadband infrastructure. The new range of plans will start at speeds of 1500kbps and peak at 8000kbps, with iiNet looking to bundle as many customers as possible onto the new infrastructure to achieve the better speeds. The impetus behind the infrastructure change came from claimed frequent industry problems with Telstra's monopoly on the exchange equipment that facilitates ADSL broadband.
The phone services, which customers will be able to access as part of an iiNet broadband package, will include no lock-in contracts, no minimum spend and no signing or switching fees. In essence the service is an extension of iiNet's pre-select phone service which has been available since December 2003.
Similar to existing phone/Internet packages from providers such as Telstra and Optus, iiNet has announced benefits for bundling a phone and broadband package together, with the iibroadband2 products doubling their included download quota when selected with the phone option.
The phone packages will be priced at AU$29.95 for residential line rental and AU$40.95 for business line rental, with 18c local calls. Calls to mobiles will be priced at 33c per minute, with a 20c flagfall. For STD calls iiNet has a block pricing scheme with time blocks ranging up to AU$2.50 per hour, with a 15c per minute flat fee thereafter. The iibroadband2 range of plans are priced by download limit. iiNet lists the plans as "1500kbps up to 8000kbps" with the upper plan being priced at AU$99.95 for 20GB of peak and 20GB of off-peak downloads.
iiNet's new plans come amid a recent disclosure to the Australian Stock Exchange that the provider is interested in acquiring rival provider OzEmail.