iiNet, Australia’s third largest ISP has announced support for bonded DSL, which can double broadband speeds compared to a standard ADSL2+ connection.
iiNet’s business GM Steve Harley told CommsDay that the technology would be of benefit to the almost 42,000 businesses already using iiNet ADSL broadband connected through iiNet’s own DSLAMs.
Business users signing up for iiNet’s bonded DSL service can expect to pay from $99 per month for the service, plus a one off setup charge (if you are an existing iiNet customer) of $150 if currently using Naked ADSL or $79.95 for Broadband 2+ customers. iiNet’s bonded DSL modem costs an additional $419 on top of the setup costs.
Bonded DSL differs from other approaches that look to load balance two separate ADSL connections, in that it combines to twisted pair connections at the exchange end, creating what is described as “one big pipe” by iiNet’s Steve Harley, rather than two separate pipes pushing information to your business. This eases administrative problems at the business end, by simply having one modem connect to your network in the same way as your current ADSL connection.
iiNet currently offers a range of fibre optic connections to businesses, but many see the step up to a fibre connection cost prohibitive, with monthly costs in the range of $1,000 or more, in addition to set up costs in the range of $20,000-30,000. iiNet’s bonded DSL solution brings this prohibitive price point down for small to medium businesses that need more bandwidth than ADSL2 offers, but at a significantly more attractive price point. Bonded DSL is also more likely to be available to businesses, with 85 percent of iiNet’s current customers in areas capable of supporting the technology.
