Honestly, I think we can all agree that ISP’s are like a oxygen, we dont really seem to think about it/them until there is a problem…and belive me, it’s when there is a problem your ISP will show you its true colours!

Seriously Internet services are seemingly similarly priced (wow, what a lot of s’ss!) But that is often where the similarities end.  Back in the day…ok a long time ago, we considered becoming an ISP! Yes it was pretty easy to get into it and the cost was not prohibitive, but you had to provide all of the support and marketing etc yourself.

This was in a time when most people where only just hearing of the internet, so you can imagine the support nightmares. Thsi was all new to most of us. Now days, I think most folks have had the expereince of opening a box, pluging in a router into the phone line, power line and they are away more or less, and it often takes longer to find the pre set wireless passwords that actually installing the device! (look in the box for a card, or under the router itself)

So, its plugged in, running and the world is at your finger tips, and then suddenly you see the dreaded message…

ARGGGH!…..Now you will find out what you and your ISP are made of. After frantically trying everything in your limited arsenal, you decide to ring your ISP.

Irrespective of who you use, we are getting to the factors that set them apart. Here are what we think are the most important factors and differences to consider.

• • Initial phone connection wait times- just how long does it take to get to a human being?
  • Once reached, can you even understand the  accent of the person on the other end of the line
  • Will you get assistance immediately or does it get assigned to an “agent” who will eventually call you back…Yes Optus I’m talking about you!
  • Will you get treated like an idiot, or will the person helping you just not seem to listen or understand you!
  • Will a technician be sent out and what, if any is the cost?
  • How long does it take to get a technician out?

Unfortunatly this is not all of the list and it was compiled the old fashioned way…through experiencing crappy support ! We have had to deal with a wide variety of our clients ISP’s adn the experience varies greatly, but for us there is ONE stand out.

By now I think if you noticed the top banner we are an advocate/affiliate of TPG.  We have used them for ISP and telephony services for over the last 15 years. IN that time there of course have been issues, rats eating telephone cables, dead modem and an external building wiring problem.  All have been dealt with the greeatest of speed and professionalism.

We have had techs onsite and recieved new replacement equipment from TPG faster then call backs from other ISP’s support!

So now you start to understand where we are coming from. We are not really wanting to comment on how bad the experiences can be with some of the “Big Telco’s”, ask around everyone has a story to tell!

But with TPG we are only having great results for both ouselves and our customers. Thats why we are recommending them to you. And if you need help signing up or installing, just give us a call and we can help get you up and running.

There is no way I would recommend anyone else, and that is based on hard experience!

Mark @ The IT BLoke