Internode extends ADSL2+ reach but can you afford it?

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 26 August 2008 13:16

Opinion and Analysis

If you live in a metropolitan broadband 'black spot' you're probably welcoming the news about Internode's NakedExtreme service. But is it affordable?

As Stuart Corner reported, NakedExtreme extends the ADSL radius from the usual 4.1 km to at least 7.5 km, cable quality permitting.

Plans start at $59.95 for 10G of downloads per month (Internode does not meter uploads), rising to $159.95 for 100G per month.

There's also a $129 setup fee to convert an existing phone line to NakedExtreme, and a $65 cancellation fee if you drop out within 12 months.

NakedExtreme includes the company's NodePhone VoIP service, so though NakedExtreme costs $10 more than Internode's regular ADSL2+ plans, users can save between $20 and $30 as they no longer need to pay line rental.

NodePhone call costs are 18c untimed for national calls and 30c per minute for calls to mobiles. Calling 13 or 1300 numbers costs 27.5c untimed. International calls involve a 15c flagfall and per-minute charges staring at 5c. These rates are generally lower than Telstra's and Optus's rates, though caps on certain call types (eg to mobiles) means that is not always true.

All told, that's not a bad deal. There may be cheaper offers around for conventional ADSL2+ services, but that's no help if you're out of range.

So what's the catch? Please read on.