Internet Service Providers (ISP) in Australia stayed with its decision to cap the amount of bandwidth free consumers can use, saying that the broadband download quotas will stay.
The decision came after calls from Australian consumers for the ISPs to remove the capping of the download bandwidth, which has been implemented several years ago. To date, Australia is the only place in the world where Internet consumers were slugged with download limits on their online access plans.
However, everything may change in the coming months after New Zealand’s Telecom and its local arm AAPT announced that it will start offering unlimited broadband plans to Australian consumers. The company has challenged the status quo being implemented by the ISP companies, saying that they should follow suit if they want to stay in business.
With the introduction of the new broadband plan, Internet users can now run full-speed connection 24 hours a day. User will just need to sign up for the two-year deal.
Earlier, AAPT Chief Paul Broad challenged all of the ISPs in Australia to end the practice of imposing quotas to all users, saying that they should match what their company has to offer.
“Imposing quotas on the amount of download speed and bandwidth to consumers is seen as a joke in other country. If we compare our service with those of the United States, there is no such thing as a cap on the bandwidth,” he added.
The unlimited broadband connection of the AAPT will cost $99.95/month and users will be connected via an ADSL2+broadband. It also comes with a voice service and music downloading package.
Meanwhile, iiNet said that they have no immediate plans to match the AAPT offer, saying that they would “watch with interest”.
The company also said that they do not need to offer their consumers with unlimited broadband connection since most of the consumers in their area do not even meet or exceed the monthly download caps.