Telstra: Please address issues with your 64kbps cap

Dear Telstra BigPpond,

Many users of your internet services are unhappy with the slowed speed of 64kbps that you provide. More often than not, the slowed speed is unreliable, suffers frequent dropouts and timeouts, and most users do not even reach the speed of 64kbps.

The majority of us are unable to do basic web browsing with the 64kbps cap you provide. You have also stated that when all data allowance has been used, the speed will be slowed to 64kbps. No more and no less. Therefore users expect to get the speed of 64kbps, and a reliable service.

While the 64kbps cap discourages users from using all their data, the slowed speed should be as reliable as the regular service itself. with these aforementioned problems, many users opt to change ISP, frequently one with a larger cap, that provides easier browsing and a more reliable service.

In this day & age of internet usage, 64kbps is just not enough to do basic web browsing. Places such as eBay, Hotmail, Facebook, MySpace and many other popular and frequently visited sites, including BigPond, have well over 5 megabytes of data to load. with the 64kbps cap this is fine, it will just take longer to load. but for users experiecing dropouts and unreliable service(the majority of us), using the internet at all becomes a nightmare, because of the frequent dropouts.

When the service is so unreliable, how can it be declared fit for use? It is obviously unreliable and unable to reach the stated speeds.

Pages have to be constantly refreshed, browsers need to be closed down and re-opened to continue browsing, and in bad weather the service becomes completely unusable. nothing will load, and the service can be interrupted or completely unable to connect for hours afterward.

It is also hazardous with online purchases. Order confirmations can accidentally be confirmed twice, should the service become unreliable when making a purchase.

Please address these issues, and the concerns of your loyal customers.