BEST TELECOM PTY LTD

National Broadband Network (from 7 April 2009)

2012-02-08T00:25:00.000+10:00

No doubt many of you will have heard news regarding the National Broadband Network and may be wondering how it will change the telecommunications market in Australia and, in turn, impact your businesses. To get a good understanding of the basics of the new network we suggest that you take some time to read the government’s brochure (attached) explaining the rationale behind the decision and the basics of how it is anticipated the network will be structured and regulated.

The government’s decision to reject all of the current NBN proposals and set-up a majority government-owned company (funded by a mixture of government and private capital) to roll out the proposed National Broadband Network seems to have taken many by surprise with few industry analysts picking this as a potential solution it seems to have taken the industry a little by surprise.

To say that this decision is a huge undertaking is an understatement. This will be the most ambitious public infrastructure project in Australia’s history requiring some $43 billion of investment to deliver a Fibre to the Premise (FTTP) network to 90% of Australian households and businesses. It will also be the most ambitious FTTP project undertaken anywhere in the world. FTTP technology has been identified as having the capability to deliver download speeds of up to 100Mbps currently and up to 1Gbps in the future, making this one of the most future-proof technologies available for the network.

So much for the history-making and huge investment dollars, what does this mean?
Well, we believe that this decision is great news for consumers and for us in the telecommunications market.

Why?
Because some of the core principles behind the new network are:

The company that owns and provides the network will do so only on a wholesale basis and will have no retail interests
The company will not favour one retailer over another, it will treat all its customers equally
Legislation will ensure that even after the planned sell-off in 5 years time the company owning the network always operates as the government intends
Legislation will ensure that a customer of the network will not be able to control the network company
Legislation will ensure that the ACCC maintains an independent oversight into how the new company operates

While it’s far too early to even begin to predict the impact of this in much detail the framework outlined above really should provide a more level playing field in the wholesale telecommunications market which can only be good for us. It will be down to individual retailers, aggregators and re-sellers to provide the necessary differentiation to make their offering stand out in the market (which is what we do well) and while competition may increase we will be well-placed to benefit from the open access network.

Timescales for roll-out are currently vague but the irony is that after years of complaining about limited backhaul across the Bass Strait, Tasmania may be the first state to see real benefits from the NBN.

No doubt there will be much discussion and media coverage over the coming days, weeks and months and we will ensure that we do all we can to stay informed and, in-turn, keep you informed.

As a starter we’ve included a couple of links below that you might find interesting regarding the NBN announcement.

Telecommunications Bill Analysis, using BESTbill

2012-02-07T23:59:00.007+10:00

Detailed, comprehensive Telecommunications Bill Analysis & Audit
The BESTbill Analysis Service offers you a comprehensive analysis of your telecommunications usage and provides you with individually tailored reports on your call activity.

Using specialised telecommunicating data rating and billing software, we can audit for overcharging, compare carrier tariff offers against your call patterns and generate useful reports.

BEST unique analysis process
Our specialist expertise in the Australian telecommunications industry combined with many years of industry and management experience backed by substantial software development, database analysis and reporting systems.

The result is a unique analysis process using software designed for this purpose.

Compare tariff plans on offer
Find the best deals for your business by using analysis to compare your call data against tariff rates of other service providers. Using the analysis service We work closely with you each step of the way to help you meet your objectives.

Business that counts
Many businesses have benefited from BESTbill Analysis Service. For business telecommunications audit & bill analysis, rely on BESTbill Analysis service.

Powerful bill reporting with BESTbill Analysis Service
If you require regular cost reporting for accounting purposes, our BESTbill Analysis Service may be the answer. We can process your bill data and deliver customised reports to your staff in a timely manner.

Contact us to find out more.

BEST telecom beats Telstra's Ultmate home line rental, hands down!!!

2012-02-07T23:02:00.000+10:00

A recent price comparison of Telstra's "unlimited" Ultimate package and BEST Telecom's freedom $69.95 package, reveals that the Telstra package is almost 30% more expense for line rental, unlimited and long distance calls.

Additionally, BEST telecom's mobile rate is aggregated across all networks (Telstra discriminates against Telstra and non-Telstra mobile rates).

Telstra's rate to non-Telstra mobiles:
37c/min, charged per 30 second block (plus 39c call connection fee)
$1.50 maximum cost per call up to 20 min, 24 hrs, 7 days
Calls to non-Telstra mobile
BEST Telecom's rate Freedom $69.95 to non-Telstra mobiles:
29c/min, plus NO connection fee
95c maximum cost per call up to 10 min, 24 hrs, 7 days

Analysis of the BEST telecom mobile calls across its entire customer base shows the average mobile call to be around 2.5 minutes. With BEST telecom, such a call would cost 0.87c whereas with Telstra, such a call would cost $1.315. Telstra costs 51.1% more than BEST telecom. Another massive saving!!!

Telstra winback team harrassing BEST telecom customers

2012-02-07T23:01:00.001+10:00

BEST telecom have had many recent reports from their customers that when they have changed to BEST telecom that Telstra have been harrassing BEST telecom customers to change their services to Telstra.

What is even more alarming is that these customers were not previously with Telstra. What this clearly indicates is that Telstra Wholesale is passing information to Telstra Retail's winback team of inform what customer's are changing retail providers on the Telstra.

This conduct is not only alarming but highly illegal and anti-competitive. If you are a customer that has received these calls, please contact BEST telecom

FREE web hosting for BEST Telecom phone and internet customers

2012-02-07T22:55:00.001+10:00

If you are phone and/or broadband internet customer of BEST telecom on any of our standard plans, you are most likely eligible for FREE hosting of your web site, saving AT LEAST $219 per year! The only criteria for FREE hosting is:

that you have a current contract (customers out of contract simply need to re-contract);
be on automatic payment by direct debit or credit card; and
receive bills by electronic mail.

Contact BEST telecom customer service for more information on 1800-792-151or click here,

BEST telecom has announced the release of its new Mobile Plus VoIP plan.

2012-02-07T22:53:00.000+10:00

BEST telecom has announced the release of its new Mobile Plus VoIP plan.

For just $19.95 per month, the BEST Mobile Plus VoIP plan includes:-

local and national calls at just 10c each
mobile calls, first 200 calls or 400 mins are free*. Then 27c / min
International from 1.9c per minute

* Calls are billed per minute. 27c / min rate applies once the customer has either made 200 calls or 400 minutes of calls. Calls to any Australian mobile.

How much will I save?

Right now, you're probably paying way too much on your phone bill. Most phone companies charge a connection fee (you have to pay even before you start talking!) and have per minute rates that are astronomical. You also probably have to pay extra for value-add features such as caller ID and call waiting. Add monthly line rental to this, and your monthly phone bill gets out of hand pretty quickly. With engin, there are no hidden charges, and we help you save big bucks:

Call Costs - With a BEST VoIP plan, there are no connection fees. Local and national calls are either a flat 10c per call, or are free! Our overseas rates are dirt cheap, and some of our plans offer flat rate or free calls overseas too.
Features - Every BEST VoIP phone plan comes with a bunch of features you would normally expect to pay for. Caller ID, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, Voicemail, V-Mail (voicemail to email). All free.

For information on BEST VoIP plans:-

visit http://bestit.net.au/products/phone-plans/voip.html
call BEST Customer Service on 1800-792-151
leave them a message to contact you a time convenient at http://www.bestit.net.au/contact/12-contacts/6-customer-service.html