The Government has offered Australia's three mobile operators, and vividwireless, renewal of their existing spectrum allocated on 15 year licences in the late 90s and early 2000s at set prices, while the Government expects to rake in $3 billion.
How does Australian wireless broadband compare to fixed line offerings? For city slickers, 3 offers 1GB for $20 per month - or $15 if you're also a 3 voice customer. The service offers roughly 1.5 Mbps download speeds and 300 kbps up. Outside the cities, Vodafone's 1GB for $35 per month is probably the best deal ($20 for Vodafone voice customers) although at this stage it probably won't offer HSDPA-like speeds.
3 and Vodafone's services are compatible with Mac and PC, but you can share them will any computer in your house if you combine them with a D-Link DIR-451 3G mobile router ($300 rrp, but Static Ice lists them from $167), which features ports for connecting a PCMCIA or USB mobile broadband card.
The DIR-451 is compatible with the Huawei E220 USB modem offered by most wireless ISPs, and D-Link assures us the DIR-451 should be compatible with 3's Internet Key (a rebadged Huawei E169G modem) before the end of the year. No word on Vodafone's new Huawei K3715 USB Internet Stick.
So for $167 up front and then $20 per month, Australian city dwellers can get 1GB per month at 1.5 Mbps from 3 - shared with every computer in the house. This should be enough to meet the needs of beginners. Now wander over to Whirlpool's Broadband Choice and see how it compares to fixed line offerings.
Only a handful of fixed-line telcos can come close to matching this in Sydney (and less in Melbourne), plus they all expect you to bundle your home phone into the deal
A wireless offering is perfect for renters, or for the growing number of people who have abandoned their home phones completely and just use a mobile. Remember, if your mobile is with 3 then 1GB is only $15 per month. You can also take the USB modem with you as you walk out the door, giving you the best of both worlds.
Of course 1GB per month isn't going to meet the needs of most people, but iPrimus' 6GB for $39.95 or 3's 7GB for $49 should satisfy most people.
Remember you're charged coming and going, so wireless isn't a good choice for those fond of BitTorrent. For everyone else, iPrimus' new bill shock protection plans make it even harder to justify signing up for cable or DSL.
David Bass
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