Take that, Mr Brown
Singapore blogger "Mr Brown" recently toured NZ, and duly dissed our nosebleed broadband charges, noting his hotel charged $NZ33 a day for 50MB.
Well, here I am in Singapore (for a Microsoft/Notel VoIP launch), and I'm writing this from a hotel that's charging $S30 a day for internet ($NZ25). It is uncapped cable. But still, that's up there with the worst of them in terms of treating broadband like the minibar rather than a workaday tool.
Residentially, it's a similar story. The whole island is wired with fibre optic cable. During my last trip here a couple of years back, I was helping someone get set up in a new flat. She wanted to get a dial-up connection as she was on a very tight budget - but the guy from the phone company was dumbfounded. It's theoretically possible, just not done here. Everything's broadband. And very fast. But having said that, it's not that cheap. A 10Mbit/s uncapped plan from SingTel costs $S87 ($NZ74) a month. A 6Mbit/s uncapped plan is more like it at $S50 ($NZ42), especially as, like all plans, it includes free public wi-fi until 2009. But again, there's a kicker: like a number of other cities with public wi-fi, the free version is relatively slow (512Mbit/s). To upgrade to a full-blooded connection you have to chip in an extra $S10.59.
Then there's mio, an IP TV service that delivers high definition, on-demand movies and television over your broadband. Again, very cool, but not cheap. The required HD settop box costs $S535, and a $16 a month minimum for programme and movie charges. Still, on-demand IPTV a nice option to have. In New Zealand, Sky TV is testing a new decoder that supports IPTV, but you've got to wonder how it would run on our crummy copper.
PC World is New Zealand’s top selling computing and technology magazine.
Comments
It appears the compliant is more about the prices that the hotels are charging. The hotels wouldn't be getting charged anywhere near those amounts by their ISP. Hotels always rip people off with their charges, such as phone calls, minibar peanuts, mini bar alcohol etc, so internet is no different. Mr Brown hasn’t bothered to look at the facts before posting, and has nothing else to complain about. There is also no such thing as ‘unlimited’ broadband anywhere. Even in Europe where they offer plans as unlimited, they can and have imposed restrictions if your use becomes unreasonable, as some of the limits can be as low as 10-20GB
Our broadband is a lot cheaper than Singapore, although we need government investment in a fibre network to get really good downloading and uploading speeds.
Aren't the government buying the copper network off telecom for 3 billion?
Posted by: Rob | September 28, 2007 3:29 PM
The point, and in part by Brown, is tha New Zealanders are (in my opinion) being ripped off blindsighted by Telco's in General. The fact that Telecom controls all infustructure it built due to a monopoly is only a sign of short-sightedness.
New Zealanders do deserve better service and charge structures to encourage better growth on the economic markets, here and abroad. And vodafone, although the only competition in the cellular networks, it is by no means any better in reality as a true test of competition is when 3 or more independent company's compete comparitively against each other.
The simple fact is the average kiwi no's no better than what he's seen or heard abroad, and if things dont rapidly advance to compete in the Global market, the situation may resemble Aucklands shody rail network which they (government) only NOW are making an effort to upgrade in 4 years.
Posted by: W. J. K. | September 28, 2007 11:10 AM
Tell this guy to go have cry, he is so pathetic with his complaining, so many countries are jealous of what Singapore has got. You have to remember though Singapore is a pretty small place and to cover the whole country in fiber cable would cost bugger all.
Posted by: Alex Thomas | September 26, 2007 4:53 PM
I'm not sure Mr Brown has much to worry about, if we had service like what you describe her in NZ we would have a lot less complaints, Hotel prices are always going to be high for uncapped, and 512Mbit/s wi-fi for free isn't bad! compared to no free wi-fi here.
Posted by: MrDrifter | September 26, 2007 2:21 PM
10Mbit/s uncapped? What I'd give for that in NZ
$74/month is only slightly more than a 10GB capped plan at about 2Mbit/s here!!! And the 6Mbit/s uncapped plan is cheaper!
Posted by: Brian Wheeler | September 26, 2007 12:49 PM