Adelaide-based service provider Internode has expanded the footprint of its symmetric, 40 megabit per second (Mbps) plans to Brisbane in a ploy the company believes should meet demand until the National Broadband Network (NBN) is rolled out).
Internode first launched its Extreme SHDSL in Adelaide in March 2009 with Sydney and Melbourne following toward the end of that year. The Ethernet-based Symmetric High-speed Digital Subscriber Line (SHDSL) technology is currently available in symmetric speeds of between two and 40Mbps at a total of 57 exchanges across the four cities.
The ISP also plans to reach beyond central business districts with a further 25 exchanges planned for extension in coming months. The SHDSL plans are offered over Optus’ wholesale network through provider XYZed.
The Extreme SHDSL plans have dropped in price by roughly $1000 per month since they initially launched. Product manager, Jim Kellett, said businesses were clamouring for the offer.
“It's businesses rather than residential customers who are leading the way in the adoption of high-speed Internet access,” he said in a statement.
The plans are designed as a replacement for high-speed internet services in place of the anticipated rollout of the NBN nationally, but the Federal Government’s fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network is unlikely to offer symmetric speeds through the passive optical network gear currently being installed.
The nature of the current equipment means bandwidth uplink speeds are roughly half their downlink equivalents, forcing businesses to opt for a point-to-point connection instead for applications requiring symmetric speeds.
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