aportraitofskin asked:
Is it true that in Sydney it is hard to get a decent internet speed? I’ve read about people only having dial-up and so on.
If so, is it only in Sydney or is it all of Australia? Thanks 
speed reading
Australia, in general, is behind in Internet services compared to many other places around the world such as Europe. Personally, I as a student, find the speed is enough for what I’m doing. This is not the case for many other people however such as game addicts and businesses.
Dial-up is getting less common today. Australia IS behind in technological advancements but not to the extent where people still use dial-up widely.
Almost every home in Sydney can get some form of Broadband.
However, remember, in Australia, broadband can be defined as a 256/64kbit/sec service. Good broadband is harder to come by.
The locations that you are unlikely to find good broadband at are homes in newer suburbs that were developed from the early 1990s until the early 2000s, where the telephone infrastructure was built on the cheap. Thin wires, RIMs (aka Fibre to the Node) instead of proper telephone exchanges.
You will also want to avoid some new apartment buildings, and any area that has the words “Telstra Smart Community” in the brochure, since you wlll be locked into using a single provider who will charge you like a wounded bull and not necessarily provide a decent service/
If the phone line to your house terminates somewhere short of the telephone exchange, or is not a proper copper line in the first place, then your ADSL provider can not put you onto their own DSLAM and offer you a full speed service. Instead you get restricted to artificially slow Telstra services.
Whatever you do, do not sign up with Telstra/Bigpond for anything except getting the phone line connected slightly more quickly (and consider churning away to another provider soon thereafter if a deal is offered that is more to your liking).
It is true that some areas in Australia due to geographical reasons still do not have access to broadband. Large land area makes telecommunication infrastructure building expensive.
Compared to other countries Internet access is also more expensive in Australia and is still considered a luxury in some households.
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May 29th, 2009 at 4:50 am
speed reading
we do have broadband. i believe most people have it. but dial up is still very common. its a personal decision whether or not households have broadband or dial up.
but broadband is realivily slow compared to the usa. so i have been told anyway. it depends which provider you go by really. i always have problems with mine, and i have broadband. it came be slow, and the at times it came be fast… so i think anyways.
im happy with our internet spead here, but i guess if i experienced usa internet speed i might be dissapointed when use ours.