Internet comparison terms

Providers usually want to provide an incentive to take all telecommunication services with them.

Prices with tolls (or bundling product) are usually cheaper, but some providers also promote brand loyalty and freedom - so check out for those.

You may also find some plans are in packages - you must take up all services within those packs. These may or may not provide value, but are also a new way for providers to take you in. Examples of these are Vodafone and Orcon with their new home phone and broadband packages.

This price is one where you do not take a bundled product (like tolls or home phone line) with the provider.

This is the amount of data you can use in a month.

1GB = 1000MB

Finding the right data allowance is hard at first, but comparisons provided by many providers' websites will give you a rough idea.

For a medium-light user, 3GB to 5GB should be enough. Try plans without hefty charges if you are venturing into broadband for the first time, and you'll find out your monthly usage over time.

Measures may be taken when you exceed your data allowance.

Unlimited plans are extremely rare, but they are available (usually at a high cost or significant reduction in speed).

We usually avoid listing plans as "unlimited", unless it is said as such.

Some plans which have "unlimited" usage do have some restrictions, so be aware and check with the provider.

Frequently, speeds are indicated by abc/xyz rating, where abc usually indicated a download speed and xyz is a upload speed.

Download speed is the speed of all information being transferred to your computer, while the upload speed is the speed of the information being transmitted or sent from your computer to the Internet.

Basically means that the product delivers maximum speed capable on your line (and any relevant line conditions, like distance from exchange, line quality etc.)

Other providers may say "Max" or "As fast as your line will go", which is equivalent.

Do note that it is popular for plans to have 128kbps upload speeds - which restrict the usability of "Full Speed" connections to around 4mbps download, as acknowledgements must be sent in return. Therefore low upload speeds may restrict "Full Speed" download speeds.

This is a unit of speed, where a specific amount of data can be transferred per second.

Do note that kilobits and megabits are popular terms with speeds, and that kilobytes and megabytes are commonly used in file sizes.

Throttling of plans are usually back to 64kbps, nearly the same as dial-up speeds. This is a good option for people who require price certainty, as no excess charges apply.

Throttling can be removed by purchasing data blocks or changing plans (this varies provider to provider).

Data blocks are usually used when you choose to add more data to a plan. This is better than overages, as you buy in advance.

Some plans do charge in data blocks after you have exceeded your limit (an example would be TelstraClear's PDQ range of broadband plans, where your chosen block - 1GB or 10GB, will automatically be continuously charged after you have used your limit), so please check with the provider.

Overages are excess charges for set amounts of data (usually one megabyte or gigabyte) over your limit, and usually is not capped, which requires more vigilance on data usage to keep costs low.

This usually is listed as a price (e.g. $1.50/GB) for convenience.

"Managed" plans are harder to describe as each provider applies different criteria to manage your Internet connection, though usually it will be slow downs on P2P or peak usage.

This is less common way to handle usage on a plan.

Please check with the provider for more information on plans with management.