Optus offering 6 points per $

[markis10]

Switch to Optus and register for Optus Rewards before 29 February 2012 and you will earn a massive 6 Qantas Frequent Flyer points for every dollar you spend on most Optus personal services in 2012.
Minimum spend $30 per month on the new service in 2012.
[h=2]Existing Customers[/h] If you're already an Optus Customer, simply connect to a new, eligible Optus personal service and register before 29 February 2012 to earn 6 Qantas Frequent Flyer points for every dollar you spend on most of your new and existing Optus personal services in 2012. Then sit back and enjoy the rewards.
Minimum spend $30 per month on the new service in 2012.
Offer available 26 December 2011 - 29 February 2012.

 

[elbarto]

I have been contemplating changing my Internet provider.. Could be a good time to change.


Sent from an Apple iPad wireless device

 

[BadgerBoi]

I have been contemplating changing my Internet provider.. Could be a good time to change.


Sent from an Apple iPad wireless device

As an Optus internet customer I can only give you one word of advice: Don't!

 

[JohnK]

As an Optus internet customer I can only give you one word of advice: Don't!

And everyones experiences are different.

I had Optus broadband for a couple of years in Sydney and now my brother uses Optus broadband downloading day and night without hassles.

As for mobile broadband Optus is not bad and for me they are clearly ahead of 3, Vodafone and Virgin. I wish their coverage in Sydney was a little better.

Just wish I was able to take advantage of this promotion but unfortunately all services a locked in for a while....

 

[AdMEL]

And everyones experiences are different.

I had Optus broadband for a couple of years in Sydney and now my brother uses Optus broadband downloading day and night without hassles.

As for mobile broadband Optus is not bad and for me they are clearly ahead of 3, Vodafone and Virgin. I wish their coverage in Sydney was a little better.

Just wish I was able to take advantage of this promotion but unfortunately all services a locked in for a while....

Given Virgin is owned by Optus and uses the Optus network, how can the Virgin mobile broadband be any worse?

 

[pauly7]

Given Virgin is owned by Optus and uses the Optus network, how can the Virgin mobile broadband be any worse?

Sane network but the Optus-Virgin pricing is different, plans are different, service etc etc

 

[markis10]

Given Virgin is owned by Optus and uses the Optus network, how can the Virgin mobile broadband be any worse?

Same base stations but not same network, traffic is divided into various private LANs and given QOS accordingly, in the case of broadband this can result in a massive difference in the users experience between brands when at the same location.

 

[Simo]

On a $30 per month agreement it is worth app 4300 points.

I am a Telstra Customer and I need coverage so I wouldn't consider it.

if it is going to work for you well worth it.

Virgin and Optus internet is a bit like Bigpond and Telstra Internet.

I use Telstra Internet, more expensive but it is faster.

 

[JohnK]

Given Virgin is owned by Optus and uses the Optus network, how can the Virgin mobile broadband be any worse?

Different networks. Coverage? Speed? USB modems?

 

[lovestotravel]

Same base stations but not same network, traffic is divided into various private LANs and given QOS accordingly, in the case of broadband this can result in a massive difference in the users experience between brands when at the same location.

Correct - Funnily enough sometimes Virgin can be faster than Optus in some locations!

Depends on what's happening once your data hits network

 

[BadgerBoi]

And everyones experiences are different.

I had Optus broadband for a couple of years in Sydney and now my brother uses Optus broadband downloading day and night without hassles.

As for mobile broadband Optus is not bad and for me they are clearly ahead of 3, Vodafone and Virgin. I wish their coverage in Sydney was a little better.

Just wish I was able to take advantage of this promotion but unfortunately all services a locked in for a while....

I switched to Optus broadband a while ago, and I'm happily nearly at the end of that contract. Download speeds fluctuate wildly and I go through phases where connections drop out with monotonous regularity - I should check if it coincides with the full moon or something. I'm looking forward to losing the QFF points that I get for using my Optus service and switching to an internet provider that I can depend on.

Their online sales service sucks, to be generous. I recently tried to move my mobile phone from Telstra to Optus. Keep in mind, the Optus call centre constantly bombards me from Manila with offers trying to get me to upgrade my landline and internet services - but after spending an hour online (drop-outs and buggy website) trying to switch my mobile service from Telstra they told me that I didn't meet their criteria. I tried it with Virgin, with whom I have no history, and managed to sign up online with them within ten minutes. They couriered a smart phone to me the next day, and I hadn't even given them a credit card number.

I didn't realise that Virgin use the Optus network. The moment I walk outside the front door of my apartment building my connection drops out and starts to search for coverage. I don't get coverage again until I walk for another two blocks - I live within 5k of the Sydney CBD, so I really should expect better than this.

YMMV, but that's my experience. Slow speeds, drop-outs and poor coverage.

Sane network but the Optus-Virgin pricing is different, plans are different, service etc etc

I'm paying $3 less per month with Virgin than with the plan, almost identical, that Optus refused to sell to me because I don't meet their dress standards or whatever. I don't get free facebook and twitter or whatever.

 

[lovestotravel]

Trying to switch my mobile service from Telstra they told me that I didn't meet their criteria. I tried it with Virgin, with whom I have no history, and managed to sign up online with them within ten minutes. They couriered a smart phone to me the next day, and I hadn't even given them a credit card number.

The moment I walk outside the front door of my apartment building my connection drops out and starts to search for coverage. I don't get coverage again until I walk for another two blocks - I live within 5k of the Sydney CBD, so I really should expect better than this.

YMMV, but that's my experience. Slow speeds, drop-outs and poor coverage.

I'm paying $3 less per month with Virgin than with the plan, almost identical, that Optus refused to sell to me because I don't meet their dress standards or whatever. I don't get free facebook and twitter or whatever.

So you didn't pass the credit check it seems, which is not the fault of Optus or yourself (unless you have bad debt)

Virgin will take any customer so their credit check is easier to pass

As for reception, you will find over the next 3-6 months it will improve greatly as Optus switches on UMTS900 in metro areas.

As long as you have a handset/device that picks up UMTS900 (3G 900) you will find a huge difference.

It was recently enabled in an area near me, and went from 0-1 bar on indoor coverage to full coverage and stable data speeds :mrgreen:

 

[BadgerBoi]

So you didn't pass the credit check it seems, which is not the fault of Optus or yourself (unless you have bad debt)

Virgin will take any customer so their credit check is easier to pass

As for reception, you will find over the next 3-6 months it will improve greatly as Optus switches on UMTS900 in metro areas.

As long as you have a handset/device that picks up UMTS900 (3G 900) you will find a huge difference.

It was recently enabled in an area near me, and went from 0-1 bar on indoor coverage to full coverage and stable data speeds :mrgreen:

Then Optus' credit requirements are seriously whacky - there is no reason on earth I shouldn't have met their requirements. Stable long-term employment, excellent credit rating, never any bad debt, own my residence outright etc etc etc. It wasn't merely that I failed their check, for whatever reason, it was also that their site was so bugged that it took me forever to get to the point where they told me I didn't meet their requirements.

Can't wait to take my Optus landline and internet to a proper supplier, and when I've finished my contract with Virgin I'll be moving on with my mobile as well. I've heard before that their service will improve, I won't hold my breath on that one.