AAPT setting the cat amongst the Australian ISP pigeons with a no-limit broadband plan
News articles
AAPT launches no limit broadband plan | The Australian
No cap on downloads as AAPT’s truly unlimited internet sets new standard
From the horse’s mouth
AAPT Plan Information Page – AAPT Entertainment Bundle with 24/7 Unlimited Broadband
My comments on this scenario
Anyone who has used broadband Internet in Australia would be aware that all of the services have a usage limit and if you go past this limit, you would either have your Internet service throttled to a very low bandwidth rate or pay for the extra bandwidth used. Some service providers have modified these plans to allow for peak / off-peak limits with separate metering and a higher limit for off-peak hours. This idea is also being investigated in the US by cable companies, especially Comcast, as a way of shaping Internet traffic, mainly to keep IP-based independent video traffic off their networks.
Now AAPT have offered a $A99.95 residential broadband plan that is in the same vein as US or European Internet service plans i.e. it has no usage limits. This has now become an attempt to “one-up” everybody else in the Australian market. This firm had introduced plans with off-peak hours that were limit-free but this has become the most bold act that any major Australian ISP had offered.
This has happened even though Telstra and Optus had recently revised their plans to permit larger usage allowances due to the increased bandwidth available for international Internet traffic to Australia. Other issues that may have encouraged this include use of IP-based entertainment services like Internet radio and IPTV / video-on-demand; as well as the up-and-coming National Broadband Network.
It will be interesting to see what happens further with this deal – whether AAPT rolls it out on to other residential and/or small-business plans and whether other major-league ISPs will roll out “limit-free-all-day” plans and whether these will be offered across the board.