TPG, a internet and home phone service provider in Australia. They currently offer a $59.99 monthly plan which contains 'Unlimited Internet Data and a Home Phone Line Rental.' Compared to their competitors prices, TPG would seems like a winner, right? Maybe not.
So here are some things that you should know about before signing up to TPG. First, they offer, in the mentioned plan, ADSL2+ internet. What is ADSL2+? It's internet that runs through your house's phone line. Now, TPG states that they offer speeds of up to 20Mbps, so that sounds good, right? Yes, but unless you live right next to their service tower, don't expect those speeds.
First, lets understand what those speeds mean. ISP's talk in
Megabit per second, where your probably more familiar with download speeds in
Kilobyte per second. Have you ever downloaded a file and watched the download speed? You've probably seen numbers like 70kb/s up to something like 2,000+ kb/s or somewhere around that, right? Well 20Mbps does not mean 20MB per second (or 20,000kb/s). It's actually very far from that! When a internet service provider says up to 20Mbps, what they actually mean is speeds up to 2,500kb/s. Now, 2,500kb/s is okay, IF you can actually get close to that speed.
Your download speed will vary based on many factors including your location from their towers and ISP's will not want to tell you if their service will be poor in your area while trying to sign you up. If you are not a tech enthusiast between the ages of 15 to 35, you may get lost in all their tech talk and won't understand the numbers or thought to check if you'll get a decent service. ISP's will make you figure that out on your own. So, before signing up to any contracts, ask your neighbors what internet service provider they have and what their speeds are like. A great way of testing your speeds is to use the website
speedtest.net I recently heard from one reader who had a issue with TPG. They saw the deal, they contacted TPG and signed up. TPG did not tell this person what speeds they would be receiving at their location. They just like to use vague terms like up to 20Mbps. Well "up to" means between 0 and a max of 20. And if you're at 1, you are not going to be happy. So, this reader had TPG installed at their home for their family. But, within minutes after activating the service, they realized the mistake they had made by signing up with TPG.
The speeds were extremely slow! Barley reaching between 2-4Mbps, that's 200-400kb/s. They could barley load a webpage, let alone a video. Noway you could use two devices at the same time, many things were timing out just trying to load on one device.
They wanted unlimited internet data so they could stream movies on their Apple TV, especially since a 'video store' is now a nonexistent term in many places these days. But there was no chance of a movie being able to load on this connection. So what good is unlimited internet data when you can't use it?
So the reader contacted TPG and told them about the issues they were having with TPG's service. But TPG did not seem to care at all about the users complaints. Their tech support guy even went as far as saying to the customer that, if you wanted a good internet service, why did you chose us? You should of gone with a better company, one that offers Cable internet, like Optus. So when your company's tech support guy tells you that you've chosen the wrong company, you know that company must be shit!
But after agreeing to that initial contract, it's too late! There's no trial or "cooling-off" period clause in the contract. TPG does't seem to care if you can load a simple YouTube video (even at low quality). Or if your kids can do their homework without waiting forever for a webpage to load. No, TPG would probably say something like, '
Hey, you chose us, that's YOUR mistake!' Yes TPG, you are right, I agree, choosing your company would be a mistake.
So, after one day of barely any internet service, what would be the cost to get out of this loveless relationship? A $350.00 early termination fee. One that TPG won't back down on. The customer didn't want out of the contract early because they didn't want the service anymore, but because the service was unusable for them! You see, TPG doesn't seem care if they can provide a customer with a connection that is actually usable, or if their service is so shit in an area that they make customer want to leave after 5 minutes of their internet being connected. Or about warning a customer who would be in this zone about the realistic speeds they would be receiving. All TPG seems to care about is getting your money, not providing a decent service to their customers. TPG would not admit to being at any fault. They'll blame you for choosing them.
If you were reading this because you were thinking of signing up to TPG and you searched for reviews first, great! You made the right choice to search before you buy! I'll just say, maybe you live next to a TPG tower and you're speeds would be fine. But, maybe you don't. I personally would NOT recommend TPG as a internet provider. They don't seem to care about making a customer happy and satisfied with their service or admitting when they can't provide a decent enough service in your area. They just seem to want your money.
Secondly, if you can get the NBN or Cable internet at your home from a ISP, that is a MUCH better choice over ADSL - just don't go with ADSL internet unless you have no other option. I'd recommend Optus. They are a great company, in my opinion. Some flaws, but they work on it, even if it takes them a while to fix. (More on that maybe another day). Optus are a bit more expensive than TPG, but, hey, I guess you get what you pay for! The reader who mistakenly chose TPG for a day, even got at their location speeds from Optus of 2,500kb/s - that's 5 times more than the best that TPG could provide for them. I believe at the moment you can get Unlimited Broadband and a Home Phone for $75 per month from Optus. They offer speeds of up to 30Mbps on their basic speed pack. Once again, it could vary, so ask around, and ask the sales people what speeds you actually would be receiving on average in your area, not what it would be "up to."
You can view
Optus Broadband plans, here.
If you've had a similar experience with a Internet Service Provider, I'd love to hear about it in the comments. (
Note: Comments only work from Google's Chrome Browser, sorry). And, please share this article to warn others of the dangers of not for surely knowing what service you'd actually get before signing up to a contract.
Edit (add image): This apparently is an email address - dumbasses:
