iiNet & Amnet Release Naked DSL With More to Come
iiNet Releases Naked DSL
November 15, 2007: The rush to release naked DSL products is well and truly upon us with iiNet releasing there naked DSL offering for business and residential users.
Naked DSL refers to ADSL without the need for a telephone service, while it still connects to the wall in the same place and uses the same copper phone line, you don’t have to pay line rental or even have a fixed line phone connected.
The iiNet naked DSL plans all come with iiTalk, a VOIP telephone service that has free local and STD calls to anywhere in Australia, but charges you for calls to mobiles and international numbers.
The savings which come from a naked DSL product aren’t just cheaper telephone calls, it also wipes out the line rental costs which are $26.95 per month and higher if you want to have an ADSL2 connection. iiNet are targeting users who have a phone line simply because they have too for their broadband connection.
“Many Australians have wanted to get rid of unnecessary landline expenses for sometime now, and iiNet has worked hard to provide an innovative, cost-effective NakedDSL service which liberates consumers from old analog technology,” said MichaelMalone, iiNet’s Managing Director.
iiNet are claiming to be the first to release naked DSL in Australia, though Perth based Amnet has released a naked DSL plan with an extra $19.95 charge, a saving of $7 on the price users usually have to pay for monthly line rental. While its possible to get cheaper line rental prices then this, such as Telstra’s Home Line Budget for $19.95 per month, Telstra will not let you access ADSL2 with another provider on this phone plan, forcing users to either sign on with Telstra’s more expensive ADSL2 plans or pay $26.95 per month for line rental in order to sign up with a different ADSL2 provider.
“Naked DSL finally allows consumers to only pay for what they need.” Said Malone
Other internet service providers are expected to follow iiNet and Amnet’s lead and release their own naked DSL plans, particularly if the demand is as great as anticipated. South Australian based Internode are already trialing naked DSL, but they are not only focusing on consumers who don’t want to pay line rental, but also those who have high transmission loss on their phone lines and have previously been rejected for ADSL.
“I foresee a lot of businesses taking up naked ADSL, one of the potential opportunities is about getting over the transmission loss of traditional broadband.” Jim Kellet, Product Manager at Internode said in a recent interview with IDM.
The trials and subsequent release of naked DSL plans confirms AAPT CEO, Paul Braud’s claims back in August that Australia would see naked DSL before Christmas this year.