Customers protest tie up between OptusNet and NineMSN

Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 07 February 2007 10:34

Your IT - Home IT

A new-look portal-style home page currently being introduced by SingTel Optus's OptusNet ISP division in conjunction with Microsoft is drawing a negative response from customers to the extent that some are threatening to take their business elsewhere.

The fact that the new portal is being operated for the carrier by NineMSN, a joint venture between Australian media giant PBL and Microsoft, is a major source of dissatisfaction for some users.

iTWire has received copies of complaints lodged by some OptusNet customers, and there are several common themes.

High on the list is the fact that a Windows Live ID must be obtained and used in order to customise the home page. Previously, users could sign-in to Optus's servers using their Optus username and password. Involving a third-party is regarded as an unacceptable breach of privacy, and some people say they simply don't trust Microsoft with their personal data.

Secondly, complaining customers seem unimpressed with the choice of NineMSN as a content provider, but that's a matter of taste.

Then there are technical issues. It seems that the site has been designed exclusively for Internet Explorer, and users of other browsers are angry that they no longer get the full functionality that they did when the portal was operated by OptusNet itself. The site is also significantly slower to load.

What else is wrong?